Abstract
Purpose
In Sierra Leone, violent discipline has been rarely studied, although it has been shown to predict poor outcomes elsewhere. Our purpose was to examine which discipline practices a sample of vulnerable Sierra Leonean caregivers are willing to use and their associations with caregiver–child relationship quality.
Method
Surveys were conducted with N = 113 pairs of caregivers and their 9-to-13-year-old children around Bo, Sierra Leone, who were enrolled in a program for families at risk of separation. Descriptive statistics and item response theory analysis examined caregivers’ willingness to use discipline practices and their normativity among caregivers. Pearson’s correlations examined discipline and relationship quality; multiple linear regression did the same while controlling for demographics.
Results
Caregivers were most willing to hit a child with an object or hand and least willing to ignore the child, withhold food, or use pain-causing punishments like “knee-walking.” The violent discipline scale predicted worse attachment and caregiver-reported violent discipline predicted worse rejection. The IRT analysis revealed that the discipline practices that reflected a higher latent severity of the discipline construct (e.g., ignoring) were those that were more strongly associated with poor relationship quality, whereas highly normative practices (e.g., beating with an object) exhibited weaker associations.
Conclusions
Our study uncovered the prevalence of several discipline methods used in Sierra Leone but rarely included in Western-derived measures. Parenting interventions aimed at improving child and family outcomes should particularly discourage ignoring, shaming, and pain-causing punishments. Policymakers should also consider addressing psychological aggression and emotional abuse in child rights legislation rather than corporal punishment alone.
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Data Availability
Data and other materials used in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Funding
This work was supported by the Christian Alliance for Orphans Research Challenge Grant; SEN’s time was also supported by NIMH T32 MH078788. The sponsors had no role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.
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Sarah E. Neville: Conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, methodology, visualization, writing—original draft. Cara M. Antonaccio: Formal analysis, writing—original draft, methodology, visualization. Laura Horvath: Funding acquisition, writing—review and editing. Yasmine Vaughan: Funding acquisition, writing—review and editing.
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SEN and CMA have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. LH and YV are employed by Helping Children Worldwide.
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Neville, S.E., Antonaccio, C.M., Horvath, L. et al. Normativity of Culturally-Specific Discipline Practices and Linkages to Caregiver–Child Relationship Quality in Sierra Leone. J Fam Viol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-026-01108-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-026-01108-y