Research on Spanking and Corporal Punishment by Parents 1

Running head: Corporal Punishment by Parents

Project 1

Attitudes Towards Corporal Punishment

Marvin Merriweather

Social Work 300

Tuskegee University

October 12,2010
 Research on Spanking and Corporal Punishment by Parents 2

Introduction

Problem Description: The term corporal punishment means the intentional infliction of pain on the body

for purposes of punishment. Spanking can be defined as the use of physical force aimed at causing

children to experience pain but not injury, for the purposes of correction and control of youthful behavior.

Spanking is a controversial topic and should not be taken lightly. As African Americans we have been

subjected to corporal punishment dating back to slavery. The research conducted in this survey will

closely look at the attitudes towards spanking with a sample of students from a Historically Black College

and University (HBCU), Tuskegee University.

Attributes Measured: My research was conducted in the form of a survey. It was distributed to a sample

set of Tuskegee University students to measure the beliefs and attitudes towards parents, and the use of

corporal punishment as a means of discipline on their children. Age, gender and classification were all

taken variables in my research. With my results I hope to gain a better perspective on the various views of

the campus as it relates to the previous stated categories.

Hypothesis: I believe that my research will be clearly show that the idea of using corporal punishment as

a means of discipline will be high amongst all participants. I think the results will be more in the favor of

corporal punishment as a means of disciple because the demographic of the survey is directed towards a

student population who’s student body is made up of I high percentage of African Americans. I think this

will affect my results greatly due the history of African Americans and corporal punishment to discipline.

I think that more of my respondents will be more likely to agree with using corporal punishment as a

means of discipline work better than any other form of discipline that doesn’t involve pain. I also think I

high number of respondents had corporal punishment inflicted on them as a child but have never been in

trouble with the police. Finally I think that more people will be likely to use corporal punishment on their

children as a means of discipline due to the fact that it was used on them and because of this they

understood right from wrong and the consequences at an early age.

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Rationale: In conducting this survey I hope to gain a better perspective of the beliefs of using corporal

punishment as a means of discipline by parents on children. I hope to enlighten people to the fact that

spanking can be effective only if accompanied with lecture. Even though age, classification, and gender

are major variables I think that if I were to broaden the demographic and include race as a variable my

results may show a significant difference.

Results

Table 1

Age of Respondents

Age Frequency Percent

Under 21 34 34%

21-24 54 54%

25-40 10 10%

41-54 0 0%

55 and Over 2 2%

Table 2

Classification of Respondents

Classification Frequency Percent

Freshman 12 12%

Sophomore 14 14%

Junior 17 17%

Senior 33 33%

Graduate School 23 23%

Vet School 1 1%
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Table 3

Gender

SEX Frequency Percent

Female 60 60%

Male 40 40%

Table 4

Do you think it is okay to spank children as a means of discipline?

Answer Frequency Percent

No, not under any circumstance 11 11%

Yes, under what circumstances 89 89%

Table 5

Did your parents spank you as a means of discipline?

Answer Frequency Percent

Yes 92 92%

No 8 8%

Table 6

Should Parents be allowed to use corporal punishment to discipline their Children?

Answer Frequency Percent

Yes 73 73%

No 27 27%
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Table 7

Does Corporal punishment work better than other Disciplinary methods that don’t involve pain?

Answer Frequency Percent

Yes 50 50%

No 49 49%

Did not Answer 1 1%

Table 8

Have you ever been in trouble with the police?

Answer Frequency Percent

Yes 19 19%

No 80 80%

Did not Answer 1 1%

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Discussion

Basic Analysis

List of Graphs

Univariate Graph 1 Age of Respondents

Univariate Graph 2 Classification s of Respondents

Univariate Graph 3 Gender of Respondents

Univariate Graph 4 Do you think it is okay to spank children as a

means of discipline?

Univariate Graph 5 Did your parents spank you as a means of

discipline?

Univariate Graph 6 Should Parents be allowed to use corporal

punishment to discipline their Children?

Univariate Graph 7 Does Corporal punishment work better than

other Disciplinary methods that don’t involve
pain?

Univariate Graph 8 Have you ever been in trouble with the police?

Bivariate Graph 1 Do you think it is okay to spank children as a

means of discipline? * by age*

Multivariate Graph 1 Should Parents be allowed to use corporal

punishment to discipline their Children by age
controlled by classification.

Bivariate Graph 2 Have you ever been in trouble with the police
Age controlled by Gender

Multivariate Graph 2 Do you think its okay to spank children as a

means of discipline by age controlled by
classification.

