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While parental violent disciplining of children is a global concern, children living in low- and middle-income countries like Bangladesh are particularly more vulnerable to harsh disciplinary practices at home. There is limited empirical evidence on the use of disciplinary practices in Bangladesh, impeding the development of prevention practices. This study investigated the extent of violent child disciplining and parental attitudes toward physical punishment and identified their predictor using data from the 2019 Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. Violent discipline includes any form of physical punishment like spanking, slapping, or hitting any part of the body, as well as psychological aggression such as shouting, screaming, or name-calling. Study participants were 44,570 mothers/caregivers of children aged 2–14 years. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models were fitted to identify the predictors of violent disciplinary practices and parents' attitudes toward physical punishment. The results revealed a very high prevalence of violent disciplinary practices in Bangladesh. About 89% of the mothers/caregivers reported using at least one form of violent discipline; 39% were spanked, hit, or slapped on the bottom, 29% were hit or slapped on the face, head, or ears, and 5% were beaten up as hard as one could. Younger children, and children from urban areas, certain administrative divisions, poorer families, children with functional difficulties, less educated mothers/caregivers were more likely to experience violent discipline. About 35% of mothers/caregivers supported physical punishment, indicating a large discrepancy between attitude and the practice of violent discipline. Parents' attitudes appeared as one of the strongest predictors of violent discipline. Prevention efforts should be made to promote positive parenting and minimize the gap between parental attitudes and the practice of physical punishment. Highlights: This study documented a very high prevalence (89%) of violent physical punishment to children at home, while only 35% of mothers/caregivers supported physical punishment, indicating a big gap between attitude and practice about child discipline in Bangladesh. Mothers/caregivers' attitudes toward physical punishment appeared as a major predictor of the usage of violent physical discipline. Changes in attitudes need to be promoted by improving knowledge about the negative consequences of violent physical punishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporal punishment (CP) is the most common and socially normative form of violence perpetrated against children and is legal in the home and some other settings in Australia. CP was made a common practice through its introduction by European settlers and Christian missionaries during colonisation. Furthermore, the defence of reasonable chastisement became part of the Australian common law in 1860 and is still used in some jurisdictions. Other jurisdictions have enacted criminal laws that have entrenched the defence in legislation. This article gives a brief historical overview of the origin of CP in the English common law, the defence of reasonable chastisement and how these concepts came to be entrenched in Australian law and culture. Moreover, this contribution examines the recognition of children's rights in international law and the significant global impact this has had in elevating the status of children. Then, this article analyses the current legal framework and the permissiveness of CP in Australian states and territories. Consequently, it is argued that states and territories ought to repeal legislation that permits CP, and all jurisdictions should insert a positive statement into civil laws that CP is no longer acceptable as a disciplinary measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the development of the Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting Questionnaire (PDEPQ), which assesses key parental cognitions underlying punitive parental behaviours, namely 1) Approval of Physical Punishment; 2) Approval of Non-Physical Punishment; 3) Subjective Norms; and 4) Parenting Self-Efficacy. In Study 1, two samples (parents, professionals) were recruited to assess the content validity of the four scales, following which a revised version was created. In Study 2, the revised PDEPQ was administered to 400 Canadian parents to examine the factor structure as well its reliability and validity. Results indicated a good factor structure of the scales, but several items were removed to achieve a better fit. Internal consistency of the four scales ranged from acceptable to excellent. Correlations between the scale scores at the two time points were large in magnitude and significant, indicating excellent test-retest reliability. Furthermore, correlations between the PDEPQ scales and measures of similar constructs were significant and in the expected direction, indicating a strong alignment of each scale with its respective construct of interest. In conclusion, findings from these various studies indicate good psychometric properties of the PDEPQ scales, as well as strong evidence of construct validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Highlights: Psychometric assessment of a novel measurement instrument to assess parents' social cognitions of physical and emotional punitive parenting. Validation of a measurement instrument assessing of attitudes toward physical and emotional punishment, social norms, and sense of self-efficacy. Use of Items Response Theory analysis in parenting research to assess dimensions of punitive parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The global prevalence of violence against children is alarmingly high, with millions facing violent discipline and physical punishment. In Mongolia, domestic violence-related criminal offenses have sharply increased, with a 46.92% surge in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019. Objective This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of and identify factors associated with physical punishment and/or psychological aggression experienced by children under 5 years old from their caregivers. Methods We used data from the nationally representative 2018 MICS6 dataset. To examine the association between independent and dependent variables, we used multilevel Poisson regression because it provides a better estimate and is more interpretable when the prevalence is relatively high. Results The prevalence of psychological aggression was reported at 32.3% and physical punishment at 31.6%, including severe forms. Nonviolent techniques were common, with 77.5% exclusively using nonviolent discipline. Psychological aggression was more likely to occur in older children (3 and 4 years old) and in households with Buddhist heads. Additionally, 3-year-olds are more likely to experience physical punishment compared to 2-year-olds. Conclusion These findings underscore the need for targeted policy interventions, including age-sensitive parental education programs and religious and cultural sensitivity measures. Comprehensive educational and awareness programs are essential to foster a culture of nonviolence across all educational levels, highlighting the need for context-specific policies to safeguard the well-being of children in Mongolia.

