Parental Harsh Discipline in Intergenerational Transmission of Anxiety in China: A Longitudinal Actor-Partner Interdependence Analysis

The present study investigated the intergenerational transmission of anxiety from both mothers and fathers to children in Chinese migrant families and the mediating roles of both parents' harsh discipline (psychological aggression and corporal punishment). Four hundred seventy nine intact families with at least one migrant child were followed prospectively, with data collected from multiple informants at three time points half a year apart. A longitudinal multiple mediation model in combination with an actor-partner interdependent model (APIM) was used to examine the mediating roles of both parents' harsh discipline in the intergenerational transmission of anxiety. Results indicated that anxiety was transmitted across generations from mothers (but not fathers) to migrant children. Significant actor effects of mothers' and fathers' anxiety on their own harsh discipline were found, while no significant partner effects were observed. Mothers' psychological aggression played an important role in the intergenerational transmission of anxiety from mothers to migrant children. The findings suggest that interventions and prevention efforts focusing on reduction of children's anxiety would benefit from decreasing mothers' anxiety and psychological aggression.