Physical punishment and the role of cultural context: a review

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Giovanni Giulio Valtolina
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2013/1
Language Italian Pages 35 P. 11-25 File size 710 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2013-001002
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Parental physical punishment has been intensely studied. Nevertheless, many issues still have to be clarified and outlined. One of them is the role of cultural context where physical punishment takes place. The article presents a review of the most recent studies examining the complex relation between physical punishment and the role of cultural context. Directions for future research are discussed at the end of the article.

Keywords: Childhood, culture, physical punishment, parents.

  1. Kuczynski, L., & Hildebrandt, N. (1997). Models of conformity and resistance in socialization theory. In J. E. Grusec & L. Kuczynski (Eds.), Parenting and children’s internalization of values: A handbook of contemporary theory (pp. 227-256). New York: Wiley
  2. Lansford, J. E. (2010). The Special problem of cultural differences in effects of corporal punishment. Law and Contemporary Problems, 73, 89-106.
  3. Lansford, J. E., Chang, L., Dodge, K. A., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Palmérus, K., Bacchini, D., Pastorelli, C., Bombi, A. S., Zelli, A., Tapanya, S., Chaudhary, N., Deater-Deckard, K., Manke, B., & Quinn, D. (2005). Physical discipline and children’s adjustment: Cultural normativeness as a moderator. Child Development, 76, 1234-1246. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00847.x
  4. Larzelere, R. E. (2000). Child outcomes of non-abusive and customary physical punishment by parents: An updated literature review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 3, 4, 199-221. DOI: 10.1023/A:1026473020315
  5. Larzelere, R. E., Klein, M., Schumm, W. R., & Alibrando, S. A., Jr. (1990). Relations of spanking and other parenting characteristics to self-esteem and perceived fairness of parental discipline. Psychological Reports, 64, 1140- 1142. DOI: 10.2466/pr0.1989.64.3c.1140
  6. Lau, S., Lew, W., Hau, K., Cheung, P., & Berndt, T. (1990). Relations among perceived parental control, warmth, indulgence, and family harmony of Chinese in mainland China. Developmental Psychology, 26, 674-677. DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.26.4.674
  7. Levinson, D. (1989). Family violence in cross-cultural perspective. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
  8. Loeber, R., Drinkwater, M., Yin, Y., Anderson, S. J., Schmidt, L. C., & Crawford, A. (2000). Stability of family interaction from ages 6 to 18. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28, 353-369. DOI: 10.1023/A:1005169026208
  9. Magnus, K. B., Cowen, E. L., Wyman, P. A., Fagen, D., & Work, W. (1999). Parent-child relationship qualities and child adjustment in highly stressed urban black and white families. Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 55-71. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6629(199901)27:1<55::AID-JCOP4>3.0.CO;2-6
  10. McCabe, K. M., Clark, R., & Barnett D. (1999). Family protective factors among urban African-American youth. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28, 137-150. DOI: 10.1207/s15374424jccp2802_2
  11. McLeod, J. D., Kruttschnitt, C., & Dornfeld, M. (1994). Does parenting explain the effects of structural conditions on children’s antisocial behavior? A comparison of blacks and whites. Social Forces, 73, 575-604. DOI: 10.2307/2579822
  12. Munroe, R. H., & Munroe, R. L. (1990). Household structure and socialization practices. The Journal of Social Psychology, 111, 293-294. DOI: 10.1080/00224545.1990.9924592
  13. Murphy-Cowan, T., & Stringer, M. (2001). Religious affiliation and attitudes towards the use of corporal punishment in Northern Ireland. Irish Journal of Psychology, 22, 55-62. DOI: 10.1080/03033910.2001.10558263
  14. Ogbu, J. U. (1981). Origins of human competence: A cultural-ecological perspective. Child Development, 52, 413-429. DOI: 10.2307/1129158