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of the Play Nicely brief intervention in diminishing both the utilization of physical punishment and the beliefs that endorse such behavior among a sample of Colombian parents with children aged 2 to 6. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, the research included pretest and posttest evaluations and involved both an intervention group (n = 37) and a control group (n = 29). The assessment tools used were a scale to measure beliefs about the positive impacts of physical punishment and the Physical Assault subscale of the Spanish version of the Conflict Tactics Scale Parent–Child (CTSPC). Parents participated in a single online session, which offered eight interactive options and lasted 10 min. The results highlighted a high prevalence of physical punishment within the sample (81.8%) and established statistically significant correlations between the justification of physical punishment and its actual use. Approximately one month following the intervention, there was a significant reduction in the employment of physical punishment among the intervention group (p = 0.009), and a notable decrease in the belief that "Punishment is the best alternative to control children's behavior" (p = 0.010) was observed. Consequently, the Play Nicely intervention proved effective in curtailing the use of physical punishment among parents of young children, demonstrating both efficacy and cost-effectiveness within a brief timeframe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examines how early childhood intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure at ages 1 and 3 affects delinquency at age 15 years, while controlling for parenting when children were 5 years of age and early delinquency when children were 9 years of age. Background: Exposure to IPV has been found to be a strong predictor of youth delinquency. Early delinquency is known to be a strong predictor of persistent, severe, and violent offending throughout the life course. This study aims to extend this line of research by analyzing the relation between IPV exposure and adolescent delinquency using longitudinal data collected from a nationally representative sample. Method: The data came from the first six waves of the Fragile Families and Child Well‐being Study. The sample (N = 2,532) was 50.8% male, and average age was 15.6 years. Race/ethnicity distribution was as follows: 46.8% Black, 24.5% non‐Hispanic White, 24.5% Hispanic, and 3.8% other race/ethnicity. Results: Exposure to IPV, particularly economic abuse, significantly affects delinquency at age 15. Negative parenting and early delinquency partially mediated these effects. Conclusion: IPV exposure at ages as young as 1 and 3 years can affect children's delinquent behaviors during adolescence. Implications: These findings suggest a need for early interventions for those exposed to IPV at a young age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Most research establishing the association between spanking and child development has used cross-sectional data and correlational methods in high-income countries, raising questions about the internal (i.e., causality) and external (e.g., generalizability) validity of this work. The main objective of this study is to use more internally valid methods to assess the links between spanking and developmental outcomes in four low- and- middle-income countries. Method: This study employs data from four longitudinal studies conducted in Bhutan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, comprising 3,048 young children (Mage = 53.11 months, SD = 9.16 in the first round of data collection), which used comparable information on parent reports of spanking and direct assessments of children's development measured by the International Development and Early Learning Assessment. Results: Findings from random- and fixed-effects models that use both between- and within-child variation show that spanking relates to an array of negative cognitive, social–emotional, and motor outcomes. Yet, the results also demonstrate heterogeneity in estimates between sites, which warrants further investigation. Conclusions: These results, along with prior evidence, indicate that spanking might harm the early developmental skills that serve as children's foundation for lifelong well-being. Therefore, considering issues of human rights, existing evidence, and following a precautionary principle, policymakers, and practitioners should invest in strategies aimed at preventing and reducing spanking and other forms of violence against children across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the issue of corporal punishment, with emphasis on the reasons for resorting thereto and possible ways of its prevention. Although this topic is strongly present in pedagogical discourse, we offer a new perspective on the issue, especially concerning its empirical aspect. The first part of the article reviews Polish and foreign research on the topic, laying the groundwork for formulating our research problem and analyzing our results. The research problem comprises the analysis of the discourse surrounding the use of physical punishment as an educational method conducted on an online forum as part of a task in the educational project. Statements were analyzed qualitatively, inter alia, by using MAXQDA soft ware. The article ends with conclusions and recommendations, underscoring the significance of the identified reasons for employing corporal punishment and highlighting the possibilities of its prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Social information Processing (SIP) biases have been associated with child abuse risk. However, little research was conducted with the purpose to evaluate the contribution of the SIP model in the prediction of child abuse risk, with most research testing SIP components independent from the model. This study aimed to extend the validity of the SIP model of parenting by employing factors across different stages of the theory in order to predict child abuse risk. We hypothesized that parental cognitive schema can influence abuse risk directly and indirectly through biased processing of information. Methods: Results from 140 studies were integrated using a two stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling procedure. Studies were identified via three databases: The Psychological Abstracts International, ISI Web of Science and PubMed. Results: Meta-analytic results indicate significant associations among all study variables, except for the one between perception of child adjustment and unrealistic expectations (r =.048, p >.05). Path analysis results lend evidence for the role of SIP variables in predicting child abuse risk (R2 = 0.22) and support the role of cognitive processing in the link between cognitive schema and child abuse risk. Conclusions: Findings support the SIP model as a good framework to study child abuse risk and underscore the need to focus on SIP patterns when assessing and intervening with abusive families or families at high risk of abuse. Targeting cognitions related to children and child rearing in parenting interventions could influence the process and outcomes of such programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of the Play Nicely brief intervention in diminishing both the utilization of physical punishment and the beliefs that endorse such behavior among a sample of Colombian parents with children aged 2 to 6. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, the research included pretest and posttest evaluations and involved both an intervention group (n = 37) and a control group (n = 29). The assessment tools used were a scale to measure beliefs about the positive impacts of physical punishment and the Physical Assault subscale of the Spanish version of the Conflict Tactics Scale Parent–Child (CTSPC). Parents participated in a single online session, which offered eight interactive options and lasted 10 min. The results highlighted a high prevalence of physical punishment within the sample (81.8%) and established statistically significant correlations between the justification of physical punishment and its actual use. Approximately one month following the intervention, there was a significant reduction in the employment of physical punishment among the intervention group (p = 0.009), and a notable decrease in the belief that “Punishment is the best alternative to control children’s behavior” (p = 0.010) was observed. Consequently, the Play Nicely intervention proved effective in curtailing the use of physical punishment among parents of young children, demonstrating both efficacy and cost-effectiveness within a brief timeframe.

