Childhood experiences with, and current attitudes toward, corporal punishment

The purpose of the present study was to determine, in a Canadian sample, the extent to which corporal or physical punishment use continues, personal experiences, and current attitudes. Of the 436 participants, 75% reported receiving physical punishment as children. Approximately 40% of participants agreed that corporal punishment is necessary as a means of discipline. Since parental attitude toward physical punishment has been determined to be an important predictor in its use with children, the authors recommend that parent education programming must include information related to its risks.