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23 J. Fam. Violence 1 (2008)

handle is hein.journals/jfamv23 and id is 1 raw text is: J Fam Viol (2008) 23:1-7 DOI 10.1007/s10896-007-9124-9 Parental Use of Physical Punishment as Related to Family Environment, Psychological Well-being, and Personality in Undergraduates Corrine E. Leary - Michelle L. Kelley- Jennifer Morrow - Peter J. Mikulka Published online: 13 August 2007 C Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007 Abstract Childhood experiences of physical punishment were examined as related to perceptions of family environment during childhood and affective and personality outcomes of college students. From the 274 respondents who participated, scores were compared for the participants with the 75 highest and 75 lowest physical discipline scores based on the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC-CA). Respondents who experienced the highest level of physical punishment in their families of origin reported higher family conflict, more negative parental relationships, greater family worries, more depressive symp- toms, more perceived nonsupport, greater identity problems, and more negative social relationships. Respondents in the low physical punishment group reported higher positive family affect. Results suggest that experiencing physical discipline as a child may be related to one's family environment and psychological well-being in young adulthood. Keywords Physical punishment - Corporal punishment- Discipline - Family conflict Physical punishment as a disciplinary technique is a con- troversial and emotionally charged subject. Defined as the legally permissible use of non-deadly force toward a child with the intent of causing pain in order to correct or control the child's behavior, research shows that over 90% of C. E. Leary - M. L. Kelley (W) - P. J. Mikulka Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Room 134C Mills Godwin Building, Norfolk, VA 23529-0267, USA e-mail: MKelley@odu.edu J. Morrow Educational Psychology & Counseling Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-3452, USA American families use physical punishment to discipline their children (Bryan and Freed 1982; Straus 1991; Straus and Donnelly 2001; Straus and Gelles 1990). Parents who use physical discipline tend to do so fre- quently. Data from the National Family Violence Surveys found that, in the preceding year, 12% of parents reported using physical punishment once, 46% of parents stated they had employed physical punishment two to seven times, and 42% of parents utilized physical punishment eight or more times (Straus and Donnelly 2001; Straus and Gelles 1990). On average, parents reported using physical punishment 8.9 times in the previous year. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found even higher rates of physical discipline. Specifically, two-thirds of mothers with children under 6 years of age had physically disciplined their children three or more times in the preceding week, with an average of 150 times in the previous year (Straus and Donnelly 2001; Straus et al. 1997). Straus and Donnelly (2001) argue that the discrepancy between the annual estimates of physical discipline from the National Family Violence Surveys and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth may be the result of physical punishment being viewed as so commonplace that the yearly estimations of physical punishment fall short of its actual use. Physical Punishment and Family Climate Parents who use physical discipline frequently are more likely to experience depression, use alcohol or illegal drugs, experience intraparental conflict, have a history of sexual abuse, and report a more authoritarian (i.e., harsh, restric- tive) style of parenting (DiLillo and Damashek 2003; Rorty et al. 1995; Smith Slep and O'Leary 2005; Woodward and Fergusson 2002). In addition, high levels of physical e Springer

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