Physical punishment of children remains quite common and yet has only negative effects on children's health, making it an important public health problem. This study was designed to assess positive attitudes about and perceived normative support for the use of physical punishment with children, as well as attitudes regarding prohibition of physical punishment in homes and schools. This was a cross-sectional national survey of a diverse sample of US adults (N = 3049). This survey, conducted in Fall 2020, assessed attitudes and perceived norms regarding physical punishment use using continuous measures as well as support and perceived support for policies prohibiting physical punishment in homes and schools in the United States. Respondents who had positive attitudes toward physical punishment (39%) and who perceived normative support for physical punishment (41%) were not in the majority. While 65% agreed that there should be a federal ban on physical punishment in public schools, only 18% perceived that most US adults would support such a ban. Persons who were older (aged ≥55 years), men, living in the southern United States, or who themselves were hit more frequently as children were significantly less likely than their counterparts to support a federal ban in schools. Based on a national sample, there is strong support for a federal ban on physical punishment in US schools; yet this normative belief is unrecognized. Social norms campaigns should capitalize on this pluralistic ignorance to increase mobilization toward policy reform and reduction of harm to children through bans of physical punishment in public schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand physical violence in the family, it is important to define the role of the victim. The term "scapegoat" is a universal anthropological concept, often used in sociological theories, where a certain group of people and/or minorities are often victimized or blamed (e.g., social ills). We may note that the phenomenon of scapegoating is most clearly expressed in the Bible. Therefore, we will use relevant biblical texts that refer to parental use of corporal punishment in which a child is scapegoated and/or victimized by parental violence. In this sense, the Bible is the most profound explanation and manifestation of the cultural, social, and especially religious development of humanity. At the same time, the concept of scapegoating is also demonstrated in psychology and therapy, where it also serves as a basis for understanding, for example, physical violence in the family, and where it is also crucial to define the role of the victim. In this article, therefore, we will explain the biblical background of this concept and highlight two basic dynamics of violence against children in the family: when the child is the "scapegoat" for unresolved tensions in the family and when the child becomes the "sacrifice" or victim of the dysregulated emotional response of his or her parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the leading professional organization for social work that established the Code of Ethics and sets the policy agenda for the profession. Guided by the Code of Ethics and the Grand Challenges for Social Work goal to "build healthy relationships to end violence," the NASW Social Work Speaks policy compendium should reassert its statement against the physical punishment of children. This recommendation aligns with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and children's right to protection from violence; the rigorous empirical research base, which demonstrates that physical punishment has detrimental consequences to child well-being; and similar policy statements issued by allied professional organizations. The NASW policies can advocate for ending violence against children by providing guidance on disciplinary practices that are based on principles of nonviolence and that respect children's human rights. Practitioners can support caregivers through interventions that provide alternatives to physical punishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Physical punishment at home and in schools is widespread around the world. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have synthesized evidence, mostly from high-income countries (HICs), showing that physical punishment relates to multiple detrimental individual outcomes. Yet, less work has been done to synthesize the evidence on the association between physical punishment at home and schools and child, adolescent, and adult outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where more than 90% of children live and physical punishment is most socially normative and prevalent. In this manuscript, we present a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis on the characteristics of the research, associations, and variation in associations, between physical punishment at home and in schools and child, adolescent, and adult outcomes in LMICs. Methods We will conduct a review of studies published in peer-reviewed journals using quantitative methods to assess the association between physical punishment in childhood and/or adolescence and individual outcomes in LMICs. We will search for studies in 10 different databases using keywords in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and Chinese related to physical punishment. We will extract qualitative data from the studies and the statistics needed to transform all study-level effect sizes into standardized mean difference effect sizes. For the analyses, we will employ multi-level meta-analyses to use multiple effect sizes per study and leverage within-study variation as well as between study variation using moderation analysis. Besides the meta-analyses, we will also conduct a narrative synthesis of the findings. Discussion The proposed systematic review and meta-analysis will provide timely evidence to inform global research, policy, and practice on the links between physical punishment and lifelong individual outcomes. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42022347346

Violence, abuse and neglect constitute major threats to children's health and wellbeing globally. However, until recently, relatively little systematic attention has been paid to the role of faith communities in shaping the protective environment for children. This paper describes the development of a measure to capture child-protective disposition amongst faith communities through field studies with faith leaders and their spouses in Senegal, Uganda and Guatemala. Identifying common factors related to child care and protection practices, orientation to child rights and approaches to discipline, the measure potentially serves to both inform and evaluate interventions seeking to engage with the beliefs and behaviours of faith communities to support children's health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No-Hit-Zones (NHZ) use a public health approach to prevent violence against children. NHZs include bystander intervention training, educational materials, and an organizational policy that prohibits any form of physical hitting. This study is the first to assess the effectiveness of the NHZ bystander intervention training component exclusively. Following the training, staff were less likely to support the use of physical punishment, more likely to support intervention when witnessing physical punishment, and demonstrated increased knowledge about the NHZ policy. These results suggest that bystander intervention training is an integral part of NHZs' ability to establish a safe environment for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors' original article (Gershoff et al., 2018) summarized the extensive body of research demonstrating that parents' use of physical punishment is ineffective and linked with risk of detrimental outcomes for children. In this Reply, the authors agree with several points raised in two commentaries on the article (Larzelere, Gunnoe, Ferguson, & Roberts, 2019; Rohner & Melendez-Rhodes, 2019)-that statistical rigor is needed before making conclusions and that potential contextual moderators need to be considered. However, neither commentary negated the scientific inferences and conclusions of the Gershoff et al. article or presented any convincing evidence that physical punishment is beneficial to children. The preponderance of evidence clearly indicates physical punishment is harmful, a finding that is increasingly being recognized by professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The amount of use of corporal punishment is higher among mothers exposed to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Children's assessment of domestic violence and their low ability to deal with this phenomenon causes behavioral, emotional and adjustment problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Maternal Empowerment Program (MEP) on reducing the use of corporal punishment in mothers exposed to domestic violence. This research was conducted by A-B-A design method. The participants of this study were all mothers who had experienced IPV during the last two years. The Mothers Empowerment Program was trained to 8 abused mothers in ten 90-minute sessions based on the Sandra Graham Berman protocol. The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) was used to collect data in this study. The results of Cohen’d which is in the range of 1.13 to 1.82, showed that the empowerment program for mothers has been effective in reducing the use of corporal punishment of mothers exposed to IPV with children 6 to 12. The results of the present study show that a relatively short intervention program can reduce the use of corporal punishment of parents even in deprived populations with stressful conditions.