  15. Otterbein, C. S., & Otterbein, K. F. (1993). Believers and beaters: A case study of supernatural beliefs and child rearing in the Bahama Islands. American Anthropologist, 85, 1670-1680. DOI: 10.1525/aa.1973.75.5.02a00290
  16. Palmerus, K., & Scarr, S. (1994). How Swedish parents discipline young children: Cultural comparisons and individual differences. Paper presented at the biennial meetings of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  17. Pearce, L. D., & Axinn, W. G. (1998). The impact of family religious life on the quality of mother-child relations. American Sociological Review, 63, 810-828. DOI: 10.2307/2657503
  18. Pinderhughes, E. E., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., Pettit, G. S., & Zelli, A. (2000). Discipline responses: Influences of parents’ socioeconomic status, ethnicity, beliefs about parenting, stress, and cognitive-emotional processes. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 380-400. DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.14.3.380
  19. Ripoll-Núñez, K. J., & Rohner, R. P. (2006). Corporal punishment in crosscultural perspective: Directions for a research agenda. Cross-Cultural Research: The Journal of Comparative Social Science, 40, 220-249. DOI: 10.1177/1069397105284395
  20. Rohner, R. P. (1996). The warmth dimension. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
  21. Rohner, R. P., Kean, K. J., & Cournoyer, D. E. (1991). Effects of corporal punishment, perceived caretaker warmth, and cultural beliefs on the psychological adjustment of children in St. Kitts, West Indies. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 681-693. DOI: 10.2307/352743
  22. Rutter, M., & Tienda, M., (Eds.) (2005), Ethnicity and Causal Mechanisms, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
  23. Shumow, L., Vandell, D. L., & Posner, J. K. (1998). Harsh, firm, and permissive parenting in low-income families: Relations to children’s academic achievement and behavioral adjustment. Journal of Family Issues, 19, 483- 507. DOI: 10.1177/019251398019005001
  24. Simons, R. L., Lorenz, F. O., Wu, C., & Conger, R. D. (1993). Social network and marital support as mediators and moderators of the impact of stress and depression on parental behavior. Developmental Psychology, 29, 368-381. DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.29.2.368
  25. Simons, R. L., Wu, C., Lin, K., Gordon, L., & Conger, R. D. (2000). A crosscultural examination of the link between corporal punishment and adolescent antisocial behavior. Criminology, 38, 47-80. DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb00883.x
  26. Smith, J. R., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1997). Correlates and consequences of harsh discipline for young children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 151, 777-786. DOI: 10.1001/archpedi.1997.02170450027004
  27. Stolley, K. S., & Szinovacz, M. (1997). Caregiving responsibilities and child spanking. Journal of Family Violence, 12, 99-112. DOI: 10.1023/A:1021902101990
  28. Straus, M. A. (1994). Beating the devil out of them: Corporal punishment in American families. New York: Lexington Books
  29. Straus, M. A., & Stewart, J. H. (1999). Corporal punishment by American parents: National data on prevalence, chronicity, severity, and duration in relation to child and family characteristics. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2, 55-70. DOI: 10.1023/A:1021891529770
  30. Straus, M. A., Sugarman, D. B., & Giles-Sims, J. (1997). Spanking by parents and subsequent antisocial behavior of children. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 151, 761-767. DOI: 10.1001/archpedi.1997.02170450011002
  31. Wilcox, W. B. (1998). Conservative Protestant childrearing: Authoritarian or authoritative? American Sociological Review, 63, 796-809. DOI: 10.2307/2657502
  32. Xu, X., Tung, Y., & Dunaway, R. G. (2000). Cultural, human, and social capital as determinants of corporal punishment: Toward an integrated theoretical model. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 603-630. DOI: 10.1177/088626000015006004
