NCJ Number
183435
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: June 2000 Pages: 437-455
Date Published
June 2000
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study examined trends in the well-being of Swedish youth to determine whether they have shown improvement or deterioration since the passage of the 1979 corporal punishment ban.
Abstract
During the spring of 1997, primary data were collected from five official data collections. Data covered the early or mid-1970's to the mid-1990's, thus permitting the documentation of trends from the period before the corporal punishment ban until the present time. Rates of youth crime were estimated through an examination of youth involvement in theft and narcotics trafficking. Violence was measured as rates of assault and rape, and alcohol and drug use was measured as alcohol consumption, experimentation with drugs, and ongoing drug use. Suicide was measured as the number of deaths of individuals aged 15 to 19 per 100,000 in this age group, for which the causes and intent clearly indicated suicide. Data were plotted for each variable across the years under study. The findings do not indicate that Swedish youth have become more unruly, undersocialized, or self-destructive following the passage of the 1979 corporal punishment ban. In fact, most measures demonstrated a substantial improvement in youth well-being, as rates of youth involvement in crime, alcohol and drug use, rape, and suicide have decreased. Trends in rates of nonsexual assault are equivocal due to shifts in enforcement. Legal sanctioning of corporal punishment apparently is unnecessary for improvement in youth well-being. 1 table and 72 references