School corporal punishment, family tension, and students’ internalizing problems: Evidence from India

Abstract

There is considerable evidence that parental corporal punishment (CP) is positively associated with children's behavioral and mental health problems. However, there is very little evidence addressing whether CP perpetrated by teachers or school staff is similarly associated with problematic student functioning. To address this gap in the research literature, data were collected from students in a locale where school CP continues to be widely practiced. Participants were 519 adolescents attending public or private schools in Puducherry, a city in eastern India. Students completed surveys assessing school CP, internalizing problems, social support, and resilience. The results indicated that 62% of the students reported experiencing school CP in the past 12 months, with males and those attending public schools being significantly more likely to report school CP than females and those in private schools. Youth who reported school CP reported more anxiety and depression. That relation was more pronounced in youth who reported family tension. Social support and resilience did not moderate the relations. The findings add to the substantial evidence about negative associations

A Systematic Review of Corporal Punishment in Schools: Global Prevalence and Correlates

“…With the exception of one study, these rates ranged from 60% to 100% of schools studied (Ajowi & Simatwa, 2010; Egwunyenga, 2010; Ekanem & Edet, 2013; Ncontsa & Shumba, 2013; Owusu & Manger, 1996). Of those that measured students’ experiences of corporal punishment in high school, the prevalence rates were still notably high, particularly in the Southeast Asian region where the modal reported rates were 50%–60% (Deb et al, 2017; Raikhy & Kaur, 2009, 2011). Two studies in the Western Pacific region reported similar lifetime rates of corporal punishment for primary students (25%; Ahmed et al, 2015) and high school students (24.3%; Lee, 2015).…”

The role of culture in student discipline of secondary schools in cross-cultural context: a systematic literature review and future research agenda

“…When considering the first theme of 'punishment', it was identified that East and South Asian countries such as India (Deb, Kumar, Holden, & Simpson Rowe, 2017), Bangladesh (Mohiuddin, Khatun, & Al-Kamal, 2012), Korea, Japan, and Taiwan (Baumann et al, 2020) has a higher level of academic performance due to high levels of discipline in the classrooms.…”

Teachers' aggressive behaviors: what is considered acceptable and why?

“…The second aim concerns what forms of aggressive behaviors tend to be accepted by teachers and parents: verbal or physical. Previous research has demonstrated the negative impact of aggressive behaviors, both verbal and physical, on students ( Brendgen et al., 2007 ; Deb et al., 2017 ; Fromuth et al., 2015 ; Gershoff, 2017 ; Lee, 2015 ; Longobardi et al., 2018 ; Riley et al., 2010 ). For example, Geiger (2017) showed that teachers' verbal aggressive behavior increased students' aggressive behavior, their tendency to withdraw from class participation, and ignoring their teachers.…”

“…Although this study uses the term teachers' aggressive behaviors, it is worth noting that the topic is usually discussed under several terms, such as psychological maltreatment and emotional maltreatment , which emphasize teachers' verbal aggressive behaviors and the effects of such behaviors on their students ( Fromuth et al., 2015 ; Geiger, 2017 ; Longobardi et al., 2018 ); school corporal punishment , which focuses on physical aggression ( Deb et al., 2017 ; Gershoff, 2017 ); student maltreatment by teachers , which encompasses teachers' physical and emotional aggression ( Lee, 2015 ); and teachers' aggression , which focuses on teachers' verbal aggressive behaviors ( Riley et al., 2010 ).…”