The Predictors of Parental Use of Corporal Punishment

Abstract

Corporal punishment has been the focus of considerable study over the past decade. Some recent research suggesting that the use of corporal punishment may have significant long-term negative effects on children has prompted increasing exploration and interest in the issue. We used tobit regression analysis and data from the 2000 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine both the prevalence and the chronicity of spanking in a nationally representative sample of parents. Mother's characteristics (e.g., age, education) and neighborhood context did not show a relationship with parental use of corporal punishment. Among parents who used corporal punishment, being Protestant had a relatively large relationship with its use. Although children's externalizing behaviors had some association with parent's propensity to spank, findings suggest that use of corporal punishment may be better understood as part of a constellation of behaviors relating to a parenting style. Further, findings indicate that it is easier to predict the incidence of corporal punishment than to predict its frequency of use.

The Effect of Corporal Punishment and Verbal Abuse on Delinquency: Mediating Mechanisms

“…While this research provides valuable information about offending, one of our goals in this study was to investigate explicitly how these processes leading to offending may differ for males and females. Additionally, there is reason to believe that not only does the use of corporal punishment differ by gender-parents are more likely to spank boys (Dietz 2000;Grogan-Kaylor and Otis 2007;Day et al 1998)-the response to that punishment may differ as well. There is some evidence indicating (elaborated below) that females are more likely to respond to parental hostility with internalized emotions, such as depression, rather than externalized behaviors such as delinquency (Jang 2007).…”

“…In addition, research suggests that parents are more likely to physically punish boys (Dietz 2000;Grogan-Kaylor and Otis 2007;Day et al 1998). Finally, there is some evidence that females are more likely to respond to parental hostility with internalized feelings, such as depression, instead of externalized feelings of anger.…”

First-Year Female College Students’ Academic Motivation as a Function of Perceived Parenting Styles: A Contextual Perspective

“…According to Baumrind's (1967Baumrind's ( , 1971) typology, authoritarian parents stress obedience, exhibit highly directive behaviors, and tend to favor more punitive measures of discipline management (Gracia and Herrero 2008;Grogan-Kaylor and Otis 2007). Authoritarian parenting does not foster psychological autonomy and holds back the development of adolescents' individuation; therefore, this type of parenting is associated with extrinsic academic motivation, anxious, and withdrawn behavior (Ahmed 2013;Alt and Geiger 2012).…”

The Role of Parental Stress, Mother’s Childhood Abuse and Perceived Consequences of Violence in Predicting Attitudes and Attribution in Favor of Corporal Punishment

“…Several researchers condemn these methods for their lack of scientifically proven positive results, their potentially negative consequences for the child, and their links to other forms of more severe physical and psychological violence (Straus 2001). In fact, more and more longitudinal research demonstrates the harmful effects of corporal punishment on the child's social development and on his or her behavioral problems (Grogan-Kaylor and Otis 2007;Mulvaney and Mebert 2007). The research also shows that there is sometimes a thin line between corporal punishment and the more severe forms violence and that there is often a risk of escalation from one to the other (Clément et al 2000;Straus 2001).…”