NCJ Number
224130
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 32 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2008 Pages: 649-657
Date Published
June 2008
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study identified the characteristics of mothers who reported spanking their infants during the first 13 months after their births.
Abstract
The study findings confirm previous research in showing that younger mothers use spanking more often than older mothers. No significant relationship was found between spanking and the mother’s race, partnership status, education, and income. Being of younger age, however, was associated with a number of factors related to appropriate parenting. Younger mothers are more likely to be unmarried and poor. Also, young women who become pregnant may be more likely to lack the experience, patience, and self-control needed for mature interactions with demanding infants. Mothers’ perceptions of their infants as difficult to care for increased the odds the infants would be spanked by approximately 80 percent. The findings suggest the importance of more anticipatory guidance from physicians, nurses, social workers, and other professionals about the use of discipline in a child’s first few months of life. The study consisted of interviews with 246 mothers who were interviewed in the Mother-Baby Unit of a large university-affiliated hospital in a large southeastern U.S. city. Ninety-three percent of the mothers were reinterviewed in their homes when their infants were 6-13 months of age. Spanking was measured with a response to the following question: “In the last week, have you spanked your baby for misbehaving?” 4 tables and 45 references