Annual of social work, Vol. 23 No. 2, 2016.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.3935/ljsr.v23i2.135
SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC DETERMINANTS OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN
Miroslav Rajter
orcid.org/0000-0002-2608-3196
; University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Marina Trbus
orcid.org/0000-0003-0222-0923
; Parents’ Association »Step by Step«, Zagreb, Croatia
Ninoslava Pećnik
orcid.org/0000-0002-9723-5679
; Department of Social Work, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Corporal punishment of children as a pedagogical measure has been prohibited in Croatia since 1999. However, the results of epidemiological research of violence against children show that violent educational practices are still often used. The attitude of individuals towards corporal punishment of children is considered one of the most important predictors of corporal punishment. The aim of this research was to examine the psychometric characteristics of the Attitude towards
Corporal Punishment scale and identify the socio-demographic determinants of the attitude towards corporal punishment. The research was conducted as part of the project »Strengthen the Child’s Right to Protection« on a sample of 2,215 parents from five Croatian counties. The results of the analyses indicate that the attitude towards corporal punishment shows a positively skewed distribution, i.e. that fewer parents have positive attitudes towards corporal punishment, although a substantial number of them support corporal punishment to a certain extent. Parents’ sex, level of education, number of male children in the
family and total number of children in the family were found to be statistically significant. Parents’ age, self-assessment of family finances and number of female children in the family were not found to be predictors of the attitude towards corporal punishment of children. The results indicate the need for the revision of theoretical approaches in the area of prevention of violence against children. They also provide strong support for the creation of prevention campaigns aimed at changing the
attitude towards corporal punishment of children in the general public. Based on the analyses, use of this scale as one of the for risk assessment tools is recommended to professionals who work directly with users.
Keywords
attitude towards corporal punishment of children; socio-demographic factors; violence against children
Hrčak ID:
172550
URI
Publication date:
22.12.2016.
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