@article{ref1,
title="Punitive parenting practices of contemporary young parents",
journal="New Zealand medical journal",
year="2007",
author="Woodward, Lianne J. and Fergusson, David M. and Chesney, Anna and Horwood, L. John",
volume="120",
number="1267",
pages="U2866-U2866",
abstract="AIMS: To describe the punitive parenting practices of a cohort of young (&lt;25 years) New Zealand parents and to examine the life course risk factors that placed these parents at increased risk of severe child physical punishment/abuse. METHODS: The data were gathered as part of the Christchurch Health and Development Study. At age 25, all respondents who had become a parent were interviewed about their parenting practices and family circumstances, including an assessment of child physical punishment/abuse using the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale. The present analysis was confined to those young parents (n=155) who were living full-time with their children at the time of assessment. RESULTS: Amongst this high-risk group of young parents, 77% reported having physically punished a child and almost 12% reported having severely physically assaulted a child in the past year. Although higher rates of child physical punishment were reported for parents of older children, a substantial proportion of parents reported having physically disciplined an infant (37%) or preschooler (84%) in their care. Risks of severe physical punishment/abuse were greatest amongst those young parents from lower socioeconomic status family backgrounds whose own parents were controlling, restrictive, and over-protective, and who (as young adult parents) were responsible for the care of larger numbers of children under conditions of socioeconomic and family functioning stress. CONCLUSIONS: The use of physical punishment and more severe forms of physical assault/abuse are relatively common amongst contemporary young parents. Implications of study findings for social policy aimed at reducing levels of family violence in New Zealand are considered.   <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0028-8446",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}