There Was an Old Women Who Lived in a Shoe: Number of Children and Corporal Punishment

Date

1997

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of New Hampshire Family Research Laboratory

Abstract

Spanking and other legal forms of corporal punishment (CP) by parents is associated with maladaptive behavior in both childhood and adulthood. Although most American parents spank their children at some time or another, there are wide variations in the frequency and duration with which CP is used. Using data from the 1985 National Family Violence Survey, we examined number of children as an aspect of family structure that might account for the variation. After controlling for birth order and age, the analysis revealed a linear increase in both the prevalence and chronicity of CP as number of children varied from one to four or more children. These findings suggest that the decline in fertility is part of the explanation for the decrease in corporal punishment by American parents. They also suggest that the emotional and/or economic stresses of additional children may lead parents to adopt potentially deleterious discipline strategies and that support and training in effective childrearing practices should not be limited to first time parents. (Author Abstract)

Description

Keywords

child abuse, physical abuse, parenting, research

Citation

Straus, M. A., & Asdigian, N. (1997). There was an old women who lived in a shoe: Number of children and corporal punishment. In Annual meeting of the American Sociological Association., Toronto, Canada. Durham, NH: Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire.

DOI