Parental love withdrawal and relational aggression in preschool age children : the role of normative beliefs about relational aggression.
| dc.contributor.author | Lawerance, Preethi | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-05-20T04:24:59Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-05-20T04:24:59Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Parental psychological control encompasses several dimensions, such as invalidation of feelings, shaming/disappointment, guilt induction, and love withdrawal. These parenting behaviours have been shown to influence young children’s aggressive behaviours, such as relational aggression (RA). Parental love withdrawal is similar to RA, where the threat is often directed towards the possibility of damaging social relationships. Social Learning Theory suggests that parental love withdrawal may be observed by children, and subsequently modelled in peer interactions as RA. Additionally, the Social Information Processing Model for aggressive behaviours posits that children turn to their memory for cognitive schemas to guide their behavioural choices. Exposure to parental love withdrawal is likely to impact children's belief behaviour pathways and their normative beliefs about relational aggression (NBRA). This study used data from a larger three-year longitudinal study called THRIVE and examined the association between parental love withdrawal and preschool age children’s (2-5 years) RA via NBRA. Parents participated in interviews regarding their parenting styles. Teacher reports were used to measure child RA, and children’s NBRA were assessed using hypothetical vignettes and a social cognitive interview. The results showed no significant associations between parental love withdrawal and children's RA. However, children more disapproving of RA showed significantly higher levels of RA. Similarly, older children were more likely to perceive RA as wrong, but also exhibited greater levels of RA compared to younger children. Older children with greater exposure to parental love withdrawal were more likely to be accepting of RA. Overall, the study highlights the nuances of the belief behaviour pathway in preschool children, and the need to examine different precursors and mechanisms of child RA. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10092/107086 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.26021/15353 | |
| dc.language | English | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://canterbury.libguides.com/rights/theses | |
| dc.title | Parental love withdrawal and relational aggression in preschool age children : the role of normative beliefs about relational aggression. | |
| dc.type | Theses / Dissertations | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Psychology | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Canterbury | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science | |
| uc.bibnumber | in1359980 | |
| uc.college | Faculty of Health |