Investigating Denial of the Harmful Effects of Corporal Punishment in a Religious Context

Corporal punishment continues to be a controversial topic. Many people who experienced spanking as children feel that they were not harmed by the corporal punishment and go on to believe that using corporal punishment on their children will not harm them, especially if it is administered calmly. This study looked at the attitudes of 203 parents in the context of religion using Holden\u27s Attitudes Toward Spanking a Child questionnaire. The results of this study showed that parents that said religion guided their parenting were more likely to view corporal punishment positively and were more likely to believe that corporal punishment is not harmful to their children. The results also showed that calm spanking creates a positive view of corporal punishment, thus leading to a greater likelihood of denying that spanking is harmful to children