Physical punishment is the use of physical force to cause to body pain or discomfort, to correct children's misbehaviour (Gershoff, 2008) and negatively impacts children's development (Gershoff, 2002). To overcome limitations in the current state-of-art knowledge in Portugal, this study aimed to describe the maternal reports about the use of different physical punishment practices in the last year and to analyse the predictive role of child, maternal and household characteristics in the use of different physical punishment practices in the last year. A total of 289 Portuguese mothers of children aged 5 to 14 years completed the Escala de Crenças sobre a Punição Física (Machado et al., 2003) and the Inventário de Práticas Educativas Parentais (Machado et al., 2015). According to results, spanking child at the buttocks with the hand and slapping child's hand, arm, or leg were the most reported punishment practices. Maternal tolerance toward physical punishment was the strongest and most consistent predictor of spanking child at the buttocks with the hand and slapping child's hand, arm, or leg during the last year. Future cross-cultural studies may continue to explore the most used physical punishment practices and the characteristics that predict their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative and transversal work aimed to investigate the perceptions and experiences of psychologists about the use of physical punishment in children. Thirteen Brazilian psychologists participated in the study, who answered a socio-demographic questionnaire, an interview script and problem-situation vignettes online. Content analysis revealed two categories: Ambivalence in perceptions about the use of physical punishment: Isn't spanking a form of aggression? and Reproduction of physical punishment generation after generation: has the way of educating changed? Perceptions endorsing the use of physical punishment and personal experiences of physical punishment in childhood were found, but several participants try not to repeat it with their children and are unfavorable to all levels of this practice. Participants favorable to the use, mainly of spanking, demonstrated ignorance of its ineffectiveness as an educational method and its harmful effects. The transgenerationality and the naturalization of spanking were highlighted reasons for the persistence of the use of physical punishment. Training is needed for psychologists and students on the harm and alternatives to physical punishment in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical violence against children is a widespread and grossly underreported phenomenon with substantial short and long-term negative consequences. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 43% of children under the age of 15 experience corporal punishment at home, yet reporting rates are alarmingly low. This paper aims to demonstrate how household data can be considered for a future predictive analytics model in Argentina. Based on the 2019–20 MICS survey we apply machine learning techniques to predict physical violence against children (understood as physical discipline) at the household level in Argentina. The scope and potential benefits of using predictive models in this context are assessed, as well as the main limitations and risks. The results suggest that, by analyzing the situation of the 30% of households with the highest risk scores, 43 out of 100 households in which children experience physical violence could be identified at an early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Research consistently demonstrates that physical punishment of children including “spanking” is harmful. Interest in effective prevention is growing rapidly. The aim of the current study is to examine spanking beliefs among adolescents and parents in relation to reports of spanking that the adolescents experienced before 11 years of age. Methods Data were drawn from Wave 1 of a study conducted in 2017–2018 that included adolescents (14–17 years old) and one of their parents/caregivers from Manitoba, Canada (n = 1000 pairs). The study objectives were to examine: 1) spanking beliefs of adolescents and their parents; 2) the correlation between parent and adolescent spanking beliefs; 3) whether parents perceive the words “spank” vs. “hit” differently using intraclass correlation; 4) the association between parents’ beliefs about spanking and parent- and adolescent-reported use of it; and 5) the relationship between sociodemographic variables and spanking. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation, intraclass correlation, and binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses. Results The prevalence of adolescent-reported and parents’-reported spanking were 46.0% and 39.6%, respectively. The proportions agreeing that spanking is a normal part of parenting were similar among adolescents (22.0%) and parents (18.5%), and were moderately correlated (intraclass correlation = 0.38, SE = 0.038). More than five times as many parents believed that “spanking” is necessary (19.5%) than believed that “hitting” is necessary (3.5%). Parents’ positive spanking beliefs were associated with increased likelihood of adolescent- and parent-reported spanking. Few significant associations were found between sociodemographic variables and parent-reported or adolescent-reported spanking. Conclusions Adolescents’ spanking beliefs are related to their parents’ spanking beliefs, suggesting that they are transmitted across generations. Public education and law reform are needed to decrease the normalization and perceived necessity of spanking in child-rearing. Efforts should include improving the understanding that spanking is a form of violence against children. With only a few significant differences noted between sociodemographic variables and parent- and adolescent- reported spanking and the prevalent use of spanking across all sociodemographic variable categories, it may be useful to develop universal approaches to awareness-raising and implementation of education strategies in Canada.

