Do Guyanese mothers' levels of warmth moderate the association between harshness and justness of physical punishment and preschoolers' prosocial behaviours and anger?

This study assessed the moderating role of Indo-Guyanese mothers' warmth and affection on the associations between harshness and justness of physical punishment and prosocial behaviours and anger in preschoolers. One hundred and thirty-nine rural Indo-Guyanese mothers filled out Rohner's Parental Acceptance-Rejection (PARQ) and Physical Punishment Questionnaires (PPQ). Teachers provided assessments of children's prosocial behaviours and anger in preschool settings. Maternal warmth did not moderate the relationship between harshness of physical punishment and children's prosocial behaviours and anger, but it did moderate the relationship between justness of physical punishment and prosocial behaviours for sons as well as the association between justness of physical punishment and anger for daughters. In Caribbean societies where harsh punishment is normative, maternal warmth may work more effectively with justness, and not with harshness of physical punishment, to lower negative childhood behavioural outcomes.