NCJ Number
182137
Date Published
November 1999
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Findings from the 1999 Prevent Child Abuse America's survey of public opinion regarding child abuse prevention focus on the public's attitudes toward specific parenting behaviors, the frequency of various discipline practices, the public's optimism toward and involvement in child abuse prevention, and the extent to which parents reported the receipt of home visitation and other supportive services associated with the birth of their children.
Abstract
The survey involved a representative telephone survey of 1,250 randomly selected adults across the country, of which approximately 36-38 percent were parents with children under 18 years old living at home. The sample was a nationally modified random-digit-dial telephone sample. Findings show that physical punishment and repeated yelling and swearing continued to be viewed by the majority of respondents as potentially detrimental to a child's well-being. Parents continue to report less use of physical punishment than was the case in the initial 1988 survey. Trends by subpopulation found that this decrease in potentially harmful discipline practices has been virtually universal across income levels, race, educational status, residential location, and political and religious preferences. On average, parents reported the use of at least two discipline strategies, with denying privileges being the most common approach. Spanking continues to be most common among parents caring for young children. Public commitment to and involvement in the prevention of child abuse continues to be high. Almost one-third of parents with children under the age of 1 year old reported receiving home visitation services at the time their child was born. Actual and potential recipients of home visitation services continue to express positive views of this intervention. 5 tables