The question of whether physical punishment is helpful or harmful to the development of children has been subject to hundreds of research studies over the past several decades. Yet whether causal conclusions can be drawn from this largely nonexperimental research and whether the conclusions generalize across contexts are issues that remain unresolved. In this article, the authors summarize the extent to which the empirical research on physical punishment meets accepted criteria for causal inference. They then review research demonstrating that physical punishment is linked with the same harms to children as is physical abuse and summarize the extant research that finds links between physical punishment and detrimental outcomes for children are consistent across cultural, family, and neighborhood contexts. The strength and consistency of the links between physical punishment and detrimental child outcomes lead the authors to recommend that parents should avoid physical punishment, psychologists should advise and advocate against it, and policymakers should develop means of educating the public about the harms of and alternatives to physical punishment. (PsycINFO Database Record

Background: Physical punishment at home and in schools is widespread around the world. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have synthesized evidence, mostly from high-income countries (HICs), showing that physical punishment relates to multiple detrimental individual outcomes. Yet, less work has been done to synthesize the evidence on the association between physical punishment at home and schools and child, adolescent, and adult outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where more than 90% of children live and physical punishment is most socially normative and prevalent. In this manuscript, we present a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis on the characteristics of the research, associations, and variation in associations, between physical punishment at home and in schools and child, adolescent, and adult outcomes in LMICs. Methods: We will conduct a review of studies published in peer-reviewed journals using quantitative methods to assess the association between physical punishment in childhood and/or adolescence and individual outcomes in LMICs. We will search for studies in 10 different databases using keywords in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and Chinese related to physical punishment. We will extract qualitative data from the studies and the statistics needed to transform all study-level effect sizes into standardized mean difference effect sizes. For the analyses, we will employ multi-level meta-analyses to use multiple effect sizes per study and leverage within-study variation as well as between study variation using moderation analysis. Besides the meta-analyses, we will also conduct a narrative synthesis of the findings. Discussion: The proposed systematic review and meta-analysis will provide timely evidence to inform global research, policy, and practice on the links between physical punishment and lifelong individual outcomes. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42022347346 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the association between parenting stress, maternal depressive symptoms, and use of physical punishment when the child is 10 years old. Methods: Data from the Tokyo Early Adolescence Survey on early adolescents and primary caregivers (N = 4478) were used. Frequency of using physical punishment, level of depressive symptoms (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale 6), and maternal parenting stress experienced at 1, 3, 9, 18, and 36 months after birth were evaluated. Multiple linear and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: Mothers (1633) who provided information on parenting stress at all the five points were included for the analysis. After controlling for the child's age, sex, birth weight, maternal age, and annual household income, presence of maternal parenting stress at every time point, except at three months after birth, was significantly associated with an increased risk of using physical punishment with the 10-year-old. After adjusting for levels of depressive symptoms, significant associations were found between use of physical punishment and maternal parenting stress at 1 month (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.71, 95% confidence interval [Cl] 1.12–2.61) and 36 months (adjusted OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.10–2.61) after birth. Conclusion: Maternal parenting stress experienced at 1 and 36 months after birth predicted use of physical punishment, even after adjusting for maternal depressive symptoms. Maternal support should, therefore, be provided to mothers to cope with parenting stress even three years after birth to prevent the use of physical punishment in early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global prevalence of violence against children is alarmingly high, with millions facing violent discipline and physical punishment. In Mongolia, domestic violence-related criminal offenses have sharply increased, with a 46.92% surge in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019., Objective: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of and identify factors associated with physical punishment and/or psychological aggression experienced by children under 5 years old from their caregivers., Methods: We used data from the nationally representative 2018 MICS6 dataset. To examine the association between independent and dependent variables, we used multilevel Poisson regression because it provides a better estimate and is more interpretable when the prevalence is relatively high., Results: The prevalence of psychological aggression was reported at 32.3% and physical punishment at 31.6%, including severe forms. Nonviolent techniques were common, with 77.5% exclusively using nonviolent discipline. Psychological aggression was more likely to occur in older children (3 and 4 years old) and in households with Buddhist heads. Additionally, 3-year-olds are more likely to experience physical punishment compared to 2-year-olds., Conclusion: These findings underscore the need for targeted policy interventions, including age-sensitive parental education programs and religious and cultural sensitivity measures. Comprehensive educational and awareness programs are essential to foster a culture of nonviolence across all educational levels, highlighting the need for context-specific policies to safeguard the well-being of children in Mongolia.

