Intergenerational Transmission of Physical Punishment in Childhood

The use of moderate physical violence in raising children is a widespread and accepted practice as a disciplinary measure. However, there is evidence that these practices during childhood have negative effects on the course of adult life, which motivated the analysis of the intergenerational transmission of this behavior. The Family Situations Survey carried out in 2007, financed by the National Agency for Research and Innovation of Uruguay (anii) and the United Nations Fund for Children (unicef), was used.
Statistical data analysis was performed using a probit model with dependent variables to determine the use of physical punishment as a disciplinary instrument, the frequency with which the person received punishment in childhood, and variables - binary and
independent - of gender, age and educational level. Likewise, the positive opinions and attitudes were taken into account regarding the case "hitting as a disciplinary technique" and their inference in the implementation of this action in the future.
Finally, for the Uruguayan case, we found evidence that there is intergenerational transmission
of the use of physical punishment as a disciplinary technique. The use of corporal punishment by parents is related to its approval, both in men and in women, without statistically significant differences. On the other hand, when introducing the opinion on
the use of this technique, the intergenerational transmission of the use of physical punishment in the case of women is maintained, but it loses significance in the case of men.