Why Do Parents Hit Their Children? From Cultural to Unconscious Determinants

ABSTRACT

Parental use of corporal punishment (CP) as a way of disciplining children is a widespread global problem. A number of child and family problems are linked to the behavior. Despite being commonly used to discipline children in many countries, its use is far from universal. Why do some parents use it while others do not? This paper examines the principal determinants, or predictors, that influence parental use of this form of punishment. I begin with a brief historical overview of the efforts to study the determinants of parental behavior. I then provide a brief summary of the four major categories of variables that predict CP use: socio-cultural influences; the family and social environment; child variables; and parental variables. Two types of parental variables – conscious thoughts as well as unconscious motives–will be examined in some detail. It is noteworthy that unconscious forces have received little research attention and typically go ignored. This raises an important methodological point: how CP is assessed affects the determinants studied. The article ends with a discussion of some future directions for the study of the predictors of CP and other disciplinary responses.

KEYWORDS:

• Childrearing
• discipline
• corporal punishment
• determinants

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The challenging – and thorny–problem of assessing the accuracy of retrospective memories was not considered in this study. For example, see Bell and Bell (2018).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

George W. Holden

George W. Holden, Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Holden’s research interests are in the area of parent-child relationships with a focus on discipline and parental social cognition. He is the author of numerous scientific articles and chapters, as well as the author or editor of five books. Holden is a fellow of the American Psychological Society (APS) and a member of four other societies, including the Society for Research in Human Development (SRHD), where he served as president. He has won several awards, including in 2018, the Distinguished Career Award from the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. He is the co-founder and president of the U.S. Alliance to End the Hitting of Children.