Physical punishment is the most common form of violence against children worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of long-term adverse outcomes. Interventions targeting parents/caregivers are frequently implemented to prevent and reduce the use of physical punishment. This scoping review aimed to map the existing literature on evidence-informed parenting interventions targeting physical punishment. A scoping review following the World Health Organization (WHO) Review Guide, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) 2020 Guide for scoping reviews, was conducted to address the objective of this review. An academic health sciences librarian systematically searched electronic databases (EBSCO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS) for peer-reviewed journal articles. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, followed by a full-text review according to inclusion and exclusion criteria following the Participants, Concept, and Context framework. Eighty-one studies were included for full-text eligibility. The results suggest that most interventions examined were conducted in North America, targeted mothers and fathers, and were delivered in person. The results from this scoping review describe the state of evidence-informed parenting interventions to prevent and reduce physical punishment. This review found opportunities for future research to implement effective parenting interventions on a larger societal scale and use mixed methods approaches to evaluate parenting interventions.

On March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The social isolation and economic stress resulting from pandemic have the potential to exacerbate child abuse and neglect. This study examines the association of parents' perceived social isolation and recent employment loss to risk for child maltreatment (neglect, verbal aggression, and physical punishment) in the early weeks of the pandemic. Participants (N = 283) were adults living in the U.S. who were parents of at least one child 0–12 years of age. Participants completed an online survey approximately 2 weeks after the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic. The survey asked about recent changes (i.e., in the past 2 weeks) to employment status, parenting behaviors, use of discipline, use of spanking, and depressive symptoms. Nearly 20% of parents had hit or spanked their child in the past two weeks alone. Parents' perceived social isolation and recent employment loss were associated with self-report of physical and emotional neglect and verbal aggression against the child, even after controlling for parental depressive symptoms, income, and sociodemographic factors. Parents' perceived social isolation was associated with parental report of changes in discipline, specifically, using discipline and spanking more often in the past 2 weeks. Associations were robust to analyses that included two variables that assessed days spent social distancing and days spent in "lockdown." Study results point to the need for mental health supports to parents and children to ameliorate the strain created by COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past studies have indicated that mothers who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) have a greater risk of developing depression symptoms. Furthermore, existing literature provides evidence that children's mental health can be affected by their mother's mental health well past infancy and early childhood. Given this, children of IPV victims are particularly at risk of developing depression symptoms. Guided by trauma theory, the ecobiodevelopmental (EBD) framework, and social learning theory, this study investigates the long-term relationship between maternal IPV victimization during pregnancy and teen depression symptoms. This study utilizes longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the relationship between IPV during pregnancy and maternal depression symptoms at early childhood, as well as the mechanism by which maternal depression symptoms affect child depression symptoms in the adolescent stage of development. The findings indicate that mothers who were victims of IPV during pregnancy were more likely to have depression symptoms when children turned 3 and that maternal depression symptoms could directly predict children's depression symptoms at age 15. Meanwhile, maternal depression symptoms could indirectly increase adolescent depression symptoms via physical punishment at age 5 and bullying victimization at age 9. While extensive evidence has shown that IPV during pregnancy has detrimental effects on mothers and children, our study adds to the literature that such detriments can last as long as a decade. Given that depression symptoms can be detrimental to later development, the findings call for universal and comprehensive IPV screening tools and swift service referrals for pregnant women who are experiencing IPV. At the same time, trauma-informed parenting education for women, along with school- and community-based interventions for children, may also mitigate these harmful associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to adapt the Physical Punishment Beliefs Scale to the Brazilian context, and presents the initial evidence of dimensionality and reliability of the scale for a Brazilian sample. It was also investigated whether gender, age group, parenting, history of child maltreatment, and history of intimate partner violence influenced the beliefs related to the levels of physical punishment. Participants were 257 individuals, 196 (76.3%) of whom were female. The results indicated that the Brazilian version of the scale presented better fit indices for the single factor structure (TLI=.96; RMSEA [90% I.C.]=.08 (.08-.09). The factor loadings ranged from .31 to .91. It was also identified that the beliefs related to the levels of physical punishment were influenced by gender and age group. The results obtained are favorable for the use of the scale in Brazilian samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many parents use physical forms of punishment, including spanking to correct perceived misbehavior. While some authors suggest spanking/slapping is a distinct and "milder" form of physical punishment, parents' use of spanking is consistently associated with poor outcomes for their children. However, less is known about the relationship between spanking/slapping and health and behavioral outcomes in adolescence independent of other childhood adversities. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to examine the associations between lifetime experiences of spanking on the bottom and/or slapping on the hand and 3 adolescent outcomes: (a) mental health disorders, (b) physical health conditions, and (c) defiant behaviors, after adjusting for other types of childhood adversities and child maltreatment. