Child, mother, and neighborhood characteristics and mothers’ use of corporal punishment: A longitudinal repeated measures analysis

• Published in: Journal of family trauma, child custody & child development (Print) Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 64 - 80
• Main Authors: Lee, Na Youn, Hong, Jun Sung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis Ltd 01.02.2022
• Subjects: Behavior problems; Children; Corporal punishment; Cultural sensitivity; Domestic violence; Employment; Ethnicity; Linear analysis; Mothers; Neighborhoods; Poverty; Punishment; Race; Unsafe; Within-subjects design; Working mothers
• ISSN: 2690-4586; 2690-4594
• DOI: 10.1080/26904586.2021.1985682

This study aimed to investigate the child, mother, and neighborhood characteristics of mothers’ use of corporal punishment over time using a longitudinal repeated measures analysis. The sample consisted of 3,979 children from waves 2000 and 2002 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 who resided with their mothers. Hierarchical linear modeling results showed that younger age, race/ethnicity, and behavioral problems of the child significantly predicted the use of corporal punishment by mothers over time. Regarding mothers’ characteristics, we found that only poverty status was statistically significant, and for neighborhood characteristics, mothers’ ratings of neighborhood quality predicted their employment of corporal punishment. Hence, community programs and professionals should provide mothers—especially those struggling financially and living in unsafe neighborhoods—with alternatives to corporal punishment that are culturally sensitive, effective, and harmless.