The Association between Parental Stress and Opinions of Corporal Punishment 

Abstract

Parenting can bring upon many stressors, especially as we have recently seen more unprecedented events unfold. A recent study conducted before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Donker et al., 2021) showed average decreases in support, positive parenting, and negative interactions between parents and adolescents.  Another study showed that 1 in every 4 parents feels trapped/controlled by their responsibilities, with poorer parents at an increased risk of experiencing high levels of stress, and low levels of parent–child interaction (Ricketts & Anderson, 2008). Luccassan et al. (2021) also found that higher levels of parental stress were associated with higher levels of coercive parenting and lower levels of co-parenting quality. Moreover, increases in parental stress were associated with increases in coercive parenting and with decreases in co-parenting quality. While these studies have examined parental stress and overall parenting quality, this current study aims to examine the specific association between parental stress and attitudes towards corporal punishment. We hypothesize that higher levels of stress will be more positively associated with more favorable opinions of corporal punishment. We will also examine parents’ education levels as a moderator of the relationship between parental stress and opinions of corporal punishment. Participants in the present study were caregivers of children ages 2 to 17, recruited in California using social media, email, newspapers and flyers posted around the local community. An online Qualtrics survey was conducted to collect data. This present study will use select questions from the Parental Stress and Coping Inventory (Daire, Gonzalez, & O’Hare, 2017) and a measure about Parenting Opinions. Data has been collected but not yet analyzed at this point in time. Linear regression analyses will be conducted to determine the association between parental stress and opinions about corporal punishment, as well as parents’ education.

Presentation

Session 3 – 4:30p.m. – 5:45p.m.

Room C – Sierra 2411