2011/01/07 by Catherine A. Taylor, Lauren Hamvas, Ruth Paris · 82 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Aggression #Child Abuse and Trauma #Child Welfare and Adoption #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Corporal punishment #Demography #Developmental psychology #Ethnic group #Focus group #Grounded theory #Psychology #Qualitative research #Social group #Social identity theory #Social psychology #Socioeconomic status #Sociology #Thematic analysis
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2010.00633.x
published in Family Relations 60(1), 60-72 (Wiley)
crossref issued 2011/01/07 · crossref published 2011/01/07 · crossref published-online 2011/01/07 · openalex publication_date 2011/01/07 · crossref created 2011/01/07 · crossref published-print 2011/02/01 · crossref deposited 2024/04/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22 · crossref indexed 2026/08/06
Corporal punishment (CP) remains highly prevalent in the U.S. despite its association with increased risk for child aggression and physical abuse. Five focus groups were conducted with parents (n=18) from a community at particularly high risk for using CP (Black, low socioeconomic status, Southern) in order to investigate their perceptions about why CP use is so common. A systematic qualitative analysis was conducted using grounded theory techniques within an overall thematic analysis. Codes were collapsed and two broad themes emerged. CP was perceived to be: 1) instrumental in achieving parenting goals and 2) normative within participants' key social identity groups, including race/ethnicity, religion, and family of origin. Implications for the reduction of CP are discussed using a social ecological framework.