Parenting influences from the pulpit: Religious affiliation as a determinant of parental corporal punishment (original) (raw)
Related papers
1986
This study investigates why some parents deviate from American norms on childrearing and decide to use no form of physical punishment. Based on the percentage of American parents who use physical punishment, the views of popular childrearing manuals, relevant laws and court cases it is concluded that the use of physical punishment of children in American society is a context where the use of physical force is legitimate. To locate non-spanking parents, questionnaires were distributed to parents of all first, second and third graders in a eastern seacoast town of approximately 27,000 people. Of those who returned the questionnaires, 87% reported using physical punishment. Among those who spank, 60% said they used it for rule violation and found it to be effective in childrearing. Forty percent reported that they used it when the parents themselves were tired, frustrated or out of control. These parents said nothing about the behavior of their children as being related to the use of p...
Appalachian State University, 2019
There is a growing body of research that suggests that corporal punishment results in an increased risk for behavioral and emotional problems in both the short-and long-term for those children who are subjected to it. Corporal punishment is still a widely used form of discipline, especially within the Conservative Protestant religion. Given the normative use of corporal punishment for this community, it is possible that children from this environment would be less negative about this form of discipline than their peers who come from an environment where it is not normative. This study compares preschoolers' and their mothers' views about the acceptability, fairness, and effectiveness of spankingthe most common form of corporal punishmentfrom within and outside of the Conservative Protestant community. Children ages 4-to 5-years-old and their mothers (or primary caregivers) heard nine vignettes about preschool characters who committed common physical (e.g., hitting), social conventional (e.g., using your hands to eat) or prudential (e.g., lighting matches) transgressions and answered several questions about the appropriateness of using spanking as a consequence for each misbehavior. Caregivers also answered a questionnaire about their v religious beliefs and parenting practices. Results revealed no difference between conservative Protestant children and their mother's views but a significant difference between conservative Protestant mothers and non-conservative Protestants. Furthermore, acceptability of spanking varied by transgression, where mothers viewed spanking as the most okay for prudential transgressions and children for social transgressions. The current study is a first step in exploring mother-child beliefs about corporal punishment within and outside of a religious community that supports it.
The Predictors of Parental Use of Corporal Punishment
Family Relations, 2007
Despite a great deal of evidence that corporal punishment is harmful, corporal punishment is still very prevalent worldwide. We examine predictors of different types of corporal punishment among Ukrainian mothers in 12 communities across Ukraine. Findings suggest that maternal spirituality, maternal coping styles, family communication, and some demographic characteristics are predictive of mothers' use of corporal punishment.
Religious Preference and Spanking Beliefs: Implications for School Corporal Punishment Policies
IARS'International Research Journal, 2013
American spanking beliefs were investigated by religious preference. Proportions agreeing with spanking were largest for Protestant (81%), followed by Catholic (69%). The association between Protestant and agreement with spanking (b=.718) was surprisingly strong considering associations with Catholic, Jewish, None, and Other were all inverse. The smaller Jewish proportion agreeing with spanking (51%) and the very strong inverse relationship between Jewish and agreement with spanking (b= -1.072) were unexpected. A separate analysis found large Christian (81%) and small Moslem (51%) proportions agreeing with spanking. Corporal punishment policies reflect American collective conscience on spanking. Deeper understandings of relationships between religious preference and spanking beliefs help stakeholders become aware of cultural undercurrents affecting school environments.
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2011
Does Conservative Protestantism Moderate the Association Between Corporal Punishment and Child Outcomes? Using longitudinal data from a sample of 456 focal children in the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), this study examined two research questions: (a) Does corporal punishment of young children (ages 2 -4 at baseline) predict increases in levels of externalizing and internalizing problems over a 5year study period? (b) Does the religion of the mother-specifically, her conservative Protestant affiliation and conservative beliefs about the Bible-moderate the estimated net effects of corporal punishment? Results revealed that early spanking alone was not associated with adjustment difficulties, but spanking that persisted into or began in middle childhood was associated with difficulties. In contrast to their counterparts from other (or no) religious backgrounds, children whose mothers belonged to
For generations, parents have viewed spanking and slapping as important, though perhaps regrettable, methods of discipline for ensuring the appropriate social development of their children. As the proverbial dictum warns, to spare the rod is to spoil the child. To be sure, some parents abjure corporal punishment entirely, and other parents employ it as an infrequent and last resort, but corporal punishment of children has wide and deep roots in American society.This broad social imprimatur of corporal punishment is reflected in the law. Court decisions regularly show a good deal of tolerance for corporal punishment of children. Indeed, in the absence of significant bruising or worse, corporal punishment by parents does not run afoul of prohibitions against child abuse.Yet when we compare the legal acceptability of corporal punishment with the view of medical and other experts in child rearing and family violence, we see a substantial gap. Child-rearing experts are far less tolerant ...
Corporal Punishment of Children: A Multi-Generational Perspective
Journal of Family Violence, 2008
This paper presents a study on the self-reported usage and attitudes toward corporal punishment (CP) by a four generation sample of Jewish families in Jerusalem. The study included 655 participants: 200 adolescents, 208 young mothers, 199 old mothers, and 48 grandmothers, and tested for inter-generational and familial role differences. Results have shown that participants' attitudes toward CP correlates significantly with age group; however, it does not correlate with family role. Implications of the results for practitioners who seek to reduce usage of CP are suggested.
1991
This study examined the correspondence between parents' and children's orientations toward the use of physical punishment. A series of vignettes concerning child misbehavior was shown to children and their parents. Subjects were asked to assess the likelihood of their responding to the situation shown by spanking the child in the vignette. Attitudes toward spanking, and the frequency of spanking in the parent-child relationship, were assessed. Few sex differences were found. For 5-year-olds, there was a correlation between parents' spanking beliefs and children's reports of being spanked, but no correlation between parents' spanking beliefs and children's responses to the vignettes. For eight-year-olds, there was a decreased correlation between parents' beliefs and children's reports of being spanked. For college students, there were few correlations between parents' beliefs and children's reports of being spanked, but higher correlations between students' responses to the vignette and students' perceptions of their parents' intentions and attitudes. Students' perceptions of parental attitudes about physical punishment were found to predict students' own attitudes. The data appears to mean that children's perceptions of their parents' beliefs about punishment are more significant than actual parental practices. A list of five references is provided. (BC)
Corporal Punishment: Current Rates from a National Survey
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Objectives To assess the prevalence of corporal punishment usage in the US population. Methods This study was based on a 2014 cross-sectional, telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of US households with children. Reports about spanking of 0-9 year olds were obtained from parents, while reports about 10-17 year olds were obtained from the youth themselves. Results The survey suggested that a majority of children in the US were not subject to corporal punishment in 2014. The rate was 49% in the past year for children ages 0-9, 23% for youth 10-17 and 37% overall. Rates of spanking were lower for girls compared to boys, Northeasterners compared to Southerners, and whites compared to blacks. They were also lower among those with a graduate education, and families with fewer than 3 children. The proportion of children subject to corporal punishment had declined by 2014 compared to other national surveys conducted in 1975 and 1985. This is in line with other studies showing declines of 26-40% in the spanking of kindergarden age children from 1988 to 2011. Conclusion The trends suggest a continuing reduction of spanking in the population. Because of growing research and advocacy about this practice both nationally and internationally, it may be that awareness is having some impact and it will continue to decline.