Taylor Catherine A, McKasson Sarah, Hoy Guenevere, DeJong William
Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
J Child Fam Stud. 2017 Feb;26(2):652-663. doi: 10.1007/s10826-016-0586-3. Epub 2016 Oct 12.
Despite the risk it poses to children's mental and physical health, approval and use of corporal punishment (CP) remains high in the United States. Informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, we examined potential predictors of attitudes supportive of CP while assessing the moderating effects of parents' (N=500) chosen primary professional source of advice regarding child discipline: pediatricians (47.8%), religious leaders (20.8%), mental health professionals (MHPs) (n=18.4%), or other identified professionals (13.0%). We conducted a random-digit-dial telephone survey among parents ages 18 and over within New Orleans, LA. The main outcome measure was derived from the Attitudes Toward Spanking scale (ATS). The main "predictors" were: perceived injunctive norms (i.e., perceived approval of CP by professionals; and by family and friends), perceived descriptive norms of family and friends regarding CP, and expected outcomes of CP use. We used multivariate OLS models to regress ATS scores on the predictor variables for each subset of parents based on their chosen professional source of advice. Perceived approval of CP by professionals was the strongest predictor of parental attitudes supportive of CP, except for those seeking advice from MHPs. Perceived injunctive and descriptive norms of family and friends were important, but only for those seeking advice from pediatricians or religious leaders. Positive expected outcomes of CP mattered, but only for those seeking advice from religious leaders or MHPs. In conclusion, the strength and relevance of variables predicting attitudes toward CP varied according to the professional from which the parent was most likely to seek advice.
尽管体罚对儿童的身心健康构成风险，但在美国，体罚的批准和使用情况仍然很普遍。基于计划行为理论，我们在评估父母（N = 500）选择的关于儿童管教的主要专业建议来源（儿科医生（47.8%）、宗教领袖（20.8%）、心理健康专业人员（18.4%）或其他确定的专业人员（13.0%））的调节作用时，研究了支持体罚态度的潜在预测因素。我们在路易斯安那州新奥尔良市对18岁及以上的父母进行了随机数字拨号电话调查。主要结果指标来自于对打屁股态度量表（ATS）。主要的“预测因素”包括：感知到的指令性规范（即专业人员、家人和朋友对体罚的认可）、家人和朋友对体罚的描述性规范以及使用体罚的预期结果。我们使用多元OLS模型，根据父母选择的专业建议来源，将ATS分数对每个父母子集的预测变量进行回归分析。专业人员对体罚的认可，是支持体罚的父母态度的最强预测因素，但寻求心理健康专业人员建议的父母除外。家人和朋友的指令性和描述性规范很重要，但仅对那些寻求儿科医生或宗教领袖建议的父母而言。使用体罚的积极预期结果很重要，但仅对那些寻求宗教领袖或心理健康专业人员建议的父母而言。总之，预测对体罚态度的变量的强度和相关性，根据父母最可能寻求建议的专业人员而有所不同。
