NCJ Number
164999
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 20 Issue: 8 Dated: (August 1996) Pages: 689-699
Date Published
1996
Length
11 pages
Annotation
To examine the relationships among childhood experience with punitive discipline, perceptions of a punitive childhood history, and adult attitudes regarding appropriate discipline, 1,359 university undergraduates completed a screening questionnaire to assess their childhood disciplinary histories and their perceptions of that history.
Abstract
A sample of 207 of the screened participants who reported a diverse range of childhood disciplinary histories participated in a second test session to assess attitudes regarding appropriate discipline. Among persons with severely punitive histories, those who did not label themselves as abused were less likely to classify events as physically abusive than those who labeled themselves abused. Persons with less severe punishment histories were comparable to those with severely punitive histories who also labeled themselves abused. Additionally, persons who had experienced a specific form of physical discipline as a child were less likely to label that form of discipline as abusive; however, this effect of experience did not apply among subjects who described a history of discipline-produced injury. Implications of these patterns for the intergenerational transmission of abuse are discussed. 2 tables, 2 figures, and 32 references