Abstract:
This study identified the attitudes and values about corporal punishment held by mothers of children aged 12 months to 5 years, as they are related to the normative and situational context. Participants in the study were mothers with at least one child between the ages of 12 months and 5 years enrolled in the Children's Program at The University of Alabama. The mothers surveyed rejected the idea that using corporal punishment is sometimes necessary and part of their responsibility as a good parent. Most of them saw the value of corporal punishment in teaching children not to commit a misbehavior again, but it came with the cost of teaching children to fear the adult. The behaviors that mothers listed as most likely to elicit a spanking included noncompliance or disobedience and dangerous/unsafe or risky behaviors. The majority of the mothers claimed that they used corporal punishment only as a last resort, and for most mothers, the corporal punishment was quick. Mothers also claimed that administering corporal punishment failed to make them feel satisfied.
