Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 66360 Lacy Snowflake Card Wrap by Jordan Caderao, 4 Pack, Multi Colour, One Size

Product Information

Positive attitudes toward the use of corporal punishment (CP) predict subsequent spanking behavior. Given that CP has frequently been associated with behavior problems in children and child maltreatment, this prevention work was designed to test whether adults' attitudes could be changed by informing participants about the research findings on problematic behaviors associated with CP. Two random assignment studies are reported. In Study 1, we tested whether an active reading condition would result in more attitude change than a passive condition. With a sample of 118 non-parent adults, we found that after reading very brief research summaries on the problems associated with CP, there was a significant decrease in favorable attitudes toward CP. Contrary to expectations, the magnitude of the change was comparable for active and passive processing conditions. In Study 2, we extended our approach to a sample of 520 parents and included a control group. A significant decrease in positive attitudes toward spanking was observed in the intervention group, but no change for the control group. Parents who were unaware of the research showed more change after reading the summaries. Thus, these studies demonstrate that a brief and cost-effective approach to raise awareness of research findings can reduce positive attitudes toward CP. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

Gershoff ET, & Font SA (2016). Corporal punishment in U.S. public schools: Prevalence, disparities in use, and status in state and federal policy. Social Policy Report, 30, 1–25. [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar] Several impediments to change help explain why parents continue to practice corporal punishment. First, many remain unaware of the sizable body of evidence showing the damage it can cause for child development. Second, although corporal punishment is clearly not a good way to discipline children, we need evidence for effective alternatives. We also need to communicate better with parents about how they can discipline children without resorting to physical punishment.Holden GW, Miller PC, Harris SD. The instrumental side of corporal punishment: Parents' reported practices and outcome expectancies. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1999; 61(4):908–919. doi: 10.2307/354012. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Wang MT, & Kenny S (2014). Parental physical punishment and adolescent adjustment: Bidirectionality and the moderation effects of child ethnicity and parental warmth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 717–730. 10.1007/s10802-013-9827-8 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Ateah C, Durrant J. Maternal use of physical punishment in response to child misbehavior: Implications for child abuse prevention. Child Abuse and Neglect. 2005; 29(2):169–185. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2004.10.010. [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Grogan-Kaylor A (2004). The effect of corporal punishment on antisocial behavior in children. Social Work Research, 28, 153–162. 10.1093/swr/28.3.153 [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Lee SJ, Grogan-Kaylor A, & Berger LM (2014). Parental spanking of 1-year-old children and subsequent child protective services involvement. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38, 875–883. 10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.01.018 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]

Gershoff ET (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539–579. 10.1037/00332909.128.4.539 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Gershoff, E. T., & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2016). Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and new meta-analyses. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(4), 453–469. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000191 Many parents continue to think that spanking children makes them better behaved. A pioneering study shows that this belief is misguided and that maternal warmth, unlike spanking, is the way to create positive child behaviors. Holden GW, Brown AS, Baldwin AS, Caderao KC. Research findings can change attitudes about corporal punishment. Child Abuse and Neglect. 2014; 38(5):902–908. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.10.013. [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar] The second impediment to change — parents not knowing how to discipline without corporal punishment — is harder to overcome. But a relatively new concept called positive child discipline can help. A minimal definition of positive discipline is simply parenting without hitting. I refer to this as the “lite” form of positive discipline.

What is the best alternative to corporal punishment?

Darling N, & Steinberg L (1993). Parenting style as a context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 487–496. 10.1037/0033-2909.113.3.487 [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] The evidence is clear: corporal punishment is ineffective, outdated, and sometimes counterproductive for child development. Yet removing it from parents’ repertoire of child discipline will not be easy. Its entrenched nature is particularly apparent in the United States, where some 65% of adult Americans still approve of using corporal punishment to discipline children—a number that has fallen only modestly over time. And approval of corporal punishment is the most reliable predictor of whether parents actually hit their children. Many parents don’t know corporal punishment disadvantages child development

Simons DA, Wurtele SK. Relationships between parents’ use of corporal punishment and their children's endorsement of spanking and hitting other children. Child Abuse and Neglect. 2010; 34(9):639–646. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.01.012. [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Larzelere RE, Kuhn BR, & Johnson B (2004). The intervention selection bias: An underrecognized confound in intervention research. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 289–303. 10.1037/00332909.130.2.289 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] American Academy of Pediatrics. (2014). AAP publications reaffirmed or retired. Pediatrics, 134, e1520. 10.1542/peds.2014-2679 [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Ferguson CJ (2013). Spanking, corporal punishment and negative long-term outcomes: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 196–208. 10.1016/j.cpr.2012.11.002 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]

Douglas EM, Straus MA. Assult and injury of dating partners by university students in 19 countries and its relation to corporal punishment experienced as a child. European Journal of Criminology. 2006; 3(3):293–318. doi: 10.1177/1477370806065584. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Bitensky, S. H. (2010). The mother of all human rights: The child’s right to be free of corporal punishment as hard international law. Ohio Northern University Law Review, 36(3), 701–720. Duncan GJ, Magnuson KA, & Ludwig J (2004). The endogeneity problem in developmental studies. Research in Human Development, 1, 59–80. 10.1207/s15427617rhd0101&2_5 [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]

Dubowitz H, Feigelman S, Lane W, Kim J. Pediatric primary care to help prevent child maltreatment: The safe environment for every kid (SEEK) model. Pediatrics. 2009; 123(3):858–864. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-1376. [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Taylor CA, Manganello JA, Lee SJ, Rice JC. Mothers' spanking of 3-year-old children and subsequent risk of children's aggressive behavior. Pediatrics. 2010; 125(5):e1057–e1065. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-2678. [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Benjet C, & Kazdin AE (2003). Spanking children: The controversies, findings, and new directions. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 197–224. 10.1016/S0272-7358(02)00206-4 [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Many parents say they plan to stop corporal punishment of their children after a parenting skills program.

Ellison CG, Bradshaw M. Religious beliefs, sociopolitical ideology, and attitudes toward corporal punishment. Journal of Family Issues. 2009; 30(3):320–340. doi: 10.1177/0192513x08326331. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]