A brief intervention affects parents’ attitudes toward using less physical punishment (original) (raw)
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Parenting and physical punishment: primary care interventions in Latin America
Revista Panamericana De Salud Publica-pan American Journal of Public Health, 2000
Physical punishment is a form of intrafamilial violence associated with short-and long-term adverse mental health outcomes. Despite these possible consequences, it is among the most common forms of violent interpersonal behavior. For many children it begins within the first year of life. The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility of involving public sector primary health care providers to inform parents about alternatives to physical punishment. The study used a qualitative design utilizing focus groups and survey questionnaires with parents and providers at six clinic sites chosen to be representative of public sector practice settings in Costa Rica and in metropolitan Santiago, Chile. The data were collected during 1998 and 1999. In the focus groups and surveys the parents voiced a range of opinions about physical punishment. Most acknowledged its common use but listed it among their least preferred means of discipline. Frequency of its use correlated positively with the parents' belief in its effectiveness and inversely with their satisfaction with their children's behavior. Some parents wanted to learn more about discipline; others wanted help with life stresses they felt led them to use physical punishment. Parents reported they chose other family members more frequently as a source of parenting information than they did health care providers. Some parents saw providers as too rushed and not knowledgeable enough to give good advice. Providers, in turn, felt ill equipped to handle parents' questions, but many of the health professionals expressed interest in more training. Parents and providers agreed that problems of time, space, and resources were barriers to talking about child discipline in the clinics. Many parents and providers would welcome a primary-care-based program on physical punishment. Such a program would need to be customized to accommodate local differences in parent and provider attitudes and in clinic organization. Health care professionals need more training in child discipline and in the skills required to interact with parents on issues relating to child behavior.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2011
Objectives: This article presents findings on caregivers' attitudes towards physical punishment of children from 34 household surveys conducted in low-and middle-income countries in 2005 and 2006. The article analyzes the variability in attitudes by background characteristics of the respondents to examine whether various factors at the individual and family levels correlate with the caregivers' beliefs in the need for violent discipline. The article also examines to what extent attitudes influence behaviors and compares groups of respondents to see how attitudes relate to disciplinary practices across caregivers of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods: The analysis is based on nationally representative data from 33 MICS and 1 DHS surveys. Questions on child discipline were addressed to the mother (or primary caregiver) of one randomly selected child aged 2-14 years in each household. The questionnaire asked whether any member of the household had used various violent and non-violent disciplinary practices with that child during the past month. Additionally, the interviewers asked the respondent if she believed that, in order to bring up that child properly, physical punishment was necessary. The sample included 166,635 mothers/primary caregivers. Results: The analysis shows that, in most countries, the majority of mothers/primary caregivers did not think there was a need for physical punishment. Overall, characteristics such as household wealth and size, educational level and age, as well as place of residence were significantly associated with caregivers' attitudes. The analysis confirms that beliefs influence disciplinary practices to a large degree: in all the countries but two, children were significantly more likely to experience physical punishment if their mothers/primary caregivers thought such punishment was needed. However, large proportions of children were found to be subject to physical punishment even if their mothers/primary caregivers did not consider this method necessary. This discrepancy between attitudes and behaviors is observed, although to different extents, in all the countries and across groups of mothers/primary caregivers with different levels of education and wealth. Conclusions: The data presented in this article are among the few resources available to help develop a more global understanding of caregivers' motivation in using violent discipline across a multitude of low-and middle-income countries. As such, the analysis of these data provides important insights for the development of effective strategies that will promote positive parenting practices. However, further data collection and analysis are needed to fully understand the reasons why physical punishment is used-even when caregivers do not think such method is necessary-opening the door for an even sharper programmatic response to change the practice.
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...
Parents' discipline of young children: results from the National Survey of Early Childhood Health
Pediatrics, 2004
To examine the use and predictors of different discipline practices by parents of very young children using data from the 2000 National Survey of Early Childhood Health (NSECH). NSECH is a nationally representative telephone survey of 2068 parents of young children between the ages of 4 and 35 months conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. The survey includes questions about parents' use of 5 discipline practices: yelling, spanking, time out, toy removal, and explanations. chi2 analyses and logistic multivariate regression were used to examine associations between discipline practices and child, parent, and demographic factors. Among young children aged 19 to 35 months, frequent parental use of discipline strategies ranged from 26% (spanking) to 65% (taking away toy or treat), 67% (yelling), 70% (using time out), and 90% (providing explanations). In multivariate analyses, child age predicts reports of more frequent spanking and yelling, and child developmental ri...
