1. Catheryn A. Orihuela MS, Sylvie Mrug PhD, Mary Boggiano PhD
Individual and Family Predictors of Disrespect Sensitivity in Urban Adolescents
Courtney N. Tindell, Meredith A. Henry PhD, Sylvie Mrug PhD, and Kristina L. McDonald PhD
Reciprocal Relationships Between Emotional Regulation and Eating Motives in African Americans Adolescents
Catheryn A. Orihuela MS, Sylvie Mrug PhD, Mary Boggiano PhD
Background
Disrespect sensitivity is a tendency to interpret others’ actions as disrespectful towards oneself (McDonald & Asher, 2013).
Disrespect plays a key role in the ”Code of the street”, unwritten rules of conduct in urban areas (Jackson-Gilfort et al., 2001).
Disrespect sensitivity is a risk factor for physical aggression (Butler & Maruna, 2009), but little is known about its correlates.
Parental nurturance increases self-esteem and tolerance (Hunter, Barber, & Stolz, 2014), and thus may decrease disrespect sensitivity.
Parental harsh discipline may increase disrespect sensitivity due to perceptions of parental disrespect (Barber et al., 2012).
Individual and family demographics may also relate to disrespect sensitivity.
This study examines individual and family correlates of disrespect sensitivity, after accounting for physical aggression.
Discussion
Age, parental harsh discipline, and physical aggression were positively correlated with and uniquely predicted disrespect sensitivity.
Older youth are more sensitive to disrespect, perhaps because they have had more experiences with being disrespected or because they expect to be shown more respect.
Parental harsh discipline may sensitize youth to perceive disrespect in ambiguous situations, perhaps through increasing anger (Rhoades et al., 2011)
Contrary to expectations, parental nurturance was not a significant correlate or predictor of disrespect sensitivity.
It is possible that parental nurturance may play a role in disrespect sensitivity among younger adolescents, given increasing role of peers and declining role of parents during adolescence (Helsen et al., 2000).
Gender and family SES were not related to disrespect sensitivity among youth from low-income urban communities.
Interventions to reduce violence among inner city youth should take into account the predictors of disrespect sensitivity.
Interventions addressing parental discipline strategies and violence prevention may help decrease disrespect sensitivity
Future research should include larger and more diverse samples and use longitudinal design.
Analyses and Results
Descriptive statistics
Disrespect Sensitivity: M = 3.15 (SD = .60) – between ‘Unsure’ (3) and Agree (4)
Average family income—$20,000-$25,000/year
49% reported engaging in some aggression in last month
91% reported high parental nurturance (score higher than 1 on a 1-3 scale)
85% experienced some harsh discipline from a parent (score higher than 1 on a 1-4 scale)
Pearson’s correlations
Greater disrespect sensitivity was linked with age, physical aggression, and parental harsh discipline (Table 1).
Table 1. Correlations among Variables 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
1. Disrespect sensitivity
.28*
.03
-.02
.31**
.08
2. Age --
-.19
-.21
-.01
3. Female
-.13
.09
-.14
4. SES
-.08
.27*
5. Physical aggression
.15
.02
6. Parental harsh discipline
.25*
7. Parental nurturance
Sample
75 adolescents, mean age 16.1 years
52% female
95% African American, 4% Caucasian
Measures
Socioeconomic status. Average of standardized maternal education and family income.
Disrespect sensitivity. The Disrespect Sensitivity measure (McDonald, 2008)
Average of 10-items rated 1-5
Physical aggression. The Problem Behavior Frequency Scale (Farrell et al., 2016)
18 items of aggression in the last 30 days
Rated 1-4 and averaged
Parental nurturance. The Parental Nurturance scale (Barnes et al., 1990)
Average of 5 items rated 1-3
Parental harsh discipline. The Harsh Discipline Scale (Ge et al., 1994)
Average of 5 items rated 1-4
Note. *p < .05, **p < .01
Table 2. Predictors of Disrespect Sensitivity
Regression model
A linear regression was used to examine unique predictors of disrespect sensitivity.
Older age, physical aggression, and parental harsh discipline predicted higher disrespect sensitivity (Table 2).
Gender, parental nurturance, and family SES were not significant predictors of disrespect sensitivity (p > .21).
Bibliography
Barber, B. K., Xia, M., Olsen, J. A., Mcneely, C. A., & Bose, K. (2012). Feeling disrespected by parents: Refining the measurement and understanding of psychological control. Journal of Adolescence, 35(2),
Barnes, G.M., Farrell, M.P., & Windle, M. (1987). Parent-adolescent interactions in the development of alcohol abuse and other deviant behaviors. Family Perspective, 21(4),
Butler, M., & Maruna, S. (2009). The impact of disrespect on prisoners’ aggression: outcomes of experimentally inducing violence-supportive cognitions. Psychology, Crime & Law, 15(2-3),
Crowther, B., Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. Contemporary Sociology, 7(6), 742.
Farrell, A. D., Sullivan, T. N., Goncy, E. A., & Le, A. H. (2016). Assessment of adolescents’ victimization, aggression, and problem behaviors: Evaluation of the Problem Behavior Frequency Scale. Psychological Assessment, 28(6),
Ge, X., Conger, R.D., Lorenz, F.O., & Simons, R.L. (1994). Parents’ stressful life events and adolescent depressed mood. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35,
Helsen, M., Vollebergh, W., & Meeus, W. (2000). Social support from parents and friends and emotional problems in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(3),
Hunter, S. B., Barber, B. K., & Stolz, H. E. (2014). Extending knowledge of parents’ role in adolescent development: The mediating effect of self-esteem. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(8),
Jackson-Gilfort, A., Liddle, H. A., Tejeda, M. J., & Dakof, G. A. (2001). Facilitating engagement of African American male adolescents in family therapy: A cultural theme process study. Journal of Black Psychology, 27(3),
McDonald, K. L. (2008). Interpretations and beliefs associated with children's revenge goals in conflict situations (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Duke University.
McDonald, K. L., & Asher, S. R. (2013). College students' revenge goals across friend, romantic partner, and roommate contexts: The role of interpretations and emotions. Social Development, 22(3),
Rhoades, K. A., Leve, L. D., Harold, G. T., Neiderhiser, J. M., Shaw, D. S., & Reiss, D. (2011). Longitudinal pathways from marital hostility to child anger during toddlerhood: Genetic susceptibility and indirect effects via harsh parenting. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(2),
Beta
P-value
Age
.36**
.002
Gender
.05
.68
SES
-.06
.63
Physical aggression
.31**
.006
Parental harsh discipline
.33**
Parental nurturance
.15
.21