Do parenting behaviors intended as discipline vary by household religious affiliation in Cameroon?

Religious affiliation may account for some variance in parenting behaviors used for disciplinary intent. However, most reported studies of this relationship are limited to high-income countries focused on Christianity.

This study aimed to determine whether parenting behaviors vary by religion in a low- and middle-income country between Protestant, Catholic, and Muslim groups. It was hypothesized that Protestant households would have higher odds of select parenting behaviors.

Data from the 2014 Cameroonian Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, containing a nationally representative household sample, were used.

Adult caregivers in selected households with a child aged 1-14 years of age participated in interviews containing a standardized disciplinary measure asking about the exposure of one randomly selected child to a series of parent behaviors in the preceding month.

Of the 4978 households, 41.6 % were Catholic, 30.9 % Protestant and 27.6 % Muslim. Spanking was the most common of the six types of physical punishments across groups with no association with household religion. In contrast, children in Protestant households had higher odds of being hit with an object compared to the other two groups, but only for younger children. Children in Protestant households also had higher odds of exposure to a combined approach, i.e., use of physical, psychological, and non-violent parent behaviors.

This study advances the examination of the potential influence of household religion on parenting behavior, however further inquiry is needed to examine these patterns in other settings with additional indices of religiosity and disciplinary beliefs.