Predictors of mothers’ use of spanking with their infants
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2008
Objectives: This study describes mothers who report spanking their infants in the first 13 months of life. Methods: Two hundred forty-six (246) mothers were interviewed in the Mother-Baby Unit of a large university-affiliated hospital in a large southeastern city of the United States. Ninety-three percent (93%) of those mothers were reinterviewed in their homes when infants were 6-13 months of age. Results: Younger mothers, those who endorsed fewer alternatives to corporal punishment, and those who experienced their infants as "difficult" were significantly more likely to spank their infants. Conclusions: The findings suggest the importance of more anticipatory guidance from physicians, nurses, social workers, and other professionals about discipline in the first few months of life, particularly given the risks associated with spanking infants and popular support for corporal punishment.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2010
Objectives: To explore the intergenerational cycle of violence, the present study examined the relationship between parental approval and children's approval of corporal punishment (CP) and the subsequent relationship between children's CP experience and preference for hitting to resolve interpersonal conflict. Method: Participants consisted of 102 families, parents, and children, ages 3-7 years old. Parents were assessed on their reported practices and beliefs about corporal punishment using 3 self-report measures. Fifty-four boys and 48 girls were interviewed by researchers to assess their approval of spanking and hitting. Results: Children whose parents approved of and used CP were more likely to endorse hitting as a strategy for resolving interpersonal conflicts with peers and siblings. Frequent spanking was the strongest predictor of children's acceptance of aggressive problem solving, above and beyond parental acceptance, parental experience of CP, and familial demographics. Conclusions: Findings supported an intergenerational cycle of violence; parents who experienced frequent corporal punishment during childhood perceived its use as acceptable and frequently spanked their children. These children, in turn, advocated that spanking be used as a disciplinary method and preferred aggressive conflict resolution strategies with peers and siblings. These findings support an additional "side effect of spanking;" when parents use CP it teaches their children that hitting is an acceptable means of dealing with conflict. Practice implications: Practitioners should encourage parents to avoid using CP as a disciplinary method which could lead to a change in the attitudes and behaviors of the next generation of parents.
Parenting Attitudes and Infant Spanking: The Influence of Childhood Experiences
Pediatrics, 2009
OBJECTIVES: To assess associations among maternal childhood experiences and subsequent parenting attitudes and use of infant spanking (IS), and determine if attitudes mediate the association between physical abuse exposure and IS. METHODS: We performed a prospective study of women who received prenatal care at community health centers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sociodemographic characteristics, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), attitudes toward corporal punishment (CP), and IS use were assessed via face-to-face interviews, conducted at the first prenatal care visit, 3 months postpartum, and 11 months postpartum. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 1265 mostly black, low-income women. Nineteen percent of the participants valued CP as a means of discipline, and 14% reported IS use. Mothers exposed to childhood physical abuse and verbal hostility were more likely to report IS use than those not exposed (16% vs 10%...
Determinants of Parental Discipline Practices: A National Sample From Primary Care Practices
Clinical Pediatrics, 2007
National guidelines urge pediatricians to address discipline as part of anticipatory guidance, yet pediatricians know little about what leads parents to use different discipline approaches. Parents seen in Pediatric Research in Office Settings practices participated in an office-based survey before the well-child visit for children 2 to 11 years old (N = 2134). Parents reported using the following discipline approaches frequently: time-outs (42%), removal of privileges (41%), sent to bedroom (27%), yelling (13%), and spanking (9%). A third of parents believe their discipline approach to be ineffective. This directs the pediatric provider to help families develop effective discipline practices tailored to their context.
Factors Associated With Discipline Counseling For Parents of Infants and Young Children
Academic Pediatrics, 2010
The aim of this study was to identify and better understand the factors associated with discipline counseling at health visits and how parents' needs for discipline counseling are being met. METHODS: Cross-sectional data analyses from the 2000 National Survey of Early Childhood Health. Participants were 1216 parents of children aged between 10 and 35 months. Main outcome measures were parents' reports that their health care provider discussed discipline practices with them in the previous year, and if not, whether this would have been helpful (an unmet need). RESULTS: Discipline counseling was more common when the health care provider discussed other developmental and psychosocial topics, did a developmental assessment, received higher ratings of family centered care and provided longer visits, and when parents indicated having the opportunity to ask all their questions. However, parents who reported less support for child rearing and parents who reported greater use of spanking were less likely to receive discipline counseling. Spanish-speaking Hispanic parents and parents who reported less support were more likely to report an unmet need for discipline counseling. Higher income respondents were less likely to report an unmet need for discipline counseling. CONCLUSION: Discipline counseling at health visits is associated with a family-centered orientation and the delivery of other developmental and psychosocial services. However, many parents who might have benefited from discipline counseling were less likely to receive it and more likely to report this as an unmet need. These data suggest that discipline counseling may be more accurately tailored to parents most likely to benefit.