Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal Punishment

Spanking and Corporal Punishment Research 1

Running Head: Spanking and Corporal Punishment

Project 1

Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal Punishment

Samuel R. Morris

SOWK 300

Tuskegee University

Tuesday, October 12, 2010


Introduction

Problem Description: When raising a child discipline becomes a major factor between parents

with each individual each individual parent, discipline methods vary. For decades across this

nation, when one refers to discipline, they are referring to spanking or some form of corporal

punishment. Nevertheless, spanking and corporal punishment have become a major issue within

the nation. For some, spanking is seen as means of discipline to keep children in “line” or

“check.” For others, spanking enforces other mental and physical scars that can be seen

throughout childhood and adulthood. More importantly, how do students at the historic

Tuskegee University view spanking and corporal punishment?

Attributes to be measured: In conducting my survey of Tuskegee University students, I will

looked at various aspects in order to better assess the attitudes of students’ views towards

spanking and corporal punishment. I will look at the students’ age and classification across

campus. Moreover, I will provide a series of questions that will assess a student’s position

concerning my topic. Some of these questions will include their position on spanking, if their

parents ever spanked them or if they were ever in trouble with the police. By doing this, I hope

to gain a better understanding of the matter.

Hypothesis: In conducting this survey, I hope to find out some very interesting things from my

findings. I predict that there will be a higher percentage of participation amongst Freshman and

Sophomore students than any other classification at Tuskegee University. I also predict that

Freshman and Sophomore students will agree more with spanking and corporal punishment than

any other classification. When looking at age, I predict that students under 21 will agree more

with spanking.


I also predict to find that more of my respondents will agree that parents have the right to

discipline their children. I predict that there will be a higher number of people who viewed that

spanking and corporal punishment is a better discipline for children. Also, I predict that most of

my respondents were spanked by their children. I predict to there will be a higher number of

Tuskegee University students who got in trouble with the Police. Moreover, I predict that my

data will show that there will be a higher percentage of people who will likely spank their

children. These are just a few of all of my predictions that will be seen throughout this report.

Rational: Overall, I hope to hope to prove that the more students are okay with using spanking

and corporal punishment within their home. I also hope to prove a student’s age and

classification will affect their view towards spanking and corporal punishment. I also hope to

prove that these same univariate variables (age and student classification) will affect answers and

views on different questions concerning this issue. I also understand because of range of students

that attend the university, my findings may be obscured. I know that I there will probably be a

higher participation amongst lower classifications (Freshman and Sophomores) and this will

affect the outcome of the findings of my survey.


Results

Table 1

Age of the Respondents

______________________________________________________________________________

Age Frequency Percent

______________________________________________________________________________

Under 21 49 49%

21 – 24 36 36%

25 – 40 5 5%

41 – 54 9 9%

55 & Over 1 1%

______________________________________________________________________________

Table 2

Student Classification of Respondents

______________________________________________________________________________

Classification Frequency Percent

______________________________________________________________________________

Freshman 33 33%

Sophomore 9 9%

Junior 14 14%

Senior 23 23%

Graduate School 20 20%

Vet School 1 1%

______________________________________________________________________________


Table 3

Did your parents spank you as a means of discipline?

______________________________________________________________________________

Responses Frequency Percent

______________________________________________________________________________

Yes 91 91%

No 9 9%

______________________________________________________________________________

Table 4

Should parents be allowed to use corporal punishment to discipline their children?

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

Yes 88 88%

No 10 10%

______________________________________________________________________________

Table 5

Does corporal punishment work better than other disciplinary methods

that don’t involve physical pain?

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

Yes 60 60%

No 39 39%

______________________________________________________________________________

Table 6

Have you ever been in trouble with the police? ______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

Yes 19 19%

No 81 81%

______________________________________________________________________________


Table 7

How likely do you think you will spank your children as a means of discipline?

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

Very Unlikely 11 11%

Unlikely 14 14%

Maybe 28 28%

Likely 21 21%

Very Likely 26 26%

______________________________________________________________________________


Discussion

Basic Analysis

List of Graphs

Univariate Graph 1 Sex of the Respondents

Univariate Graph 2 Student Classification of Respondents

Univariate Graph 3 Did you parents spank you as a means of

means of discipline?

Univariate Graph 4 Does corporal punishment work better than

other disciplinary methods that don’t

involve physical pain?

Univariate Graph 5 Did your parents spank you as a means of

discipline?

