Introduction. Parental responses to a child’s misbehavior vary in type, duration and intensity and are influenced by the interplay of child, situational and parental factors Despite this dynamic, use of physical discipline such as spanking creates a dividing line for many parents and professionals. Some view spanking a child as an acceptable action (S-acc) and some firmly oppose it (S-notacc). Survey data was analyzed to determine if S-acc parents were as likely as S-notacc parents to use non-physical alternatives. Methods. As part of a baseline survey on parenting practices through a telephone survey, 400 randomly chosen parents with children under five responded to several scenarios of child misbehavior (an potential parental responses) and opinion statements about spanking. Results. The two groups did not differ on demographic characteristics or knowledge of time out (as an example of a non-physical alternative). The S-acc group was more likely to use time out, more likely to threaten the child with punishment and more likely to report being stressed out. Their use of spanking was not universal across the scenarios (2% to 19%). Conclusions. Parents who view spanking as acceptable report use of a wide range of response options and employ spanking based on the situation. Public Health Implications. Educational initiatives should not assume that parents who accept the use of spanking are not using non-physical measures already to manage children’s behavior. Increasing the use of non-physical alternatives requires a better understanding of the parent’s evaluation of response options.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: 1 - Describe the relationship between the use of physical discipline and use of non-physical alternatives 2 -- Describe the characteristics of parents who find spanking acceptable versus those who do not
Keywords: Child Care, Primary Prevention
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