Predictors of Adult Attitudes Toward Corporal Punishment of Children

This study identifies predictors of favorable attitudes toward spanking. Analyses were performed with survey data collected from a representative sample of 1,000 adults from Quebec, Canada. According to this survey, a majority of respondents endorsed spanking, despite their recognition of potential...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of interpersonal violence 2007-10, Vol.22 (10), p.1285-1304
Main Authors: Gagné, Marie-Hélène, Tourigny, Marc, Joly, Jacques, Pouliot-Lapointe, Joëlle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Aged
Attitude
Attitudes
Canada
Child
Child Abuse
Child Abuse - psychology
Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data
Child development
Child Rearing - psychology
Childrearing Practices
Children & youth
Corporal Punishment
Correlation
Cross-Sectional Studies
Family relationships
Family Violence
Female
Foreign Countries
Humans
Injuries
Male
Middle Aged
Parent Child Relations
Parenting - psychology
Parents - psychology
Prediction
Predictors
Prevention
Punishment
Punishment - psychology
Quebec
Quebec - epidemiology
School violence
Smacking
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys
Surveys and Questionnaires
Violence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study identifies predictors of favorable attitudes toward spanking. Analyses were performed with survey data collected from a representative sample of 1,000 adults from Quebec, Canada. According to this survey, a majority of respondents endorsed spanking, despite their recognition of potential harm associated with corporal punishment (CP) of children. The prediction model of attitudes toward spanking included demographics, experiencing or witnessing various forms of family violence and abuse in childhood, and perceived frequency of physical injuries resulting from CP. Spanking was the most reported childhood experience (66.4%), and most violence and abuse predictors were significantly and positively correlated. Older respondents who were spanked in childhood and who believed that spanking never or seldom results in physical injuries were the most in favor of spanking. On the other hand, respondents who reported more severe physical violence or psychological abuse in childhood were less in favor of spanking. Findings are discussed in terms of prevention of CP and family coercion cycle.
ISSN:0886-2605
1552-6518
DOI:10.1177/0886260507304550