Straus M A, Stewart J H
Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, Durham 03824, USA.
Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 1999 Jun;2(2):55-70. doi: 10.1023/a:1021891529770.
We present data on corporal punishment (CP) by a nationally representative sample of 991 American parents interviewed in 1995. Six types of CP were examined: slaps on the hand or leg, spanking on the buttocks, pinching, shaking, hitting on the buttocks with a belt or paddle, and slapping in the face. The overall prevalence rate (the percentage of parents using any of these types of CP during the previous year) was 35% for infants and reached a peak of 94% at ages 3 and 4. Despite rapid decline after age 5, just over half of American parents hit children at age 12, a third at age 14, and 13% at age 17. Analysis of chronicity found that parents who hit teenage children did so an average of about six times during the year. Severity, as measured by hitting the child with a belt or paddle, was greatest for children age 5-12 (28% of such children). CP was more prevalent among African American and low socioeconomic status parents, in the South, for boys, and by mothers. The pervasiveness of CP reported in this article, and the harmful side effects of CP shown by recent longitudinal research, indicates a need for psychology and sociology textbooks to reverse the current tendency to almost ignore CP and instead treat it as a major aspect of the socialization experience of American children; and for developmental psychologists to be cognizant of the likelihood that parents are using CP far more often than even advocates of CP recommend, and to inform parents about the risks involved.
我们展示了1995年对991名具有全国代表性的美国家长进行访谈所得到的关于体罚的数据。研究考察了六种体罚方式：打手或打腿、打屁股、捏、摇晃、用皮带或木板打屁股以及打耳光。婴儿期的总体发生率（前一年使用任何一种此类体罚方式的家长百分比）为35%，在3岁和4岁时达到峰值94%。尽管5岁以后发生率迅速下降，但超过半数的美国家长在孩子12岁时仍会打孩子，14岁时这一比例为三分之一，17岁时为13%。对长期性的分析发现，打青少年孩子的家长一年平均打孩子约六次。用皮带或木板打孩子这种方式所衡量的体罚严重程度，在5至12岁的孩子中最高（此类孩子中有28%）。体罚在非裔美国人和社会经济地位较低的家长中、在南方、在男孩中以及母亲实施的情况下更为普遍。本文所报告的体罚的普遍性，以及近期纵向研究显示的体罚的有害副作用，表明心理学和社会学教科书有必要扭转目前几乎忽视体罚的倾向，转而将其视为美国儿童社会化经历的一个主要方面；发展心理学家也需要认识到家长使用体罚的频率可能比体罚倡导者所建议的还要高得多，并告知家长其中所涉及的风险。
