Do mothers of preschoolers apply threats of separation as the disciplinary strategy? -A qualitative analysis of mothers'' negative verbalization.

• Main Authors: Chi-An Tang, 湯志安
• Other Authors: Keng-Ling Lay
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 1995
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/96943621613004182674

碩士 === 文化大學 === 兒童福利學系 === 83 === The present study is to document mothers'' negative verbalization in disciplining their preschool-aged children. More emphasis has been put on how mothers induce their children'' s separation anxiety in order to facilitate their compliance. 15 mothers and their 2-to 3-year-olds children participated in the study. Each pair(s daily conversation was tape-recorded , without the researchers'' presence, at home for 12 non- consecutive hours. The recordings were then analyized and coded according to coding framework especially constructed to tap into adults'' negative verbalization in disciplining children.The coding system includes the following 7 categories: threatening, crticism on (the child(s) personal trait, criticism on (the child(s) behaviors, begging for sympathy from the child, comparing the child with others, verbal prohibition, and teasing. Among these categories, prohibition and threatening comprised 2/3 of the codable data. Most threats are about depriving the child(s right and hurting to he child(s physically. In addition, 2.39% of the threats were about separating the child from the mother. The contexts accompanied with the separation threats as follows : (1) mother hurrying the slow-acting child; (2) mother teasing the child about sending him(her) away and (3) mother correcting the child''s improper behavior. The content of the separation threats included that (1) the mother threatened to go out without taking the child, (2) the mother threatened not to accompany the child in bed right before bed time, and (3) the mother threatened to lock the child up. The present study also found individual difference in mothers'' usage of negative verbalization as a disciplinary strategy. The results were discussed based on Bowlby'' attachment theory and Hoffman''s love withdrawal concept.