Leath Seanna, Bryant Lamont, Johnson Khrystal, Pitts Jessica Bernice, Omole Titilope, Butler-Barnes Sheretta T
Psychological and Brain Sciences Department, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400224, Charlottesville, VA 22911, USA.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Jun 30;15(7):887. doi: 10.3390/bs15070887.
Discipline is a significant predictor of parent-child attachment and relationship quality across the lifespan. Yet, much of the research on Black families' disciplinary strategies uses a deficit and myopic lens that focuses on punitive punishment styles (e.g., spanking or taking away privileges). In the current exploratory qualitative study, we used an intergenerational narrative lens and thematic analysis to explore semi-structured interview data from 31 Black mothers (25-60 years, M = 46) in the United States around their mothers' disciplinary practices during their childhood. We explored the connections that Black adult daughters made between their childhood disciplinary practices and their current disciplinary practices with their children, as well as their current relationships with their mothers. Adult daughters varied widely in their retrospective accounts of their mothers' disciplinary strategies, which we categorized into three themes: (a) punitive, (b) logical, and (c) natural. We also identified three themes around how their mothers' practices informed their current disciplinary practices with their own children: namely, (d) continuity, (e) mix, and (f) shift. Finally, we identified three themes around the current nature of their mother-daughter relationships: (g) strained, (h) progressing, and (i) healthy. The results highlighted the personal and cultural factors that informed Black women's disciplinary strategies across two generations of mothers and revealed that when adult daughters shifted away from what they experienced during childhood-it was often towards less punitive strategies. Our exploratory findings also pointed to patterns regarding the extent to which Black adult daughters felt connected, validated, and supported by their mothers. The findings lend insight into Black mother-daughter relationship dynamics, particularly around the importance of communication patterns and emotional connection in the culture of discipline within families.
在人的一生中，管教方式是亲子依恋和关系质量的重要预测指标。然而，许多关于黑人家庭管教策略的研究都采用了一种有缺陷且短视的视角，这种视角聚焦于惩罚性的惩罚方式（例如打屁股或剥夺特权）。在当前这项探索性的定性研究中，我们运用了代际叙事视角和主题分析法，来探究来自美国的31位黑人母亲（年龄在25至60岁之间，平均年龄为46岁）关于她们童年时期母亲管教方式的半结构化访谈数据。我们探讨了成年黑人女儿们在童年管教经历与她们当前对自己孩子的管教方式之间建立的联系，以及她们目前与自己母亲的关系。成年女儿们对母亲管教策略的回顾性描述差异很大，我们将其归纳为三个主题：（a）惩罚性的，（b）逻辑性的，以及（c）自然性的。我们还确定了围绕母亲的管教方式如何影响她们当前对自己孩子的管教方式的三个主题：即，（d）连续性，（e）混合性，以及（f）转变性。最后，我们确定了围绕她们母女关系当前性质的三个主题：（g）紧张的，（h）发展中的，以及（i）健康的。研究结果突出了影响两代黑人女性管教策略的个人和文化因素，并表明当成年女儿们摒弃她们童年时期的经历时，往往会转向惩罚性较弱的策略。我们的探索性研究结果还指出了黑人成年女儿们在多大程度上感到与母亲有联系、得到认可和支持的模式。这些发现有助于深入了解黑人母女关系动态，特别是家庭管教文化中沟通模式和情感联系的重要性。
