Brief communicationRelationships among parental beliefs in corporal punishment, reported stress, and physical child abuse potential
Introduction
Ecological and transactional models suggest that risk for physical child abuse is best understood as a dynamic construct that represents the confluence of characteristics of the individual, the family, and the larger social context Belsky 1993, Cicchetti and Rizley 1981. Characteristics of the parent, such as beliefs related to parenting (e.g., belief in the value of corporal punishment) as well as patterns of information processing related to child rearing situations (e.g., ability to integrate situational cues, appropriateness of expectations with regard to child compliance, etc.) are each thought to be related to risk for physical child abuse Milner 1993, Milner 2000.
Situational factors, such as high levels of stress, also may increase risk for a variety of types of maltreatment, including physical child abuse potential (e.g., Hillson & Kuiper, 1994). Further, under conditions of high stress parents may be more likely to engage in rapid, automatic information processing (vs. more controlled, flexible processing), which may increase the influence of basic belief structures on parenting behavior Milner 1993, Milner 2000. Thus, existing theory suggests that stress and beliefs regarding parenting (e.g., belief in the value of corporal punishment) may interact such that the association between parenting stress and risk for physical child abuse might vary depending on the parent’s belief in the value of corporal punishment. To examine this possibility, the present study assessed parents for belief in the value of corporal punishment, level of parenting stress, and physical child abuse potential. It was predicted that belief in the value of corporal punishment and level of parenting stress would interact in predicting physical child abuse potential. More specifically, it was predicted that among parents with high belief in the value of corporal punishment, but not among parents with low belief in corporal punishment, level of stress would be positively associated with physical child abuse potential.
Section snippets
Participants
Participants included in the present analyses took part in a larger study that examined the impact of instructional conditions on responses to parenting measures (Milner & Crouch, 1997). The larger project involved both general population and at-risk parents. General population participants included a convenience sample of parents recruited from the community. At-risk participants were parents who attended group treatment sessions offered by a secondary prevention program. The prevention
Procedure
The AAPI, PSI, and CAP were presented in a counter balanced order to general population and at-risk parents either individually or in small groups. At-risk, but not general population parents, were paid $10 for their participation. All parents were offered debriefing and provided a toll-free number that they could call to obtain more information about the study. In addition, each participant was provided a preaddressed, prepaid postcard (number coded to the participant’s data), which the
Results
The mean score on the AAPI Belief in Corporal Punishment scale was 34.51 (SD = 6.75). The mean PSI total stress score was 237.51 (SD = 46.26). Median splits were performed on the distributions for the AAPI Belief in Corporal Punishment scores (cut score = 35) and PSI total stress scores (cut score = 232), allowing for the creation of four groups of parents (nine parents with low belief in corporal punishment and low stress, seven parents with high belief in corporal punishment and low stress,
Discussion
Consistent with theory (e.g., Hillson and Kuiper 1994, Milner 1993, Milner 2000) and previous research (Abidin, 1995), level of stress related to parenting was significantly associated with physical child abuse potential. Results from the present study, however, suggest that the association between stress and physical child abuse potential may be moderated by the parents’ level of belief in the value of corporal punishment. Among parents who strongly believed in the value of corporal
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