Childhood discipline, perceptions of parents, and current functioning in female college students

This study examined the relationships among the childhood discipline styles experienced by 116 female college students, their perceptions of their parents, and their current functioning. Results of this study indicated that female college students’ report of childhood discipline, their perceptions of their parents, and their outcomes were related uniquely when examining responses for mothers and fathers. Further, regression analyses suggested that negative perceptions of mothers may mediate the relationship between maternal psychologically assaultive discipline and female college students’ depression and self-esteem and mediate partially the relationship between maternal psychologically and physically assaultive discipline and female college students’ anxiety. In contrast, fathers’ use of psychologically assaultive discipline and female college students’ positive and negative perceptions of their fathers predicted depression, whereas only their perceptions predicted anxiety and self-esteem. These results suggested the importance of examining discipline and perceptions of parents when examining the functioning of late adolescents and emerging adults.