Univariate Graph 6 How you ever been in trouble with the

police?

Univariate Graph 7 How likely do you think you will spank your

children as a means of discipline?

Bivariate Graph 1 Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal

Punishment by Student Class

Multivariate Graph 1 Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal

Punishment by Class controlled by Age

Bivariate Graph 2 Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal

Punishment by Age

Mulitvariate Graph 2 Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal

Punishment by Respondent’s Class

controlled by Age

Bivariate Graph 3 Respondent’s in trouble with the police

by Age

*Multivariate Graph 3 Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal

Punishment by Respondent’s Class

controlled by Age


*Bivariate Graph 4 Respondent’s in trouble with the police

by Student Classification

*These graphs are represented in the Additional Analysis portion of the report.


Graphs and Discussion

Univariate Graph 1


Univariate Graph 2

Discussion: Based on the background information above, student’s attitudes towards spanking

various on different levels based on a student’s age or classification. Looking at the age of

students, students under 21 participated more in my survey – this also made my prediction right.

Because most students who rank in this age bracket are also freshman students, I also predicted

that I would have a higher percentage of freshman participants than any other student

classification. This came out to be true. The interesting factor that still needs to be seen is how

these same group of participants react to spanking and corporal punishment.


Univariate Graph 3

Discussion: Because I believe that parents should have the right to use spanking or any other

form of corporal punishment as a means of discipline towards their children, I predicted that

most of my respondents would report that way. My data shows that 88% of my respondents

agreed with my hypothesis and also believes that parents should be allowed to use corporal

punishment on their children. 10% of my respondents reported no and 2% of my respondents

did not give an answer. I found this interesting because although my hypothesis was proven

right, I did expect the “YES” percentages to be higher than they were.


Univariate Graph 4

Discussion: The graph above shows some very interesting findings about students’ attitudes

towards spanking at Tuskegee University. In my original hypothesis, I predicted that there

would be a higher number of people who viewed that spanking and corporal punishment is a

better form of disciplining children. Based on my gathered data, my hypothesis was proven to be

correct. 60% of the students who participated in the survey believe that corporal punishment or

spanking is a better option to disciplining children. Only 39% of my respondents voiced that


there are other options or ways to discipline children. I had a small percent of 1% who did not

respond at all.


Univariate Graph 5

Discussion: When it comes to children, discipline is always an issue because children need to be

taught the difference between right and wrong. I predicted that most of my respondents were

spanked by their parents – and my hypothesis was also true. 91% of my respondents were

received spankings from the parents. However, this number was very shocking to me. Only 9%

of my respondents reported that they never received spankings from their parents. I was shocked

because I was looking for this number to be much smaller than what it actually reported.


Univariate Graph 6

Discussion: Getting in trouble with the police is never a nice thing, but some people do. I

predicted that there would be a higher number of my respondents who actually did get in trouble

with the police; however, I was wrong. 81% of my respondents reported that they never got in

trouble with the police while 19% of my respondents said that they did get in trouble with the

police. I found this to be very interesting. I do not want to make any hasty generalizations or

false assumptions so I will see how these same respondents view spanking later on in my report.


Univariate Graph 7

Discussion: I find these findings to be very interesting because they support a lot of what I think

my respondents view about spanking and corporal punishment. I predicted that there would be a

higher number of people who would likely spank their children opposed to those who would not

– and I was correct. My data shows that 26% of my respondents would use spanking or some

form of corporal punishment to discipline their children. Only 11% reported that they would not.

What was very shocking to me was that 28% (largest group) of my respondents said that they

“maybe” would use spanking and some form of corporal punishment. I am lead to believe that

the 26% that reported they would use spanking received spanking themselves.


Bivariate Graph 1

Discussion: Based on the data above, Tuskegee University Students’ attitudes about varies not

only by classification but also by the proposed question. Although there were a high percentage

of freshman participants, 85% reported that it is okay to spank children as a means of discipline

versus 15% who reported no. This pattern continues to be displayed throughout all the different

student classifications at the university. More students agree that spanking is an acceptable form

of discipline. One interesting fact that caught my eye was the Sophomore classification. This

classification reported the lowest percentage (78%) that agreed with spanking as an acceptable

form of discipline and had the highest percentage (22% that disagreed with spanking as an


acceptable form of discipline. Looking at this there are more Freshman students who will use

spanking than Sophomore students.


