Harsh Parenting Scale – Chinese Version

Description

Early research primarily defined harsh parenting as a range of aggressive behaviors exhibited by parents toward children, such as yelling, spanking, slapping, pushing, and hitting with objects. Most studies have focused on physical and verbal aggression from parents, with fewer investigating psychological aggression, coercion, and control. Later studies have identified that harsh parenting also includes parents expressing negative emotions or attitudes such as annoyance, indifference, anger, insensitivity, and emotional instability. Overall, harsh parenting encompasses various forms of physical aggression, verbal aggression, psychological aggression, coercive and controlling behaviors. However, harsh parenting is not synonymous with authoritarian or strict parenting styles, necessitating further differentiation among these concepts. Bakhla et al. categorized parenting styles into authoritarian, democratic, and indulgent parenting based on the level of control. Calafat and Juan classified parenting styles into four types according to strictness and warmth: authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful parenting. In their typology, both authoritative and authoritarian parenting are regarded as strict parenting styles, making authoritarian parenting a subset of strict parenting. Through deeper research, key indicators such as hostile language, lack of reasoned guidance, and coercion/control within authoritarian parenting have increasingly been incorporated into the definition of harsh parenting, thereby making authoritarian parenting also a part of harsh parenting. Thus, authoritative and authoritarian parenting together constitute strict parenting, while authoritarian and other forms of harsh parenting collectively make up harsh parenting, indicating that authoritarian parenting is an intersection of strict and harsh parenting. Numerous studies have shown that harsh parenting significantly impacts children’s mental and physical health, as well as their social adaptability, leading to a series of behavioral and psychological issues. In addition to impairing children’s capacity for self-control, harsh parenting can lead to the development of poor emotional regulation strategies. For instance, research by Shields and Cicchetti indicates that children raised in harsh parenting environments are more prone to emotional dysregulation, overreactivity, and impulsiveness. Bordy and Yu found that children growing up in environments characterized by harsh parenting are more likely to resort to expressing anger as a means of resolving problems. According to social learning theory, this may be because the aggressive behaviors and words of parents provide children with incorrect behavioral models, subsequently increasing their aggressive and destructive actions. It can be argued that harsh parenting is a risk factor for delinquent behavior and substance abuse among adolescents. Furthermore, harsh parenting can also lead to internalized problems and adaptation issues in teenagers. For example, the research by Miao Tian, Wang Juanjuan, and Song Guangwen (2018) suggests that parents using critical punishment and other harsh parenting techniques often provoke more depressive thought patterns, negative emotions, and depressive experiences in adolescents. A study by Wang (2017) indicated that harsh and inconsistent parenting strategies damage children’s social skills and can lead to interpersonal difficulties.

Authors and Contact Email

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Purpose

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Test Year

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Administration Method and Scoring

The description of the harsh parenting questionnaire is provided below. Please select the appropriate answer based on your actual situation regarding how your parents treat you when you make mistakes or upset them. The higher the total score, the more severe the extent of harsh parenting. The questionnaire involved students from a certain junior high school in Wuhan, including first and second-year students (335 individuals) and students from a senior high school in Wuhan, including first and second-year students (463 individuals). A total of 800 questionnaires were distributed, 798 were returned, and 782 were valid, resulting in an effective recovery rate of 98%. Among them, there were 436 boys (55.8%) and 342 girls (43.7%), with 4 missing gender information. The ages of the participating students ranged from 11 to 18 years.

Reliability and Validity

Information not available.

Factors and Subscales

Father’s harsh parenting: 1.54±0.70
Mother’s harsh parenting: 1.6±0.63
Using convenience sampling, the survey focused on three schools in Shaanxi and Shandong provinces, involving 680 adolescents, with 657 valid questionnaires returned and an efficiency of 97%. The average age of participants was 15.40 years (SD=1.39), including 291 boys and 366 girls; in the first year of junior high school, there were 124 participants, 138 in the second year, 197 in the first year of senior high school, and 198 in the second year.

Harsh parenting: 2.23±0.97
Using cluster sampling, a survey was conducted with 451 students in grades 3 to 6 at a primary school in Beijing, with all participating students voluntarily agreeing, and consent obtained from the school, teachers, and parents. A total of 451 questionnaires were distributed and collected, with 23 invalid ones excluded, resulting in 428 effective questionnaires and an efficiency of 94.90%.
Harsh parenting: 13.45±5.95
Mother’s harsh parenting: 7.08±3.50
Father’s harsh parenting: 6.36±3.24

Through online distribution, questionnaires were sent to university students, with 500 questionnaires distributed and 469 valid ones returned, resulting in an efficiency of 93.80%. Among them, there were 246 boys (52.45%) and 243 girls (47.55%).
Parents’ harsh parenting: 1.74±0.64
Using convenience sampling, two middle schools in Xinyang were selected, collecting 896 valid questionnaires. All subjects were aged between 11 and 18 years (M=14.07; SD=1.64), including 439 boys and 457 girls; 453 in junior high school and 443 in senior high school.
Harsh parenting: 1.83±0.83

Keywords

Harsh Parenting, Adolescent Health, Emotional Regulation, Family Dynamics, Behavioral Issues

Items in Chinese

1. 当我做错事时，我的妈妈对我发脾气，甚至对我喊叫。
2. 当我做错事时，我的妈妈用手打我或用脚踢我。
3. 当我被惩罚时，我的妈妈曾用皮带、尺板或其他工具打我。
4. 当我做错事时，我的妈妈会叫我滚出去，甚至把我锁在屋外。
5. 当我做错事时，我的爸爸对我发脾气，甚至对我喊叫。
6. 当我做错事时，我的爸爸用手打我或用脚踢我。
7. 当我被惩罚时，我的爸爸曾用皮带、尺板或其他工具打我。
8. 当我做错事时，我的爸爸会叫我滚出去，甚至把我锁在屋外。

Items in English

1. When I make a mistake, my mother gets angry at me and even yells at me.
2. When I make a mistake, my mother hits me with her hand or kicks me.
3. When I am punished, my mother has hit me with a belt, ruler, or other tools.
4. When I make a mistake, my mother tells me to go away or even locks me out.
5. When I make a mistake, my father gets angry at me and even yells at me.
6. When I make a mistake, my father hits me with his hand or kicks me.
7. When I am punished, my father has hit me with a belt, ruler, or other tools.
8. When I make a mistake, my father tells me to go away or even locks me out.

References

Miao Tian, Wang Juanjuan, Song Guangwen. 粗暴养育与青少年抑郁的关系: 一个有调节的中介模型[J]. 中国特殊教育, 2018(06):71-77.
Xin Lu. 粗暴养育对网络游戏成瘾的影响机制及其干预[D]. 华中师范大学, 2019.
Yang Yuhua. 粗暴养育对小学生攻击行为的链式中介作用及沙盘游戏的干预研究[D]. 北京林业大学, 2021. DOI: 10.26949/d.cnki.gblyu.2021.000828.
Zhao Lili, Zhang Ye. 父母粗暴养育对大学生网络攻击行为的影响：反刍思维和特质正念的作用[J]. 潍坊工程职业学院学报, 2023, 36(05):78-84.
Wei Hua, Zhu Liyue, Chen Wu, et al. 粗暴养育对手机成瘾的影响：体验回避模型的视角[J]. 中国临床心理学杂志, 2021, 29(03):501-505. DOI: 10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2021.03.011.