Income & Education Factors of Parental Punishment

The following review of the literature will present findings to test the expectation and hypothesis that lower income and educational levels will be positively associated with higher tendencies to believe in and practice, spanking. Corporal punishment continues to be prevalent and effects can be negative, demonstrating the need for this investigation. Davis (1999) reported that over 90 percent of the American population of parents slap or spank their young children and around half of this group continues to use this form of punishment into the adolescent years. Holden, Miller, and Harris (1999) pointed out that mothers who report using corporal punishment at least one time per week, stated that they believe it results in positive outcomes such as the child complying with the mother's wishes. This group also reported that they felt the child behaved more in the long run and they felt less maternal guilt, compared to mothers who spanked occasionally or never spanked. Dif

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at higher frequencies of spanking are related to socioeconomic status and that mothers living in the South, in poverty, with lower education, who are religious, and are African American tend to report more spanking. As the children get older, other factors are reported. Adolescent corporal punishment is associated with authoritarian discipline techniques. The authors also report results of their own study: boys were spanked more than girls, mothers spanked more than fathers, older children (7 years and older) were spanked less than younger children, Black mothers (not Black fathers) spanked more than other groups, child attributes (competence, difficult) were related to spanking use, parent characteristics (mental health, educational level, age, religious) predicted spanking, and parent-child interaction was a predictor of spanking (arguing, social support, household size) (Day, Peterson, & McCracken, 1998). Pinderhughes, Bates, Dodge, Petit, and Zelli (2000) reported on discipline responses with regard to parent socioeconomic status, ethnicity, stress, cognitive-emotional processes, and beliefs about parenting. Findings were that parental beliefs about spanking, child aggression, and family stress were mediating factors
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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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