Childhood corporal punishment: effects on self-esteem, socialization and parent-child relationships.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine how physical punishment affects a child's self esteem and interaction with other people in his environment. One hundred and eighty-eight La Consolacion College-Novaliches grade school students participated in a survey that assessed self-esteem, socialization and parent-child relationships. Using a sequential explanatory mixed method design, five selected students were given in-depth interviews. The data-collection tool included the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, Socialization scale of the California Personality Inventory and a descriptive questionnaire that asked of socio-demographic characteristics and other personal and interpersonal variables. The survey results showed that 93 percent of the respondents claimed to have been physically punished sometime in their lives, mostly in the form of pinching, slapping, spanking and twisting of ears. Mothers(57.4%) inflicted majority of these physical punishments. Comparing punished and unpunished children, the study found that punished children tended to have lower self-esteem. However, unpunished children had weaker relationships with their parents. The results also further indicated a strong negative correlation between frequency of physical punishment and self-esteem (r= -0.930, p-value= .006). The more frequent the punishment is, the lower the self-esteem. There was also a moderate negative association with levels of parent-child attachment. Children who were frequently punished tended to be more detached from his parents. Those who claimed to have been punished "occasionally" reported better socialization skills. Indeed, corporal punishment plays an important role in shaping a child's self-concept and the way they interact with other people.