Physical punishment as perceived by parents in Russia: Implications for professionals involved in the care of children

Ron Shor*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

To contribute to a knowledge base about the approach of families in Russia towards implementing physical punishment, a study was conducted with 100 parents in St Petersburg. A majority of the participants indicated that it was legitimate to use some measure of physical punishment. The use of an object as a measure was considered acceptable by one-third of the participants, especially towards children in the age range 5-12. Forty percent of the participants thought that physical punishment should be implemented in a less harsh way towards girls. The most frequently mentioned rationale for its implementation was violation of collectivist-based norms. A majority of the participants expressed disapproval for state intervention in the way parents handle inappropriate behavior of children unless the situation was extreme. They also indicated a medium-to-low level of willingness to seek help from formal sources if their child has a problem. Since physical punishment is considered a risk factor for physical abuse, the findings illuminate the necessity for professionals involved in the care of children to design prevention and intervention programs that could reduce this risk.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)429-439
Number of pages11
JournalEarly Child Development and Care
Volume176
Issue number3-4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006

Keywords

  • Children
  • Parents
  • Physical abuse
  • Physical punishment
  • Russia

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