And the Beat Goes On

Inappropriate child rearing practices as perceived by jewish immigrant parents from the former soviet union

The purpose of the present study was to determine, in a Canadian sample, the extent to which corporal or physical punishment use continues, personal experiences, and current attitudes. Of the 436 participants, 75% reported receiving physical punishment as children. Approximately 40% of participants agreed that corporal punishment is necessary as a means of discipline. Since parental attitude toward physical punishment has been determined to be an important predictor in its use with children, the authors recommend that parent education programming must include information related to its risks.

35.2 THE SILENT EFFECT OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN IN RURAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS: HELPING SCHOOLS UNDERSTAND THE TRAUMA

Introduction: School experience has remarkable effect on emotional and personal development of children. Intended developments can be achieved through qualified education. It is quite a challenging fact that corporal punishment is still being used in the schools of Nepal as reported in the news papers and other literature. However, there is littlie information about the knowledge and atitude of teachers towards corporal punishment.Objecive: To assess knowledge and atitude and to identify the association between the selected variables and knowledge and attitude towards corporal punishment among primary school teachers of Biratnagar Sub-Metropolitan City.Methodology Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Biratnagar Sub-metropolitan City, Nepal. A total of 160 primary school teachers were included using total enumeration sampling technique. Data were collected by using self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire and Likert Scale. Written consent was taken from each participant and ethical approval was taken from Institutional Review Board of B.P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS.Results All respondents had heard about corporal punishment but most of them were not clear about the rules against corporal punishment in schools. The mean percentage score of knowledge was 58.81 ± 19.34 and for attitude 56.30 ± 6.98. There was a positive correlation (r=0.455, p <0.001) between knowledge and attitude towards corporal punishment. Majority of respondents scored less than the mean score. Females and government school teachers' knowledge and attitude were found to be more positive.Conclusion The study revealed that the teaching experience, training regarding corporal punishment and childhood experience of corporal punishment were significantly associated with teachers' knowledge and attitude. The government should begin public awareness campaigns to disseminate information on corporal punishment as violence through different media.Birat Journal of Health SciencesVol.2/No.3/Issue 4/Sep- Dec 2017, Page: 248-254

The study investigates the occurrence of childhood corporal punishment at home on a sample of participants who resided in the northeast of Malaysia, Kelantan. The Discipline Questionnaire (DQ) - a 32-item self-report instrument was completed by 196 medical students studying in fourth and fifth year at School of Medical Sciences Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The participants were asked about the type, frequency, and severity of parental corporal punishment they remembered to receive at home during childhood, in addition to their attitudes toward corporal punishment on children. Sixty three percent of participants remembered being corporally punished at home, as children. Only 3% of them reported that the punishment reaches an abusive level – which was defined as physical punishment that results in welts, bruises, bone fractures or breaks, or large/deep cuts. Pinching was the most commonly reported types of punishment used at home (35%), followed by slapping on the hand, arm or leg (31%), whipping using flexible material such as leather or rope (23%), and spanking/slapping on the buttocks with open hand (20%). The study indicates that on average the participants had a fairly favorable attitude towards corporal punishment. The findings suggest that majority of parents in Malaysia have been using corporal punishment on their children – primarily of mild types. Generally, the participants have had a fairly favorable attitude towards corporal punishment. Corporal punishment in this context is not perceived as an action of abusing a child, but rather one of many ways to teach the child a lesson in life.

Objective: This study tested whether the longitudinal effects of mothers’ and fathers’ corporal punishment on children’s aggression would vary depending on the context of the parent-child relationship (gender of the parent-child dyad, other parenting practices). Method: Participants were 325 children (Mage = 7.44 years, SD = .50) and their parents from Estonia who participated in a longitudinal study. Both mothers and fathers filled out measures of parenting practices in Grade 1 (corporal punishment, warmth, behavioral and psychological control). Teachers rated children’s aggressive behavior in Grade 1 and 3. Results: We found that the effects of both mothers’ and fathers’ corporal punishment on changes in children’s aggressive behavior were conditional. In contexts that were characterized by a lack of parental warmth or overuse of behavioral control, corporal punishment was associated with increases in aggression; in parent-child relationships with high levels of parental affection or low levels of behavioral control, it was unrelated to, or associated with, decreases in aggression. Some of these conditional effects were specific to the gender of the parent and the child. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that we should try to better understand the complexities of different parent-child relationships that magnify vs. minimize the negative consequences of corporal punishment.

