Cultural, Human, and Social Capital as Determinants of Corporal Punishment

Abstract

Using the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, the authors construct and test an integrated theoretical model to predict the likelihood of parental use of corporal punishment on children in two-parent families. They show that the use of corporal punishment is primarily determined by cultural, human, and social capital that are available to, or have already been acquired by, parents. Moreover, ordered probit regression analyses indicate that the likelihood of corporal punishment can be predicted by additional exogenous factors such as parents' demographic characteristics and the extent of spousal violence. Based on these results, an integrated, resource-based theory is suggested.

Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review.

“…Particularly important is the quality of the parents' romantic relationship. Partnership in unhappy or conflictual relationships appears to engender parents' use of corporal punishment, with parents in discordant or abusive marriages more likely to use corporal punishment (Dadds, Sheffield, & Holbeck, 1990;Pinderhughes et al, 2000;Simons, Lorenz, Wu, & Conger, 1993;Straus & Kantor, 1987;Webster-Stratton, 1988a;Xu et al, 2000). Marital status itself may also influence parents' use of corporal punishment, presumably because the stress of single parenthood can precipitate a reliance on corporal punishment.…”

“…The gender of the parent is often linked with use of corporal punishment, with mothers reporting more frequent use (e.g., Day et al, 1998;Gunnoe & Mariner, 1997;Nobes et al, 1999;S. Jackson et al, 1999;Straus, 1994a;Straus & Stewart, 1999;Xu, Tung, & Dunaway, 2000). The greater frequency with which mothers use corporal punishment may be a function of the amount of time spent with the children, for women continue to be the primary caretakers of children even when they work (Biernat & Wortman, 1991).…”

“…As family size increases, support for and use of corporal punishment by parents increase (Flynn, 1994;Hashima & Amato, 1994;Paquette et al, 2000;Pinderhughes et al, 2000;Sampson & Laub, 1994;Xu et al, 2000). Particularly important is the quality of the parents' romantic relationship.…”

“…Younger parents are both more likely to use corporal punishment than older parents and to use it more frequently (Culp et al, 1999;Day et al, 1998;Giles-Sims et al, 1995;Gunnoe & Mariner, 1997;Kelley et al, 1993;Straus & Stewart, 1999;Wissow, 2001;Xu et al, 2000). The increased incidence for younger mothers may be confounded with their lack of experience with children; over 90% of a sample of low-income adolescent mothers of toddlers reported that they had used corporal punishment for age-appropriate child behaviors, such as the child "wanting to eat other than at mealtime" or the child "not learning quickly enough" (Culp et al, 1999).…”

Perceived Social Norms, Expectations, and Attitudes toward Corporal Punishment among an Urban Community Sample of Parents

“…12 Approval of CP use also is high with nearly three quarters of US adults thinking it is okay and sometimes necessary to spank a child; 13,14 however, such findings tend to vary demographically with approval being highest in the South 15 and among Blacks, 16 Conservative Protestants, 17 persons with lower socioeconomic status (SES) and education 18 , and persons who experienced CP as a child. 19,20 Such a link, however, has been more equivocal among adults that were physically or psychologically abused as children.…”