Bivariate Graph 3
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Graphs and Discussion

Univariate Graph 1

Discussion: Based on the information collected from my survey it can be clearly stated that the age
group with the highest belief in spanking children at Tuskegee University is the age group of 21-24 with
54 percent. Out of the Sample students surveyed there were no respondents in the 41-54 age groups.
Under the age 21 had the second highest approval percentage with 34 percent.
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Univariate Graph 2

Discussion:

In this chart we looked at Classification of the respondents. The pie chart above shows that out
of the sample students survey the seniors had the biggest contribution to my data with 33
percent of the respondents. This could cause a problem in my final results because there could
be an unforeseen error or not having a broad arrangement or higher variety of individual who
had a part in taking this survey. The results could come out biased if one category of
respondents outweighs another significantly.
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Univariate Graph 3

Discussion:

In the previous graph we analyzed the number of respondents my gender. Given that both male and
female where the only applicable categories, the number of respondent were fairly even with females
respondents at 60 percent and male respondents at 40 percent.
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Univariate Graph 4

Discussion:

In the previous chart we looked at the number of respondents that believed that using corporal
punishment as a means of discipline was okay. Out of the number of respondents majority of
them believed that it is ok to use corporal punishment as a means of discipline with 89 percent of
the respondents saying yes it is ok to use corporal punishment as a means of discipline and only
11 percent said that it is not ok to use corporal punishment as a means of disciplining a child.
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Univariate Graph 5

Discussion

In the previous chart we looked at the number of respondents who’s parents used spanking as a means
of disciplining them. On review of the data it is really clear that the number of parents who used
spanking or corporal punishment as a means of discipline their child was substantially high with a high
number of 92 percent saying yes. Only a mere 8 percent responded that their parent did not use
spanking or corporal punishment to discipline them
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Univariate Graph 6

Discussion:

Upon review of the data collected it is clear to see that about a quarter of the respondents did not
believe that parents should be allowed to use corporal punishment in order to discipline their child, a
total of 27 percent saying no. on their other side of the spectrum 73 percent of the respondents
believed that a parent should have the right to use corporal punishment on the child in order to
discipline them and teach them right from wrong.
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Univariate Graph 7

Discussion:

When asked the question does corporal punishment work better than other disciplinary methods that
don’t involve pain the respondents came in about even. About 49 percent said no it does not work
better than other disciplinary methods that don’t involve pain, while 50 percent responded yes it does
work better. Only one percent of the respondents believed yes nor no and decided not to respond.
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Univariate Graph 8

Discussion:

The last univariate that I looked at was the question have you ever been in trouble with the
police. When asked this question a total of 89 percent of the respondents had never had any
trouble with the police. This could be due to the disciplinary methods chosen by their parents or
another unforeseen variable could have played a factor. On the other hand a total of 19% of
respondents replied that they have had trouble with the police but this could also be due to other
unforeseen factors that were not accounted for.
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Bivariate Graph 1

Discussion:

In this chart we looked at the number of respondents who’s parents used spanking as a means of
disciplining them. On review of the data it is really clear that the number of parents who used spanking
or corporal punishment as a means of discipline their child was substantially high with a high number of
saying yes. Only a mere 8 percent responded that their parent did not use spanking or corporal
punishment to discipline them.
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Multivariate Graph 2

Discussion:
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Bivariate Graph 2

Discussion:
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Multivariate Graph 2
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Conclusion

As a child I was spanked when I did something wrong. My parents never left a mark on

me what so ever. Being spanked taught me respect and kept me in line. The way my parents

disciplined me, I think is an accepted method of punishment. I believe what parents do to their

kids at home is their business as long as it is not a cruel or unusual form of punishment. I find

that younger kids these days are not disciplined enough by their parents; these kids do not respect

their parents or other adults. The Bible says that “Do NOT withhold discipline from a child, if

you punish him or her with a rod he or she will not die. Punish him or her with the rod and save

his or her soul from death (Proverbs 23 v.13 & 14.) The Bible is saying that if you do not keep

your child in line to make your child a good person.

My research showed that there is an array of different view on the subject of spanking

and corporal punishment. By creating this survey I was able to understand better on what the

different views were and categorize them by age and classification. I am somewhat biased on

spanking because I feel spanking is a good thing as long as its accompanied with the right type of

lecturing with a child as well as taking things away from the child possession

All in all, as a parent you are entitled to raise your child the best you know how. If that

means giving your child a spanking then spank away. Each person's personality is different and

so is each person's motivation. Disciplining children should be governed by the parents because

parents most of the time know what is best

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Appendix

Sample Survey

Spanking & Corporal Punishment Survey

This questionnaire is meant to assess the attitudes of Tuskegee University students about
Spanking and Corporal Punishment. It fulfills a course requirement for SOWK 300. Please do
not write your name on the questionnaire. Your responses are anonymous and confidential; they
will be reported only in aggregate form.