Multivariate Graph 1

Tuskegee University Students’ Attitudes towards Spanking and Corporal Punishment

Respondent’s Classification controlled by Age

Question: Do you think it is okay to spank children as a means of discipline?

2010 Survey of Tuskegee University Students’ Attitudes towards Spanking and Corporal Punishment

SOWK 300 FA 2010

Discussion: I was very interested to see my findings from my bivariate graph about this

particular question and to see how the findings would come out in a multivariate graph. Of

course, they were very interesting! Within my findings, I just looked at the Freshman and

Sophomore classifications within this question. Surprising, both classifications within the same

age group (Under 21) responded that they would use spanking or corporal punishment under any

circumstances. Freshman students reported 86.7% for “yes” and 13.3% for “no” and Sophomore

students reported 87.5% for “yes” and 12.5% for “no”. I find this interesting because these

same to classifications have reported the highest numbers throughout the entire survey.


Bivariate Graph 2

Discussion: Based on the data above, again students’ views about corporal punishment and

other methods of physical pain vary. I decided to look at this particular question based on the

previous bivariate graph. Students 21 and under reported that they agree that corporal

punishment works more than any other form of physical pain (61% vs. 37%). One thing that

stood out to me within this graph is looking at the age group of 41-54. This age group is older

and well matured. 78% reported they would use corporal punishment over any other form of

punishment while only 22% reported that they would not use corporal punishment at all.




Respondent’s Class Controlled by Age

Question: Does corporal punishment work better than other disciplinary methods that don’t involve physical

pain?


SOWK 300 FA 2010

Discussion: I decided to run the same student classification controlled by age category (Under

21) and see if the results would come up the same under a different question. Surprisingly, the

data was very similar. I am finding this very interesting because based on my complied data,

Freshman and Sophomore students seem to agree more with spanking and corporal punishment

than any other group. 60% of Freshman respondents reported that they think corporal

punishment is the best disciplinary method while 36.7% reported no. 62.5% of Sophomore

respondents reported that corporal punishment is the best disciplinary method versus 37.5%


reported no. As stated before, Freshman and Sophomore respondents agree more with spanking

and corporal punishment than any other student classification.


Bivariate Graph 3

Discussion: I was always very interested in looking at this data from just the univariate

standpoint and decided to view it from a univariate standpoint as well. Based on the data,

Seniors (100%), Graduate (95%) and Vet School (100%) students reported the highest

percentages students that was never in trouble with police. Looking at the lower classifications,

some interesting factors also arises as well! 73% of Freshman respondents reported that they

never got in trouble with the police with 27% reported that they did. But the Sophomore

respondents showed something totally different. 78% reported that they were in trouble with the

police while 22% reported they never got in trouble with the police. All I can say is wow!


Additional Analysis



Respondent’s Class controlled by Age

Question: Overall, do you think you deserved the punishment that your parents/guardians used on you when

you were a child?


SOWK 300 FA 2010

Discussion: In this portion of my report, I decided to run this question because I wanted see

how the results would come up. I really don’t believe that there has ever been a person who

would ever really agree with the punishment that their parents gave them, but to my surprise, the

data proved me to be incorrect. I looked at the Junior and Senior classifications controlled by an

age category of 21-24. 66% of Junior respondents reported that the punishment they received

from their parents was well deserved while 33% reported against this. Looking at the Senior


respondents, 90% reported that they deserved the punishment from their parents while 10%

reported against this. I honestly was looking for the numbers to be opposite that they were. This

was truly shocking to me.


Bivariate Graph 4

Discussion: I wanted to explore how many students actually got in trouble with the police

before. In one of my bivariate graphs, I explored this information from an age point of view, but

I will explore this now from a student classification point of view. After reviewing the data, one

thing that stood out tome is the Sophomore classification. 78% of the Sophomore respondents

were in trouble with police compared to 22% who was not. Every other classification reported

high numbers of respondents who did not get in trouble with the police. I find this interesting

because throughout my entire findings, Sophomore respondents have shown that they agree more

with spanking, but now is showing they also get in trouble with the police as well.


Conclusion

Disciplining children is a vital necessity in order to a society to remain “chaos free.”

Nevertheless, the way children are disciplined raises another new and very hot topic. When I

first started this research, I expected the data to look similar to my views. I expected this

because of my enrollment at Tuskegee University; however, I was proven wrong. My recorded

data surprised me totally. Moreover, it taught me that although I have certain views myself, the

world – or the rest of the campus – may not necessarily view it the same way.