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the provincially representative 2014 Ontario Child Health Study (N = 6,537 dwellings, response rate = 50.8%) were used. The current study focused on one selected child aged 14 to 17 years within a household (n = 1,883) with data collected from the adolescent and the parent/caregiver. Logistic regression models were used to identify associations with lifetime experiences of spanking/slapping 3 or more times (vs. 0 to 2 times). Results: Lifetime spanking/slapping was independently associated with increased odds of mental health disorders, physical health conditions, and defiant behaviors in adolescence after adjusting for childhood adversities and child maltreatment (unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.29 to 2.19). Conclusions: These findings suggest that lifetime spanking/slapping is uniquely associated with harmful mental, physical, and behavioral outcomes in adolescence, and efforts should focus on its prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of home, violence remains more accepted when committed against children than adults. Normalisation of parental violence has been documented in attitudinal surveys, professional practices, and legal regulation. For example, in many countries violent disciplining of children is the only legal form of interpersonal violence. This study explores the societal invisibility and normalisation of parental violence as a crime by analysing legislation and control policies regulating the division of labour and involvement between social welfare and criminal justice authorities. An empirical case study from Finland, where all forms of parental violence were legally prohibited in 1983, is used to elucidate the divergence between (criminal) law and control policies. The analysis demonstrates how normalisation operates at the policy-level where, within the same system of control that criminalised these acts, structural hindrances are built to prevent criminal justice interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research consistently demonstrates that physical punishment of children including "spanking" is harmful. Interest in effective prevention is growing rapidly. The aim of the current study is to examine spanking beliefs among adolescents and parents in relation to reports of spanking that the adolescents experienced before 11 years of age.Methods: Data were drawn from Wave 1 of a study conducted in 2017-2018 that included adolescents (14-17 years old) and one of their parents/caregivers from Manitoba, Canada (n = 1000 pairs). The study objectives were to examine: 1) spanking beliefs of adolescents and their parents; 2) the correlation between parent and adolescent spanking beliefs; 3) whether parents perceive the words "spank" vs. "hit" differently using intraclass correlation; 4) the association between parents' beliefs about spanking and parent- and adolescent-reported use of it; and 5) the relationship between sociodemographic variables and spanking. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation, intraclass correlation, and binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses.Results: The prevalence of adolescent-reported and parents'-reported spanking were 46.0% and 39.6%, respectively. The proportions agreeing that spanking is a normal part of parenting were similar among adolescents (22.0%) and parents (18.5%), and were moderately correlated (intraclass correlation = 0.38, SE = 0.038). More than five times as many parents believed that "spanking" is necessary (19.5%) than believed that "hitting" is necessary (3.5%). Parents' positive spanking beliefs were associated with increased likelihood of adolescent- and parent-reported spanking. Few significant associations were found between sociodemographic variables and parent-reported or adolescent-reported spanking.Conclusions: Adolescents' spanking beliefs are related to their parents' spanking beliefs, suggesting that they are transmitted across generations. Public education and law reform are needed to decrease the normalization and perceived necessity of spanking in child-rearing. Efforts should include improving the understanding that spanking is a form of violence against children. With only a few significant differences noted between sociodemographic variables and parent- and adolescent- reported spanking and the prevalent use of spanking across all sociodemographic variable categories, it may be useful to develop universal approaches to awareness-raising and implementation of education strategies in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To prevent diseases, efforts are needed to determine how to address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), including parenting behaviors. The objective of this study, conducted in Nashville TN in 2017, was to initiate testing the psychometric properties of two new Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) screening tools, the Quick Parenting Assessment (QPA) and Other Childhood Stressors (OCS). In a clinic serving low-income families, caregivers of children ages 2–10 completed assessments of parenting (QPA), other stressors (OCS), child behavior problems ((Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)), and Attitudes Toward Spanking (ATS). The QPA takes 1 min to complete and assesses for healthy and unhealthy parenting behaviors. Seventy-five percent of eligible participants completed the survey (N=558). A reduced 10-item QPA yielded a Cronbach's alpha of 0.79 and, in 4–10-year-olds, was associated with high SDQ conduct, hyperactivity, and total difficulties scores (r=0.44, 0.48, and 0.47; all p< 0.001). Children with QPAs of >4 were nine times more likely than those children with scores of ≤2 to have behavior problems (OR=8.93, 95% CI = 3.74–21.32). Elevated QPAs were associated with the ATS (r=0.47, p <.001). The OCS was also associated with high SDQ total difficulties scores (r=0.28, p< 0.001). Two pediatric ACEs screening tools, the QPA and the OCS, have promising psychometric properties. The findings suggest that parenting behaviors may play an outsized role in the pathogenesis of outcomes associated with ACEs. We discuss the clinical application of QPA at our institution and the theoretical potential for this instrument to reduce the rates of short- and long-term health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Among the various negative outcomes of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure to children, depression symptoms are worthy of attention given the effects on well‐being and long‐term achievement. This study examined the effects of early childhood exposure to IPV between ages 1 and 3 on depression symptoms at age 15 and investigated whether maternal physical punishment at age 5 and peer bullying victimisation at age 9 affected the association. Data came from five waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The study was based on 20 U.S. cities with populations of over 200,000 people. The most recent wave of data collection occurs during the period between 2014 and 2017. The final analytic sample was 1,690 children. Structural equation modeling was utilised to examine the effects of exposure to IPV on physical punishment, bullying victimisation, and depression symptoms. Early exposure to IPV was associated with experiencing physical punishment at Year 5, which subsequently increased peer bullying victimisation at Year 9 and then depression symptoms at Year 15. Early exposure to IPV had a direct effect on depression symptoms at Year 15. Early exposure to IPV also had indirect effects on Year 15 depression symptoms through its effects on physical punishment and bullying victimisation. The total standardised effect of early exposure on depression symptoms was 0.06. Consistent with trauma theory and the ecobiodevelopmental framework, the results indicate that exposure to IPV appeared to have a long‐term effect on children, manifested in teen depression symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's rights are about treating children with equality, respect, and dignity. Attitudes concerning children's rights have been linked to support for nurturance and self-determination. However, there is little research on how dimensions of children's rights are associated with other parenting constructs, such as attitudes toward physical punishment. This study examined the relationship between knowledge of and attitudes toward children's rights and attitudes toward spanking in a Canadian sample of 329 undergraduate students who completed an online study. