How Do Knowledge and Attitudes About Children's Rights Influence Spanking Attitudes?

Children's rights are about treating children with equality, respect, and dignity. Attitudes concerning children's rights have been linked to support for nurturance and self-determination. However, there is little research on how dimensions of children's rights are associated with other parenting constructs, such as attitudes toward physical punishment. This study examined the relationship between knowledge of and attitudes toward children's rights and attitudes toward spanking in a Canadian sample of 329 undergraduate students who completed an online study. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated a significant negative association in that more favorable attitudes toward children's rights predicted less favorable attitudes toward spanking. There also was a significant moderating effect of child rights knowledge on this relationship, such that greater knowledge enhanced the effects of attitudes toward children's rights on spanking attitudes. These results raise awareness of the combined role of both knowledge of and attitudes toward children's rights in influencing spanking attitudes. The results also suggest that one pathway decreasing favorable attitudes toward spanking may be to increase the general public's knowledge of children's rights.