Perceived Instrumentality and Normativeness of Corporal Punishment Use Among Black Mothers

Abstract

Corporal punishment (CP) remains highly prevalent in the U.S. despite its association with increased risk for child aggression and physical abuse. Five focus groups were conducted with parents (n=18) from a community at particularly high risk for using CP (Black, low socioeconomic status, Southern) in order to investigate their perceptions about why CP use is so common. A systematic qualitative analysis was conducted using grounded theory techniques within an overall thematic analysis. Codes were collapsed and two broad themes emerged. CP was perceived to be: 1) instrumental in achieving parenting goals and 2) normative within participants' key social identity groups, including race/ethnicity, religion, and family of origin. Implications for the reduction of CP are discussed using a social ecological framework.

Delving Beyond Conscious Attitudes: Validation of an Innovative Tool for Assessing Parental Implicit Attitudes Toward Physical Punishment

“…Taken together, these studies converge on the notion that negative attitudes about physical discipline, as opposed to positive attitudes, may be a driving force in shaping whether parents use physical discipline with their child. This finding demonstrating an association between negative attitudes and physical discipline stands somewhat in contrast to empirical work which has suggested that parents who use physical punishment believe that this technique is socially acceptable and effective (e.g., Taylor, Hamvas, & Paris, 2011). Although future research investigating the power of both positive and negative attitudes at an explicit and implicit level may shed light upon the nature of this discrepancy, our results suggest that a focus on negative implicit attitudes about physical discipline may offer additional explanatory power in understanding why parents choose to use physical discipline or not.…”

Contextual factors associated with the use of corporal punishment in U.S. public schools

“…There is at least one potential explanation that we were not able to test empirically, which relates to the potential use of opt-in and opt-out policies. Some districts and schools that use corporal punishment allow parents to opt out, and, given higher acceptance of corporal punishment among Black parents (Taylor et al, 2011), it is plausible that Black parents are less likely to opt out than White parents. Lower opt-out rates among Black parents could explain, in part, larger disparities in SCP as well as higher overall rates of use in areas with larger Black populations.…”

“…First, the relative size of a racial or ethnic group should relate to its influence on the practices of schools or districts. Relative to Whites, Black parents hold more positive attitudes about corporal punishment (Taylor, Hamvas, & Paris, 2011; Taylor et al, 2011) and use it more frequently (Gershoff, Lansford, Sexton, Davis-Kean, & Sameroff, 2012). Because school policies reflect the community in which they are placed, schools may be more apt to use corporal punishment in areas with high numbers of Black residents.…”

Parents’ Primary Professional Sources of Parenting Advice Moderate Predictors of Parental Attitudes toward Corporal Punishment

“…Of particular concern, CP raises children’s risk for child physical maltreatment (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Zolotor, Theodore, Chang, Berkoff, & Runyan, 2008), mental health disorders (Afifi, Mota, Dasiewicz, MacMillan, & Sareen, 2012; Rodriguez & Henderson, 2010), and aggressive behavior (Berlin et al, 2009; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Mackenzie, Nicklas, Brooks-Gunn, & Waldfogel, 2015; Taylor, Manganello, Lee, & Rice, 2010). The unintentional escalation of CP accounts for the majority of substantiated cases of child physical abuse (Trocme’ & Durrant, 2003).…”