Pennsylvania State University, Department of Sociology and Criminology and the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, 505 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA, 16801, United States.
Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Social Work, United States.
Child Abuse Negl. 2018 Jan;75:29-40. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.06.008. Epub 2017 Jul 23.
This study examined how a range of physical punishment measures, ranging from mild corporal punishment to physical abuse, are associated with cognitive performance, school engagement, and peer isolation over a 3- year span among 658 children initially observed between the ages of 8 and 14. Physical punishment was captured in three groups: mild corporal punishment, harsh corporal punishment, and physical abuse, and both caregiver- and child-reported punishment measures were considered. After accounting for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, only Ninitial exposure to physical abuse was significantly associated with declines in cognitive performance. However, all forms of physical punishment were associated with declines in school engagement, and harsh corporal punishment was associated with increased peer isolation. Our findings were relatively consistent regardless of whether physical punishment was reported by the child or caregiver. Overall, our findings suggest that the prevention of physical abuse may enhance children's cognitive performance, but that alone may not be sufficient to ensure children are engaged and well-adjusted in school.
本研究考察了在三年内，从轻度体罚到身体虐待等一系列身体惩罚措施与认知表现、学校参与度和同伴隔离之间的关系。658 名 8 至 14 岁的儿童最初被观察到，身体惩罚分为三组：轻度体罚、严厉体罚和身体虐待，同时考虑了照顾者和儿童报告的惩罚措施。在考虑了社会经济和人口特征后，只有初始暴露于身体虐待与认知表现下降显著相关。然而，所有形式的身体惩罚都与学校参与度下降有关，严厉体罚与同伴隔离增加有关。无论身体惩罚是由儿童还是照顾者报告的，我们的发现都相对一致。总的来说，我们的发现表明预防身体虐待可能会提高儿童的认知表现，但仅此可能不足以确保儿童在学校中参与度高且适应良好。
