Processes Underlying Children's Adjustment in Families Characterized by Physical Aggression*
Judee E. Onyskiw,
Leslie A. Hayduk,
Corresponding Author
Judee E. Onyskiw
J. E. Onyskiw is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Alberta funded by the Medical Research Council of Canada and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.
**Address correspondence to: Judee E. Onyskiw, University of Alberta, #4510 Children's Centre, Royal Alexandra Hospital, 10240 Kingsway Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5H 3V9; (780) 491-5261; Fax: (780) 477-4832; e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorLeslie A. Hayduk
L. A. Hayduk is Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
Search for more papers by this authorJudee E. Onyskiw,
Leslie A. Hayduk,
Corresponding Author
Judee E. Onyskiw
J. E. Onyskiw is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Alberta funded by the Medical Research Council of Canada and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.
**Address correspondence to: Judee E. Onyskiw, University of Alberta, #4510 Children's Centre, Royal Alexandra Hospital, 10240 Kingsway Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5H 3V9; (780) 491-5261; Fax: (780) 477-4832; e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorLeslie A. Hayduk
L. A. Hayduk is Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
Search for more papers by this author†
*This research is based on a dissertation conducted by the first author under the supervision of Dr. Margaret Harrison, Professor, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta. The author wishes to acknowledge Dr. Harrison's assistance and expert guidance. The research was supported, in part, with a training award from Health Canada's National Health Research and Development Program, a studentship from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, a fellowship from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, and a research grant from the Children's Health Foundation of Northern Alberta. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 62nd Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Abstract
The hypothesis that physical aggression in the family affects children's adjustment through both observational learning/modeling and through its impact on parenting was tested (via LISREL) using data from a representative sample of Canadian children (N = 11,221). Results showed that observational learning and disrupted parenting provide reasonable, if only partial explanations, of mothers' assessments of children's adjustment in families characterized by physical aggression. Models for preschool (4–5 years), young (6–9 years), and older school-age (10–11 years) children fit acceptably and showed similar but weak effects. Children reported to witness more aggression also were reported to behave more aggressively. Mothers who reported being less warm and responsive in parenting reported that their children were more aggressive, had more internalizing behaviors, and had fewer prosocial behaviors.
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