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CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF ADOLESCENTS BY AMERICAN PARENTS

NCJ Number
141399
Author(s)
M A Straus; D A Donnelly
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Data from interviews with the nationally representative sample of 6,002 American couples who participated in the National Family Violence Resurvey were analyzed to provide information on the extent to which corporal punishment was used and to provide exploratory data on aspects of the etiology of corporal punishment of adolescents.
Abstract
Almost half the adult recall sample (49.8 percent) reported an incident(s) of corporal punishment one or more times during their adolescent years. Corporal punishment tended to occur frequently: a median of four times during a 12-month period and a mean of six to eight times. Boys tended to be hit more often than girls. Fathers tended to hit adolescent girls less than mothers, but almost half of the daughters were hit during a 12-month period. The percent of parents who used corporal punishment was greatest near the middle of the socioeconomic distribution, but the frequency of corporal punishment declined with increasing socioeconomic status. Neither the normality of corporal punishment nor its advocacy by its victims is evidence that it does no harm. Available evidence shows corporal punishment to be associated with an increased probability of violence and other crime, depression, and alienation and lowered achievement. 5 notes, 7 figures, 1 table,

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