McCarthy Randy J, Crouch Julie L, Basham Ariel R, Milner Joel S, Skowronski John J
Northern Illinois University.
Psychol Violence. 2016 Jan 1;6(1):135-144. doi: 10.1037/a0038456. Epub 2014 Nov 24.
Six studies ( = 1,081 general population parents) assessed the validity of the Voodoo Doll Task (VDT) as a proxy for aggressive parenting behaviors.
Participants were given an opportunity to symbolically inflict harm by choosing to stick "pins" into a doll representing their child.
Individual differences in parents' trait aggression (Studies 1, 2, and 6), state hostility (Study 3), attitudes towards the corporal punishment of children (Study 4), self-control (Study 6), depression (Study 6), and child physical abuse risk (Study 6) were associated with increased pin usage. Further, parents used more pins after imagining their child perform negative behaviors compared to after imagining their child perform positive behaviors (Study 5). A number of demographic variables also were associated with pin usage: Fathers used pins more than mothers and parents' education level was inversely related to pin usage. Finally, on average, parents viewed the VDT as slightly uncomfortable, but not objectionable, to complete (Study 6).
Our evidence suggests that the VDT may serve as a useful proxy for parent-to-child aggression.
六项研究（涉及1081名普通大众父母）评估了巫毒娃娃任务（VDT）作为攻击性行为养育方式替代指标的有效性。
参与者有机会通过选择将“针”插入代表其孩子的娃娃来象征性地施加伤害。
父母的特质攻击性（研究1、2和6）、状态敌意（研究3）、对儿童体罚的态度（研究4）、自我控制能力（研究6）、抑郁程度（研究6）以及儿童身体虐待风险（研究6）方面的个体差异与更多地使用针相关。此外，与想象孩子表现出积极行为后相比，父母在想象孩子表现出消极行为后使用了更多的针（研究5）。一些人口统计学变量也与针的使用有关：父亲比母亲使用针更多，并且父母的教育水平与针的使用呈负相关。最后，平均而言，父母认为完成VDT任务略有不适，但并无反感（研究6）。
我们的证据表明，VDT可能是亲子间攻击行为的一个有用替代指标。
