Corporal punishment in rural Colombian families: Prevalence, family structure and socio-demographic variables

Objective: To reveal the prevalence of corporal punishment in a rural area of Colombia and its correlates to family structure and other socio-demographic variables. Method: A survey about childrearing and childcare was developed for this study, including a specific question about corporal punishment...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: González, Martha Rocío; Trujillo, Ángela María; Pereda Beltran, Noemí
Format: Article
Status:Accepted version
Publication date:2014
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/216873
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/216873
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Càstigs corporals
Maltractament infantil
Violència familiar
Corporal punishment
Child abuse
Family violence
Description
Summary:Objective: To reveal the prevalence of corporal punishment in a rural area of Colombia and its correlates to family structure and other socio-demographic variables. Method: A survey about childrearing and childcare was developed for this study, including a specific question about corporal punishment that was developed based on the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS). Family structure was categorized as follows, based on previous literature: 'nuclear family,' 'single parent' family, 'extended family,' 'simultaneous family' and 'composed family.'Results: Forty-one percent of the parents surveyed admitted they had used corporal punishment of their children as a disciplinary strategy. The type of family structure, the number of children living at home, the age of the children, the gender of the parent who answered the survey, and the age and gender of the partner were significant predictors of corporal punishment. Conclusion: Family structure is an important variable in the understanding of corporal punishment, especially in regard to nuclear families that have a large number of children and parents who started their parental role early in life