Twenty‐eight years after the complete ban on the physical punishment of children in Finland: Trends and psychosocial concomitants

Abstract

In 1983 Finland became the second country in the world, after Sweden, to adopt a law prohibiting all kinds of physical punishment towards children, also by parents. The present investigation was carried out in 2011, 28 years after the law was adopted. Changes in exposure to various types of physical punishment towards respondents born between 1931 and 1996 are presented. A representative sample from Western Finland, consisting of 4,609 respondents (2,632 females, 1,977 males) between 15 and 80 years, filled in a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. A number of psychosocial concomitants were measured. The results showed a significant drop in reports of being slapped and beaten with an object among respondents who were born after the law was adopted. The decline in physical punishment was associated with a similar decline in the number of murdered children. Respondents who had been exposed to higher amounts of physical punishment than average scored significantly higher on alcohol abuse, depression, mental health problems, and schizotypal personality. Divorced respondents had been significantly more physically punished than others. Respondents who had attempted suicide during the last 12 months had been exposed to physical punishment during childhood significantly more often than those who had not attempted suicide.

Promising intervention strategies to reduce parents’ use of physical punishment

“…Several other countries have experienced decreases in support for and incidence of physical punishment following prohibition, including Finland (Österman, Björkqvist, & Wahlbeck, 2014), Germany (Bussman, Erthal, & Schroth, 2011), and New Zealand (D'Souza, Russell, Wood, Signal, & Elder, 2016). Authors of a review of the research on physical punishment bans concluded that there was evidence to demonstrate that they have led to decreases in physical punishment and attitudes supporting it (Zolotor & Puzia, 2010).…”

The relationships between harsh physical punishment and child maltreatment in childhood and intimate partner violence in adulthood

“…We know from previous research that physical abuse commonly co-occurs with other types of child maltreatment [46, 47]. As well, physical punishment and child physical abuse both involve physical force and therefore, are believed to exist along a continuum rather than as distinct constructs [48–50]. Therefore, it is reasonable to hypothesize that physical punishment may also co-occur with other types of child maltreatment.…”

Physical punishment: Sanctioned violence against children

“…They note that the decision to ban physical punishment was a courageous decision, but it has had the effect of accelerating public disapproval of corporal punishment. This progressive decline in support for physical punishment of children has been seen elsewhere, with both Finland and Sweden documenting decrease in the number of children reporting physical punishment, decreasing endorsement of physical punishment of children in parallel with a decrease in the number of children murdered …”

“…The levels of acceptance of violence towards children were probably no different in New Zealand at the start of this process, than they now are in Australia, but the New Zealanders have seen progressive attitudinal change. The Finns have documented the same process . The campaigns against domestic violence should be extended to the protection of children.…”