Temida 2018 Volume 21, Issue 2, Pages: 269-291
https://doi.org/10.2298/TEM1802269M
Full text ( 872 KB)
The predictors of parental use of corporal punishment in the upbringing of children of preschool age
Marisavljević Maša (Institut za eksperimentalnu fonetiku i patologiju govora, Beograd)
Srna Jelena (Filozofski fakultet, Beograd)
Tenjović Lazar (Filozofski fakultet, Beograd)
Although Serbia has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child and thus committed itself to a complete ban on the corporal
punishment in all settings, including home, very little is known about what
kind of parents punish their children, how frequently and what their
attitudes on this topic are. The objectives of the study presented in this
article were: to determine what beliefs prevail among parents of preschool
children in terms of corporal punishment of children, what is the incidence
of corporal punishment in the upbringing of children of preschool age, and
whether differences between parents regarding the use of corporal punishment
in the upbringing of children of preschool age could be explained by the
socio-demographic, individually psychological factors and experiences of
parents in coparenting. The study included 293 parents of both genders,
whose children attended preschools in Belgrade, Novi Sad and municipality of
Alibunar. The respondents filled out a questionnaire that included various
issues related to sociodemographic and individually psychological factors, a
questionnaire on Attitude towards corporal punishment, a questionnaire on
Beliefs about corporal punishment, as well as the questionnaire on
Experiences in coparenting. The results have shown that parents believe that
physical punishment harms a child (71%), that the child can be punished
sometimes, or in exceptional cases but only slightly (about 50%). When it
comes to the prohibition of corporal punishment, 46% of parents believe that
it should be introduced. On the issue of the incidence of corporal
punishment, 41% of parents have never applied corporal punishment, while 59%
of them have applied corporal punishment: 45% of them on an annual, 12% on a
monthly, 1% on a weekly, and 1% on an everyday basis. Parents with three or
more children, who have experienced corporal punishment during their own
childhood and those who have a more positive attitude towards corporal
punishment are more likely to apply corporal punishment in the upbringing of
their children. Younger parents are also more likely to punish children,
however when we take into account the socio-demographic factors only.
Experiences in coparenting are correlated with, but in the context of other
predictors do not provide unique contribution to the predicton of the use of
corporal punishment. Further research are needed in order to obtain more
precise and broader picture about this subject.
Keywords: corporal punishment, beliefs about corporal punishment, attitude towards corporal punishment, the use of corporal punishment, coparenting, predictors of corporal punishment, preschool children, Serbia