ArticleBMJ open2021
Multilevel ecological analysis of the predictors of spanking across 65 countries.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring Factors Associated With Self-Reported Parental Spanking and Hitting Out of Anger: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses Using National Panel Data.Family process · 2026Article
- How does context shape differences and changes in caregivers' engagement in psychosocial stimulation over time? Evidence from a cross-national study.International journal of behavioral development · 2025Article
- Spanking and Children's Approaches to Learning: Estimates from a Longitudinal Matched-Sample Design.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Orphan discipline and child neglect: An analysis from 48 countries.Child abuse & neglect · 2025Article
- Parenting beliefs and psychological distress → stimulation and punishment → young children's behavior: A descriptive study in Colombia.PloS one · 2025Article
- The next 1000 days: building on early investments for the health and development of young children.Lancet (London, England) · 2024Review
- Physical punishment and effective verbal communication in children aged 9-36 months, according to sex: secondary analysis of a national survey.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- Heterogeneous effects of spanking on child protective services involvement in early childhood: A propensity score stratification analysis.Children and youth services review · 2023Article
- Correlates of co-occurring physical child punishment and physical intimate partner violence in Colombia, Mexico and Peru.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Gender Inequality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Associations with Parental Physical Abuse and Moderation by Child Gender.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Apapacho Violence Prevention Parenting Program: Conceptual Foundations and Pathways to Scale.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Associations between spanking beliefs and reported spanking among adolescents-parent/caregiver dyads in a Canadian sample.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Interactions of gender inequality and parental discipline predicting child aggression in low- and middle-income countries.Child developmentArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveEnding violence against children is critical to promote the health and socioemotional development of children across the globe. To this end, the UNICEF and the WHO have called for the abolishment of spanking, which is the most pervasive form of physical violence against children worldwide. This study used an ecological perspective to examine micro-level and macro-level predictors of parental spanking across 65 countries.
participantsData came from the fourth and fifth rounds of the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, which were administered between 2009 and 2017 (N=613 861 households). We examined the predictors of spanking using multilevel logistic regression analysis.
resultsMicro-level factors (ie, those observed at the familial level) were stronger predictors of spanking in comparison to macro-level factors (ie, those observed at the community and country level). Caregiver belief that children need physical punishment in order to be raised properly was the largest risk factor for spanking (OR=2.55, p<0.001). Older child age, the child being female, the head of the household having a secondary education or higher, and higher household wealth were protective factors against spanking, while a higher number of people living in the household was a risk factor for spanking. Living in an urban community was the only macro-level factor associated with spanking.
conclusionsIntervention at the micro-level and macro-level are important to reduce violence against children across the globe.
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