1. Objectifs

Intentions :
The authors « […] first present the mothers’ attitudes regarding corporal punishment based on the results obtained from a large population survey conducted with a representative sample. » (p. 165) They « […] then identify the personal, familial and social factors associated with attitudes and attributions in favor of corporal punishment. » (p. 165)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Les données sont issues d’une étude menée par l’Institut de la statistique du Québec en 2004. L’échantillon de la présente étude comprend 3148 mères.

Instruments :
Questionnaire téléphonique

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« The results show that mothers generally agree (80%) with the statement, “Quebec parents are too soft with their children”. A little over half (55%) believe that it is not wrong for parents to slap their children. On the other hand, the great majority of mothers (84%) do not approve of a law allowing parents to use force to correct children. Furthermore, 88% of the mothers are not convinced that spanking is an efficient childrearing practice. » (p. 167) Also, « […] results show that the less the mothers demonstrate sensitivity to the potential consequences for the child of resorting to minor violent disciplinary strategies (psychological aggression and corporal punishment), the more they approve of corporal punishment. There are also a significantly greater number of mothers who approve of corporal punishment and use the child’s behavior as justification for this approval among those who attest to the presence of violence during their own childhood and report stress caused by the child’s temperament. As for the mothers’ level of education, their evaluation of the family financial status as poor or very poor and the social support, they are associated with their attitudes and attributions in favor of corporal punishment [...], although it does not reach the adjusted level of significance in the regression model. » (p. 167-168)