  33. Youssef, R. M., Attia, M. S., & Kamel, M. I. (1998). Children experiencing violence: Parental use of corporal punishment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 959-973. DOI: 10.1016/S0145-2134(98)00077-5
  34. Barnett, D., Kidwell, S. L., & Leung, K. H. (1998). Parenting and preschooler attachment among low-income, urban African-American families. Child Development, 69, 1657-1671. DOI: 10.2307/1132138
  35. Betancourt, H., & Lopez, S. R. (1993). The study of culture, ethnicity, and race in American psychology. American Psychologist, 48, 629-637. . DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.48.6.629
  36. Bluestone, C., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (1999). Correlates of parenting styles in predominantly working and middle-class African-American mothers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 881-893. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.48.6.629
  37. Boivin, M., Dodge, K. A., & Coie, J. D. (1995). Individual-group behavioral similarity and peer status in experimental play groups of boys: The social misfit revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 269-279. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.69.2.269
  38. Bradley, R. H., Corwyn, R. F., Burchinal, M., Pipes McAdoo, H., & García Coll, C. (2001). The home environments of children in the United States part II: Relations with behavioral development through age thirteen. Child Development, 72, 1868-1886. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8624.t01-1-00383
  39. Brody, G. H., & Flor, D. L. (1998). Maternal resources, parenting practices, and child competence in rural, single-parent African-American families. Child Development, 69, 803-816. DOI: 10.2307/1132205
  40. Chao, R. K. (1995). Chinese and European cultural models of the self reflected in mothers’ childrearing beliefs. Ethos, 23, 328. DOI: 10.1525/eth.1995.23.3.02a00030
  41. Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 487-496. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.113.3.487
  42. Daro, D., & Gelles, R. J. (1992). Public attitudes and behaviors with respect to child abuse prevention. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 7, 517-531. DOI: 10.1177/088626092007004007
  43. Day, R. D., Peterson, G. W., & McCracken, C. (1998). Predicting spanking of younger and older children by mothers and fathers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 79-94. DOI: 10.2307/353443
  44. Deater-Deckard, K., & Dodge, K. A. (1997). Externalizing behavior problems and discipline revisited: Nonlinear effects and variation by culture, context, and gender. Psychological Inquiry, 8, 161-175. DOI: 10.1207/s15327965pli0803_1
  45. Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K. A., & Sorbring, E. (2005). Cultural differences in the effects of physical punishment. In M. Rutter & M. Tienda (Eds.), Ethnicity and causal mechanisms (pp. 204-226). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
  46. Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (1995). Risk factors for the development of externalizing behavior problems: Are there ethnic group differences in process? Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Indianapolis, IN.
  47. Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. A., & Pettit, G. S. (1996). Physical discipline among African American and European American mothers: Links to children’s externalizing behaviors. Developmental Psychology, 32, 1065-1072. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.32.6.1065.
  48. Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994). Socialization mediators of the relation between socio-economic status and child conduct problems. Child Development, 65, 649-665. DOI: 10.2307/1131407
  49. Ellison, C. G. (1996). Conservative Protestantism and the corporal punishment of children: Clarifying the issues. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 35, 1-16. DOI: 10.2307/1386391
  50. Ember, C. R., & Ember, M. (2005). Explaining corporal punishment of children: A cross-cultural study. American Anthropologist, 107, 609-619.