There is a significant number of Hadith and Sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w in regard to the importance of education with additional examples set by the Prophet s.a.w himself. Among the scope of education emphasized by the Prophet s.a.w is early childhood education. Islamic scholars are of the opinion that corporal punishment or caning is the last resort in educating children. However, corporal punishment at schools has been polemical, where strong arguments have been made on the premises that the punishment is humiliating, stringent, inhumane and abusive. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the application of Sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w in the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) school corporal punishment guidelines in Malaysia. This qualitative study examined the data collected from classical fiqh texts (primarily hadith) concerning corporal punishment or canning as well as data from various MOE school corporal guidelines, e.g. MOE circulars on student offences and canning. Content analysis was employed as both data collection and data analysis methods. A generic and inductive qualitative approach was used to fulfill the objectives of this study. This study discovered that corporal punishment is strongly recognized by the nas. Nonetheless, the punishment is not only restricted to caning. In fact, the findings demonstrate that in the nas, the punishment was described as a means to educate, instead of merely to punish. Despite the recognition of corporal punishment as a means to educate, the findings show that there was no evidence to support that the Prophet s.a.w has executed such punishment on his children and wives, in the context of education. On the other hand, analysis of the MOE’s guidelines revealed that corporal punishment is recognized as a means of education. However, the data shows that MOE’s guidelines are not fully consistent with the nas, i.e Sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w on corporal punishment as a means of education. Thus, it is strongly recommended that some improvements need to be made to ensure that the objective of corporal punishment is in line with the Sunnah, i.e. for the punishment to be applied as a means of education instead of solely a means of punishment.

Although Serbia has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and thus committed itself to a complete ban on the corporal punishment in all settings, including home, very little is known about what kind of parents punish their children, how frequently and what their attitudes on this topic are. The objectives of the study presented in this article were: to determine what beliefs prevail among parents of preschool children in terms of corporal punishment of children, what is the incidence of corporal punishment in the upbringing of children of preschool age, and whether differences between parents regarding the use of corporal punishment in the upbringing of children of preschool age could be explained by the socio-demographic, individually psychological factors and experiences of parents in coparenting. The study included 293 parents of both genders, whose children attended preschools in Belgrade, Novi Sad and municipality of Alibunar. The respondents filled out a questionnaire that included various issues related to sociodemographic and individually psychological factors, a questionnaire on Attitude towards corporal punishment, a questionnaire on Beliefs about corporal punishment, as well as the questionnaire on Experiences in coparenting. The results have shown that parents believe that physical punishment harms a child (71%), that the child can be punished sometimes, or in exceptional cases but only slightly (about 50%). When it comes to the prohibition of corporal punishment, 46% of parents believe that it should be introduced. On the issue of the incidence of corporal punishment, 41% of parents have never applied corporal punishment, while 59% of them have applied corporal punishment: 45% of them on an annual, 12% on a monthly, 1% on a weekly, and 1% on an everyday basis. Parents with three or more children, who have experienced corporal punishment during their own childhood and those who have a more positive attitude towards corporal punishment are more likely to apply corporal punishment in the upbringing of their children. Younger parents are also more likely to punish children, however when we take into account the socio-demographic factors only. Experiences in coparenting are correlated with, but in the context of other predictors do not provide unique contribution to the predicton of the use of corporal punishment. Further research are needed in order to obtain more precise and broader picture about this subject.

Parental corporal punishment and children's problem behaviors: The moderating effects of parental inductive reasoning in China

Corporal punishment remains the most common form of violence against children in Canada. Along with being legally permitted, it is made socially acceptable through cultural and social norms often disguised as discipline. Paraphrases of Judeo-Christian sacred texts such as “spare the rod; spoil the child” have been widely used to justify corporal punishment, and to create norms around the idea that it is a god-given responsibility of parents to inflict corporal punishment on their children “for their own good.” Corporal punishment is then not only an acceptable part of raising children but can be a godly duty. Though Canada is a secular country, this social norm provides a moral hegemony under which violence becomes the status quo and has proven very difficult to change. In this commentary, we outline the ways that Christian religion has contributed to social norms around corporal punishment. We then argue that religious leaders have an opportunity—and moral responsibility—to contribute to change. We conclude with insights from social norms theory and offer evidence-based recommendations for ways forward that could help shift attitudes around corporal punishment in order to decrease its prevalence and harm. While each of these issues has been written about extensively in isolation, this commentary offers an analysis of these matters together under one umbrella. By making this relationship between Christianity and the social norms that propagate corporal punishment more visible, we draw attention to the role leaders in Christian churches could play in disrupting the social acceptance of violence against our youngest Canadian citizens. We provide a practical and evidence-based framework, rationale, and appeal to Canadian faith leaders to use their influence to add momentum to a critical health, rights—and religion—issue in Canada.

