Validity of a scale measuring beliefs regarding the "positive" effects of punishing children: a study of Mexican mothers.

This paper discusses the influence that "beliefs concerning the corrective effects of punishment" have on child punishment and abuse in a Mexican population. One hundred and five mothers responded to a questionnaire measuring these beliefs, and their responses were contrasted with the report those mothers gave regarding the physical punishment they inflict upon their children. A scale consisting of six items registering beliefs was developed and administered. The reliability (internal consistency) of the scale was assessed, and its validity was tested by using a factor analytic structural equations model which produced high factorial loadings from a "beliefs" factor to the scale's items. This was interpreted as a confirmation of construct validity. An indication of predictive validity was found in a high, significant structural correlation between the beliefs factor and a "corrective punishment" factor, measured by a series of related items. Mothers reported as abusing their children produced higher scores on the "beliefs" scale as compared to "control" mothers. The direct, significant effect of parent's beliefs on the punishment of children explains much about the child maltreatment problem in the studied society.