The recorded data showed me a lot of different and new information about Tuskegee

University students. First, it showed me that a lot of Freshman and Sophomore students agree

more with spanking and corporal punishment than any other student classification across

campus. Second, it also showed me that a lot of Freshman and Sophomore students also get in

trouble with the authorities – which was very surprising to me. Moreover, looking at the data

from a controlled point of view, these same Freshman and Sophomore students continued to

produce some high percentage markings in favor of spanking and corporal punishment.

I cannot give some honest suggestions to this dilemma without being somewhat;

however, I can give some honest wisdom to the problem. As stated before, I believe that

discipline is a necessity for all children. Children need to be taught the difference between right

and wrong, but each parent need to learn what style of discipline works for their children. For

some children, spanking may aid in “keeping the child in check” while for others this may not

even work. Some children react better to other forms of discipline that may include time-outs or

grounding. Nevertheless, there is also a deeper concept that needs to be taken into consideration.

Spanking is a form of discipline and not physical abuse. No child should be ever abused.

People who believe in spanking need to be aware of this because disciplining a child does not


equate to child abuse. The data did prove some very interesting findings, but it also made aware

of some things as well. In order for spanking to be an acceptable form of discipline, we need to

make sure that people understand the meaning of discipline – to correct a wrongful act. If we

allow spanking to cross the line, then we are producing mentally, emotionally, and physically

hurt children, but by allowing spanking to stay within the line of discipline, we are teaching are

youth the meaning between right and wrong. Ultimately letting them know that every action has

an equal and opposite reaction.


Appendix

Draft of Questionnaire

SPANKING & CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SURVEY

This questionnaire is meant to assess the beliefs, and knowledge of Tuskegee University students about spanking children as a form of discipline (corporal punishment). It fulfills a course requirement for SOWK 300 Computer Applications in the Social Sciences. Please do not write your name on this questionnaire. Your responses are anonymous and confidential; they will be reported only in aggregate form.

Age *

Under 21 21 – 24 25 – 40 41 – 54 55 and over

Classification *

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Graduate School Vet School

Do you think it is okay to spank children as a means of discipline? *

No, not under any circumstances? Yes, under what circumstance?

Did your parents spank you as a means of discipline? *

Yes No

Should parents be allowed to use corporal punishment to discipline their children? *

Yes No

Does corporal punishment work better than other disciplinary methods that don't involve physical pain? *

Yes No

Have you ever been in trouble with the police? *

Yes No

Overall, do you think that you deserved the punishment that your parents/guardians used on you when you were a child? *

Yes No

How likely do you think you will spank your children as a means of discipline? With 1 being very unlikely and 5 being very likely. *

1 2 3 4 5


Questionnaire Approval

The following is my approval given by J. McArthur, instructor of SOWK 300 for FALL 2010 at

Tuskegee University:

j: yes..you can just copy and paste the text of your questions 6:24 AM that way when you send out the link to your survey , when people respond the results go directly to a spreadsheet for you in google docs you will then transfer those responses to SPSS and analayze and write your paper 6:25 AM me: Okay...I am nearly finished. I'm about to send it again j: o.k. super!! 6:26 AM you and the others who have SPSS for pc could start at any time on project 2 while you wait for your project 1 data to roll in me: okay...will do 6:28 AM Okay...I do I save this survey? 6:29 AM j: i think in google docs it saves it for you automatically share the link with me and allow for edit access that way I can see your spreadsheet as well 6:30 AM if I o.k. it now and you send it out you will probably have your online responses by tue me: okay...one sec 6:34 AM j: o.k. look at your document in google docs do you see my responses me: I closed the window with the survey how do I email it to you? j: go to google docs and click on the file 6:36 AM you should restrict access to just yourself and me - right now anyone with the link could possibly make changes 6:40 AM looks good me: Okay I can print my 25 and get started. Where can I get the link for the survey so I can email it out? 6:43 AM j: click on form - send form and send it to your self and friends on your email list and you can post the link on your website and facebook page 6:44 AM when you print your paper copy - make sure your survey stays on one page - most people hate filling out multiple page surveys ...all of this I will discuss in class TUE 6:45 AM me: Okay thanks! I will get started!!! j: i will peek in over the weekend to see your responses 6:46 AM me: okay 6:47 AM j: most students will ask a professor in their other classes if they can give out their survey, since most classes have close to 25 students anyway 6:48 AM if you remember back to ex5.5 that is how you will need to code your data to enter in SPSS, but I will review that on TUE during class me: ok...thanks! 6:49 AM j: k


Code Book File


Syntax File

DATASET ACTIVATE DataSet1.