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated a significant negative association in that more favorable attitudes toward children's rights predicted less favorable attitudes toward spanking. There also was a significant moderating effect of child rights knowledge on this relationship, such that greater knowledge enhanced the effects of attitudes toward children's rights on spanking attitudes. These results raise awareness of the combined role of both knowledge of and attitudes toward children's rights in influencing spanking attitudes. The results also suggest that one pathway decreasing favorable attitudes toward spanking may be to increase the general public's knowledge of children's rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and physical punishment (ie, spanking) are unique risk factors for behavior problems in early childhood, and whether ACEs moderate the associations of spanking with child behavior problems.Study Design: We conducted prospective, longitudinal analyses on 2380 families in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Mothers reported outcomes of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems at age 5 years; and the main predictors, ACEs and spanking, at age 3 years. ACEs included 9 items: physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, mother's exposure to intimate partner violence, parental mental health problem, parental substance use, parental incarceration, and parental death. Multilevel models examined the associations between ACEs, spanking, and behavior problems, and the moderating effect of ACEs in the associations of spanking with behavior problems. Analyses were adjusted for preexisting behavior problems, demographics, and neighborhood conditions.Results: ACEs (β = 0.028; P < .001) and spanking (β = 0.041; P < .001) at 3 years were unique risk factors for increased externalizing behavior problems at 5 years, after controlling for covariates. The magnitude of the associations of ACEs and spanking with externalizing behavior were statistically indistinguishable. ACEs did not moderate the association between spanking and externalizing behavior.Conclusions: ACEs and spanking have similar associations in predicting child externalizing behavior. Results support calls to consider physical punishment as a form of ACE. Our findings also underscore the importance of assessing exposure to ACEs and physical punishment among young children and providing appropriate intervention to children at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article navigates a current and transcendental problem within our societies: the physical punishment of boys and girls, specifically the creation of those public policies advocating for children's rights. The goal is to make an initial contribution to the study of roles and arguments connected with the actors involved in the making and execution of a public policy. The proposed study applies a qualitative approach; the scope of research is exploratory, descriptive, and retrospective; the method documentary and it uses a content analysis technique. Notably, the findings include the fact that the Bill was deemed unnecessary and overabundant in relation to the existing law, and that it is considered to hurt the family as an institution, as well as an inappropriate participation and influence of international bodies. On the one hand, failure to execute the rule seems related to the fact that physical punishment has not been considered a public issue. Thus, it is necessary to further visualize the issue and engage the civil society in strong action. On the other hand, the bureaucracy of the State has been serving as a gatekeeper, hindering the progress in this respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to determine the mediating role of punitive parental discipline (psychological aggression and physical punishment) between the dimensions of parents' parenting styles and their children's involvement in bullying victimization. The study had a correlational design. The statistical population of the study comprised all male and female students attending public junior high schools in Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh in school year 2016-17 from among whom 295 students (150 girls and 145 boys) were selected through random cluster sampling method. The instruments included Parenting Styles Questionnaire (Oliva et al., 2007), Discipline Dimensions Inventory (Straus & Fauchier, 2007), and European Bullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (Brighi et al., 2012). Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data. The results demonstrated that parental psychological aggression and physical punishment played a mediating indirect role in the link between parenting styles and adolescents’ bullying victimization. Findings also indicated that paternal and maternal parenting styles could predict adolescents' bullying involvement, while punitive parental discipline mediated this association. Furthermore, the results confirmed the mediating role of parental discipline between the parenting practices analyzed and students' victimization. In fact, parental psychological aggression and physical punishment increase the risk of adolescents' bullying involvement. Therefore, intervention programs must involve parents to make them aware about the important role they play in this process and to improve their parenting styles.

Abstract Background Parental physical punishment (e.g., spanking) of children can gradually escalate into child physical abuse (CPA). According to social-information processing (SIP) models of aggressive behaviors, distorted social cognitive mechanisms can increase the risk of maladaptive parenting behaviors by changing how parents detect, recognize, and act on information from their social environments. In this study, we aimed to identify differences between mothers with a low and high risk of CPA regarding how quickly they detect positive facial expressions. Methods Based on their use of spanking to discipline children, 52 mothers were assigned to a low- (n = 39) or high-CPA-risk group (n = 13). A single-target facial emotional search (face-in-the-crowd) task was used, which required participants to search through an array of faces to determine whether a target emotional face was present in a crowd of non-target neutral faces. Search efficiency index was computed by subtracting the search time for target-present trials from that for target-absent trials. Results The high-CPA-risk group searched significantly less efficiently for the happy, but not sad, faces, than did the low-CPA-risk group; meanwhile, self-reported emotional ratings (i.e., valence and arousal) of the faces did not differ between the groups. Conclusions Consistent with the SIP models, our findings suggest that low- and high-CPA-risk mothers differ in how they rapidly detect positive facial expressions, but not in how they explicitly evaluate them. On a CPA-risk continuum, less efficient detection of positive facial expressions in the initial processes of the SIP system may begin to occur in the physical-discipline stage, and decrease the likelihood of positive interpersonal experiences, consequently leading to an increased risk of CPA.

Faith leaders are well-positioned to address violence against children, but the extent to which they do so is unclear. This mixed-method study examined faith leaders' child protection practices, attitudes towards child rights, and views around physical punishment in Senegal, Uganda, and Guatemala. Child protection practices—specifically listening to children and reporting abuse—were strongest among faith leaders in Uganda, although they also most favored use of physical punishment. Overall, findings documented how faith leaders play an important role in promoting the wellbeing of children in their communities. Building on this contribution, however, requires sensitivity to important contextual differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]