Corporal punishment results in aggressive behaviours in students. As a result, some students leave school. Researchers believe that the issue of school dropout can be reduced by adopting different motivational techniques. Self-efficacy is one technique that can be promoted to create a caring and supportive learning environment. The issue of dropout is alarming in many Pakistani schools especially at the primary level due to the prevalence of corporal punishment and other factors. This issue prevails mostly in government schools where teachers adopt stringent steps in the teaching process. This study was specifically designed to examine the role of self-efficacy as a moderator between corporal punishment and school dropout. Many studies have explored the relations of corporal punishment with school dropout. It remains to be seen what actually moderates these relations. This study contributes to this gap in the literature by examining self-efficacy as an influencing factor. The study used a validated questionnaire to survey 300 government primary school teachers’ attitude on this issue. Results of the study indicated that corporal punishment significantly correlated with school dropout rate. Secondly, self-efficacy significantly moderates the relations between corporal punishment and school dropout. On the basis of these findings, the study concludes that teachers may reduce the issue of school dropout by creating a supportive and caring teaching and learning environment in school. Finally, the study suggests that the school administration play a key role to overcome the issue of increasing rate of school dropout by adopting rules and procedures to convince and motivate teachers to avoid corporal punishment.

Professor Straus' article addresses a key scientific question in the debate over the use of corporal punishment: whether the practice has harmful consequences to society. In my discussion I have three goals. First, I want to discuss briefly some of the methodological challenges in testing the hypothesis that child corporal punishment causes societal violence. Second, I would like to set Straus' work into a larger framework so we understand its contribution to the debate about corporal punishment, and how the evidence he provides could be used to help settle the question. Last, I will suggest a scientific approach to the study of corporal punishment that would provide a set of decision rules concerning whether accept or reject corporal punishment of children. METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES The issue of potential short- and long-term harm from corporal punishment is a major theme in the literature, and many studies have been conducted to address this issue. In his article, Straus uses two kinds of evidence: data from studies of societies; and studies comparing children who were spanked and children who were not on rates of violent behavior in adolescence or adulthood. There are several difficulties in using these scientific approaches. Societal Level Studies Straus references societal-level data from Montague1 on eight nonviolent societies, all of which raise children without use of corporal punishment, and anthropological studies of over 300 societies archived in the Human Resources Area File. He uses these data to examine whether corporal punishment is associated with violence such as assault, homicide, or wife-beating.

The current study attempted to map the relationship between corporal punishment and student motivation in public secondary schools of District Muzaffargarh, Punjab, Pakistan. This study hypothesized that there is no significant relationship between corporal punishment and student motivation in public secondary schools. It was also hypothesized that there is no significant difference between urban and rural secondary schools’ students as to facing the corporal punishment and their level of motivation. For this purpose, a correlational research design was adopted to conduct a quantitative survey. Two self-developed questionnaires were used to collect data from students selected via simple random sampling. The reliability of both questionnaires was acceptable according to the prescribed benchmarks. Simple linear regression and independent sample t-test were applied to analyze the collected data. The findings suggested that there is no relationship between corporal punishment and the motivation level of students. The finding of this study further suggested that students of rural secondary schools were facing more corporal punishment in contrast to the urban students, and consequently, their level of motivation was low. On the basis of the findings, it is recommended that strong measures should be taken by the concerned school to avoid corporal punishment, especially in rural schools.

This article tries to identify people's degree of acceptance of parental corporal punishment (CP) of children and the nature of the association of different variables, particularly the value variables with such acceptance. For this purpose, the study uses data from the World Values Survey 6 (2010-2014), which is a large survey of attitudes based on representative samples from 60 different countries (around 1,200 respondents from each). This study tested five hypotheses and two subhypotheses on individuals' acceptance of parental CP: effects of emancipative values (aspiration to autonomy and freedom), nonmasculine values, religiousness, people's dissatisfaction with life in general, and more specifically, dissatisfaction with financial and health conditions and national bans on CP. The findings show that the higher level presence of emancipative values and nonmasculine values are associated with lower support for CP. The study also finds that a number of sociodemographic variables affect the endorsement of CP; on the one hand, people with higher age and lower social classes (subjective) tend to express less support for CP, whereas on the other, people with no partners (divorced/separated/widowed/single) and men tend to express higher support for the use of parental CP. The identification of these associations can help us to develop more effective policies to address the problem of CP.

Implementation rates for corporal punishment (CP) are problematically high in Northern Ireland (NI).The government has resisted introducing legislative changes to ban corporal punishment despite repeated calls from the UNCRC. This study examined (1) links between CP and adult psychopathology and (2) characteristics of implementers and cycle breakers. Data were from 1,986 adults who completed the NI Study of Health and Stress. CP, maltreatment and parental bonding were queried using validated measures. Assessment of psychiatric disorders was based on DSM-IV criteria. Logistic regression analysis, population attributable fractions (PAFs), and chi -square tests of independence were conducted. Exposures were significantly linked with mood disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs). Forty four per cent of parents implemented CP. Maintainers (21.6%) and cycle breakers (4.7%) were more likely to have reported physical abuse, exposures to domestic violence and suffer from SUDs. Cycle breakers were more likely to be married and to have been exposed to child sexual abuse (CSA). Eliminating exposures to CP may significantly reduce the prevalence of psychopathology, particularly SUDs. Prohibition should be flanked by ongoing educational media campaigns to effectively reduce CP implementation. Targeted capacity building supports should be considered for parents who themselves were exposed to certain childhood adversities.