- 作者：Stephanie M. Reich ; Emily K. Penner ; Greg J. Duncan ; Anamarie Auger
- 关键词：Parenting attitudes ; Corporal punishment ; Reading ; Infants ; Toddlers
- 刊名：Child Abuse and Neglect
- 出版年：2012
- 期刊代码：51_01452134
- 类别：med
- 出版时间：February, 2012
- 卷：36
- 期：2
- 页码：108-117
- 文件大小：830 K
Objective
Research has found corporal punishment to have limited effectiveness in altering child behavior and the potential to produce psychological and cognitive damage. Pediatric professionals have advocated reducing, if not eliminating its use. Despite this, it remains a common parenting practice in the US.Methods
Using a three-group randomized design, this study explored whether embedding educational information about typical child development and effective parenting in baby books could alter new mothers鈥?attitudes about their use of corporal punishment. Low-income, ethnically diverse women (n = 167) were recruited during their third trimester of pregnancy and followed until their child was 18 months old.
Results
Findings from home-based data collection throughout this period suggest that educational baby books compared with non-educational baby books or no books can reduce new mothers鈥?support for the use of corporal punishment (respective effect sizes = .67 and .25) and that these effects are greater for African-American mothers (effect sizes = .75 and .57) and those with low levels of educational attainment (high school diploma, GED, or less) (effect sizes = .78 and .49).
Conclusion
Given their low cost and ease of implementation, baby books offer a promising way to change new mothers鈥?attitudes and potentially reduce the use of corporal punishment with infants and toddlers.