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Presenter: Kyla Kawungu

Faculty Sponsor: Kirby Deater-Deckard

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

Session: Poster Session 5, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM, Auditorium, A14

ABSTRACT

Adverse experiences during childhood can affect development and may have a negative influence on one's psychological well-being. While neglect and abuse may have different cultural definitions and implications, they can impact the way a child thinks, feels, and behaves. The longitudinal dataset from the Parenting Across Cultures (PAC) Study was used to collect self-reported data from fathers, mothers, and children across 1418 families in 9 countries. Child externalizing and internalizing behavioral scores were compared to parent and child reports on different variables for abuse and neglect to identify any correlations. These reports were given across three waves to observe changes in development as the child aged. After running several statistical tests, no association between corporal punishment and externalizing behaviors was found in children at age 10 (wave 3). However, there was an association between corporal punishment and child-reported internalizing behavior. As the child grew older, internalizing behaviors reduced while externalizing behaviors became more prevalent at age 16 (wave 8), suggesting a positive correlation.  For mother-reported neglect, children at age 10 did not report any significant internalizing or externalizing behaviors. However, mothers reported higher internalizing behaviors. At age 16, both child and mother reported significant levels of internalizing behavior, suggesting significant levels of anxiety, withdrawal and low-self esteem. These results give us a glimpse into understanding child and adolescent development, and the role that parents and caregivers play. They highlight how upbringing and parental behavior can have lasting effects on psychological well-being.