The study, published in the online version of the Journal of Family Psychology followed 33 Dallas area mothers as they came home from work and prepared to put their children to bed. The mothers used voice recorders, which they wore in sport pouches on their upper arms, to chronicle their interactions with their families.
Those evening hours constitute “the most stressful time period of the day, when emotional spillover from prior events are likely and children are most at risk for [corporal punishment],” write the paper’s authors, who recruited families at local daycare and Head Start centers.
Nationwide, 70 percent to 90 percent of parents hit or slap their children, says Holden. The practice is especially common in the south, and the punishment is most often meted out by mothers, who tend to be the primary caregivers.
Numerous studies have linked corporal punishment with childhood anxiety, depression and aggressive behavior. In its guidelines for disciplining children, the American Academyof Pediatrics recommends against spanking, “because it has been demonstrated to be no more effective than other approaches for managing undesired behavior.”
http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2014/04/study-parents-hit-children-for-trivial-reasons.html/?utm_content=buffer31aca&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Abstract available at Journal of Family Psychiatry: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=2014-12893-001
Photo credit: Gwen Harlow, Flickr.
Comments (0)