  51. Escovar, L. A., & Escovar, P. L. (1985). Retrospective perception of parental child-rearing practices in three culturally different college groups. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 9, 31-49. DOI: 10.1016/0147-1767(85)90019-7
  52. Flynn, C. P. (1994). Regional differences in attitudes toward corporal punishment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 314-324. DOI: 10.2307/353102
  53. Garcia Coll, C. T. (1990). Developmental outcome of minority infants: A process- oriented look into our beginnings. Child Development, 61, 270-289. DOI: 10.2307/1131094
  54. Garcia Coll, C. T., Meyer, E. C., & Brillon, L. (1995). Ethnic and minority parenting. In M.H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting: Vol. 2. Biology and ecology of parenting (pp. 189-209). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
  55. Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.128.4.539
  56. Gershoff, E. T., Miller, P. C., & Holden, G. W. (1999). Parenting influences from the pulpit: Religious affiliation as a determinant of parental corporal punishment. Journal of Family Psychology, 13, 307-320. DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.13.3.307
  57. Giles-Sims, J., Straus, M. A., & Sugarman, D. B. (1995). Child, maternal, and family characteristics associated with spanking. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 44, 170-176. DOI: 10.2307/584804
  58. Greenwald, R. L., Bank, L., Reid, J. B., & Knutson, J. F. (1997). A disciplinemediated model of excessively punitive parenting. Aggressive Behavior, 23, 259-280. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2337(1997)23:4<259::AID-AB4>3.0.CO;2-F
  59. Greven, P. (1991). Spare the child. New York: Knopf
  60. Gunnoe, M. L., & Mariner, C. L. (1997). Toward a developmental-contextual model of the effects of parental spanking on children’s aggression. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 151, 768-775. DOI: 10.1001/archpedi.1997.02170450018003
  61. Hemenway, D., Solnick, S., & Carter, J. (1994). Child-rearing violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18, 1011-1020. DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(94)90126-0
  62. Hong, G. K., & Hong, L. K. (1991). Comparative perspectives on child abuse and neglect: Chinese versus Hispanics and Whites. Child Welfare: Journal of Policy, Practice, and Program, 70, 463-475
  63. Horn, I. B., Joseph, J. G., & Cheng, T. L. (2004). Non-abusive physical punishment and child behavior among African-American children: A systematic review. Journal of the National Medical Association, 96, 1162-1168.
  64. Jackson, S., Thompson, R. A., Christiansen, E. H., Colman, R. A., Wyatt, J., Buckendahl, C. W., et al. (1999). Predicting abuse-prone parental attitudes and discipline practices in a nationally representative sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 15-29. DOI: 10.1016/S0145-2134(98)00108-2
  65. Kelley, M. L., Power, T. G., & Wimbush, D. D. (1992). Determinants of disciplinary practices in low-income Black mothers. Child Development, 63, 573-582. DOI: 10.2307/1131347
  66. Kelley, M. L., Sanchez-Hucles, J., & Walker, R. R. (1993). Correlates of disciplinary practices in working-to-middle-class African-American mothers. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 39, 252-264

  • Children and Peace Luca Milani, Sarah Miragoli, Serena Grumi, Paola Di Blasio, pp.3 (ISBN:978-3-030-22175-1)
  • Risk assessment in a multicultural context: Risk and protective factors in the decision to place children in foster care Serena Grumi, Luca Milani, Paola Di Blasio, in Children and Youth Services Review /2017 pp.69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.04.009
  • Parental psychological control: An intrusive form of parenting Rosalba Larcan, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 2/2020 pp.7
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2020-002001
  • Improving the Early Assessment of Child Neglect Signs—A New Technique for Professionals Giovanni Valtolina, Concetta Polizzi, Giovanna Perricone, in Pediatric Reports /2023 pp.390
    DOI: 10.3390/pediatric15020035
  • L'approccio interculturale nel contrasto alla violenza sui minori con background migratorio Mariagrazia Foschino Barbaro, Giovanni Giulio Valtolina, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 2/2024 pp.49
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2024-002004
  • La famiglia omogenitoriale oggi: pregiudizio per lo sviluppo del minore? Un'analisi della letteratura dal 2000 al 2015 Giuseppe Mannino, Marta Schiera, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 3/2017 pp.87
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2017-003006
  • Risk and Protective Factors regarding Child Neglect: Differences among Immigrant and Italian Parents Francesca Ranghetti, Luca Milani, in Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma /2022 pp.44
    DOI: 10.1080/10926771.2021.1970671

Giovanni Giulio Valtolina, Contesto culturale, controllo genitoriale e punizioni fisiche in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 1/2013, pp 11-25, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2013-001002