Use and abuse of corporal punishment: a Caribbean view

A sample of 499 Barbadian adults, aged 20 to 59 years, completed written questionnaires to indicate whether they generally approved or disapproved of corporal punishment in child rearing, the perceived advantages and disadvantages of such punishment, the methods and circumstances thought most appropriate for use, and those most inappropriate or ill-advised. Approximately 70% of respondents "generally approved" of corporal punishment, and three-quarters of the remainder considered it occasionally appropriate. There was evidence of considerable consensus as to what constitutes legitimate use of physical punishment and what is unsuitable and/or abusive, although certain differences in the responses of older and younger adults highlighted specific diversities of concern and shifts of attitude over time. The majority considered serious disadvantages to arise only if parents resorted to punishment in an unsystematic, excessive, or self-serving manner, although a small minority thought corporal punishment more generally undesirable or unproductive within the context of contemporary Barbadian society.