Spanking & Corporal Punishment Survey- Corporal Punishment. is the intentional infliction of
pain on the body for the purposes of punishment. Examples include spanking, slapping,
punching, hitting with objects, pinching and forcing to stand for long periods of time

1. Age

* under 21

* 21-24

* 25-40

* 41-54

* 55 and over

2. Classification

* Freshman

* Sophomore

* Junior

* Senior

* Graduate Student

* Vet School

3. Gender

* Male

* Female
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4. Do you think it is okay to spank children as a means of discipline

* No, not under any circumstances?

* Yes, under what circumstance?

5. Did your parents spank you as a means of discipline?

* Yes

* No

6. Should parents be allowed to use corporal punishment to displine their children

* Yes

* No

7. Does corporal punishment work better than other disciplinary methods that don't involve
physical pain?

* Yes

* No

8. Have you Ever been in trouble with the police

* Yes

* No

9. Overall, do you think that you deserved the punishment that your parent/ Guardians used on
you when you were a child?

* Yes

* No

10. How likely do you think you will spank your childern as a means of discipline? with 1 being
very unlikely and 5 being very likely?

*1

*2

*3

*4
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*5

Survey Approval
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Codebook File

Variable Measure
ment Column Print Write
Position Label Level Role Width Alignment Format Format

Age 1 Age Scale Input 8 Right F8 F8

group

Classificatio 2 Classificat Scale Input 18 Right F8 F8

n ion

Gender 3 Gender Scale Input 8 Right F8 F8

Spanking 4 Do you Scale Input 20 Right F8 F8

think it is
okay to
spank
children
as a
means of
discipline

Parents 5 Did your Scale Input 8 Right F8 F8

parents
spank you
as a
means of
discipline
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VAR00006 6 Should Scale Input 8 Right F8 F8

parents
be
allowed to
use
corporal
punishme
nt to
discipline
their
children?

VAR00007 7 Does Scale Input 8 Right F8 F8

Corporal
punishme
nt work
better
than other
Disciplina
ry
methods
that dont
involve
pain?

VAR00008 8 Have you Scale Input 8 Right F8 F8

ever been
in trouble
with the
police
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VAR00009 9 Overall, Scale Input 8 Right F8 F8

do you
think that
you
deserved
the
punishme
nt that
your
parents/
guardians
used on
you when
you were
a child?

VAR00010 10 How likely Scale Input 18 Right F8 F8

do you
think you
will spank
your
children
as a
means of
discipline
?

Variables in the working file

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Variable Values

Value Label

Age 1 under-21

2 21-24

3 25-40

4 41-54

5 55 and over

Classification 1 Freshman

2 Spohmore

3 Junior

4 Senior

5 Graduate Student

6 Vet School

Gender 1 Female

2 Male

Spanking 1 No, not under any cicumstances

2 Yes, under what circumstances

Parents 1 Yes

2 No

VAR00006 1 Yes

2 No

VAR00007 1 Yes
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2 No

8 Did Not Answer

VAR00008 1 Yes

2 No

8 Did not Answer

VAR00009 1 Yes

2 No

VAR00010 1 Very unlikely

2 Some what unlikely

3 Some what

4 Some what likely

5 Very likely

8 Did not Answer

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Syntax

FREQUENCIES VARIABLES=Age Classification Gender Spanking Parents VAR00006

VAR00007 VAR00008
VAR00009 VAR00010
/ORDER=ANALYSIS.

CROSSTABS
/TABLES=Spanking Parents VAR00006 VAR00007 VAR00008 VAR00009 BY Age
/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES
/CELLS=COUNT
/COUNT ROUND CELL.

CROSSTABS
/TABLES=Spanking Parents VAR00006 VAR00007 VAR00008 VAR00009 BY
Classification
/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES
/CELLS=COUNT
/COUNT ROUND CELL.

CROSSTABS
/TABLES=Spanking Parents VAR00006 VAR00007 VAR00008 VAR00009 BY Gender
/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES
/CELLS=COUNT
/COUNT ROUND CELL.

CROSSTABS
/TABLES=Spanking Parents VAR00006 VAR00007 VAR00008 VAR00009 BY Gender
BY Age
/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES
/CELLS=COUNT
/COUNT ROUND CELL.

CROSSTABS
/TABLES=Spanking Parents VAR00006 VAR00007 VAR00008 VAR00009 BY Gender
BY Classification
/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES
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/CELLS=COUNT
/COUNT ROUND CELL.

CROSSTABS
/TABLES=Spanking Parents VAR00006 VAR00007 VAR00008 VAR00009 BY Age BY
Classification
/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES
/CELLS=COUNT
/COUNT ROUND CELL.
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SPSS Printout
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Data Coding Form

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