FREQUENCIES VARIABLES=AGE CLASS OKSPK PARSPK SPANK CORPPUN

POLICE CORPBET SPKAGN

/STATISTICS=STDDEV MEAN MEDIAN

/GROUPED=AGE CLASS OKSPK PARSPK SPANK CORPPUN POLICE CORPBET

SPKAGN

/ORDER=ANALYSIS.

DATASET ACTIVATE DataSet1.

CROSSTABS

/TABLES=SPANK CORPPUN PARSPK POLICE SPKAGN BY CLASS

/FORMAT=AVALUE TABLES

/STATISTICS=CHISQ GAMMA

/CELLS=COUNT COLUMN

/COUNT ROUND CELL.

CROSSTABS

/TABLES=SPANK CORPPUN PARSPK POLICE SPKAGN BY AGE



/CELLS=COUNT COLUMN

/COUNT ROUND CELL.

CROSSTABS

/TABLES=OKSPK BY CLASS BY AGE



/CELLS=COUNT COLUMN

/COUNT ROUND CELL.

CROSSTABS

/TABLES=CORPPUN BY CLASS BY AGE



/CELLS=COUNT COLUMN

/COUNT ROUND CELL.

GRAPH

/PIE=PCT BY AGE

/TITLE='Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal Punishment' 'By Age'

/FOOTNOTE="2010 Survey of Tuskegee University Students' Attitude about Spanking

and Corporal "+

"Punishment" 'SOWK 300 FA 2010 '.


GRAPH

/PIE=PCT BY CLASS

/TITLE='Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal Punishment' 'By Student Classification'

/FOOTNOTE="2010 Survey of Tuskegee University Students' Attitudes towards

Spanking and "+

"Corporal Punishment" 'SOWK 300 FA 2010'.

GRAPH

/PIE=PCT BY SPANK

/TITLE="Tuskegee University Students' Attitudes toward Spanking and Coporal

Punishment"

'Question: Should parents be allowed to use corporal punishment to disicipline their

children?'


Spanking and "+


GRAPH

/PIE=PCT BY CORPPUN


Punishment"

"Question: Does corporal punishment work better than other disicplinary methods that

don't "+

"involve physical pain?"


Spanking and "+


GRAPH

/PIE=PCT BY PARSPK


Punishment"

'Question: Did your parents spank you as a means of discipline?'


Spanking and "+


GRAPH

/PIE=PCT BY POLICE


Punishment"

'Question: Have you ever been in trouble with the police?'



Spanking and "+


GRAPH

/PIE=PCT BY SPKAGN


Punishment"

'Question: How likely do you think you will spank your children as a means of

discipline?'


Spanking and "+


GRAPH

/BAR(GROUPED)=PCT BY OKSPK BY CLASS

/MISSING=REPORT

/TITLE="Tuskegee University Students' Attitudes towards Spanking and Corporal

Punishment" 'By '+

'Student Classification'

/SUBTITLE='Question: Do you think it is okay to spank children as a means of

disicpline?'


Spanking and "+

"Corporal Punishment" 'SOWK 300 FA 2010 '.

GRAPH

/BAR(GROUPED)=PCT BY CORPPUN BY AGE

/MISSING=REPORT


Punishment" 'By Age'

/SUBTITLE="Question: Does corporal punishment work better than other disciplinary

methods "+

"that don't involve physical pain?"


Spanking and "+


GRAPH

/BAR(STACK)=PCT BY POLICE BY CLASS

/MISSING=REPORT

/TITLE='Tuskegee University Students Attitudes towards Spanking and Corporal

Punishment' "By "+

"Respondent's Age"

/SUBTITLE='Question: Have you ever been in trouble with police? '



Spanking and "+


GRAPH

/BAR(GROUPED)=PCT BY POLICE BY CLASS

/MISSING=REPORT


Punishment" "By "+

"Respondent's Classification"

/SUBTITLE='Have you ever been in trouble with the police? '


Spanking and "+



SPSS Printouts


Data Coding Forms

Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal Punishment

Documents

Transcript of Attitudes about Spanking and Corporal Punishment