A Study On The Psychological And Behavioral Characteristics Of Children Suffered Corporal Punishment

Objective The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the prevalence of corporal punishment as well as the influencing factors of child flogging; (2) to explore the long-term effects of flogging on their neuropsychological development, psychological characteristics and child behavior problem; (3) to analyze the influencing factors of child behavior problem; and (4) to enlighten people to take further consideration on the issue of child corporal punishment.Methods One hundred and fifty-two students of preventive medicine, studying at the third grade, at School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, who passed their childhood in rural areas, were recruited as investigators. Children aged 1 to 14 years in the same administrative village as the investigators were selected as study subjects. A total of 2533 children in 1962 households were investigated. Data on the prevalence of corporal punishments as well as the influencing factors of child flogging were collected. Eight hundred forty-tow middle school students were also sleeted as subjects in a town, Wuwei county. A self-report method was applied to investigate the history of flogging and rate the individual psychological traits. The students' behavioral problems were rated by teachers using the teacher-report questionnaire of Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The subjects were devided into the forward flogging group and the control group according to the history of flogging. The distribution of individual psychological traits and child behavioral problems were compared between the two groups. The multiple non-conditional regression model was used to analyze the relatedfactors of child behavior problem. The comparison of the results of neuropsychological test was took among the four groups: the forward flogging group, the recent flogging group, the forward plus recent flogging group, and the control group matched with class, gender, and age.Results Of 2363 children in rural areas surveyed actually, 930 were flogged during the30 days preceding to the survey, the prevalence rate of flogging was 39.4%. If wedefined physical abuse as that children were subjected to flog by their guardians no lessthan 3 times and at least once with bruises or body swelling and even graveconsequences during the 30 days preceding to the survey, the prevalence rate of physicalabuse was 3.3%. One hundred and seventy-one children (7.2%) were punished withmaking stand, making kneel and confinements, seventy-one children (3.0%) werepunished with starving and fifty-two children (2.2%) were punished with being huntedout of house. Multiple non-conditional logistic regression analysis indicated that genderand age of children, education backgound of female guardians, foster parents and age ofmale guardians were associated with the prevalence of child flogging.The P scores for psychoticism of the forward flogging group (4.1298 2.66429)werehigher than those of control group (3.4501 2.6106)(t= 2.736, P<0.01).The N scores for Neuroticism of the forward flogging group (11.4692 4.76126) weresignificantly higher than those of control group (9.5771 4.68896, t=4.126, P<0.001).As to the life-satisfaction evaluation, the life satisfaction scores(57.5659 8.55848)ofthe forward flogging group were significantly lower than those of control group(62.2051 9.92511, t=4.899, P<0.001).As to the self-esteem scale survey, self-esteem scores of forward flogging group showedno difference comparing to their controls (P>0.05).More male students in the forward flogging group had anxiety or depression, higherthan the ones in control group (15.3%, 13/85 vs. 6.2%, 23/373;x2 =7.964, P<0.01)the positive-screening rate of thought problems 29.4%, 25/85 ), was significantly higher than those of control group (17.4%, 65/373) (x2=6.298, P<0.05) . The total behavioral problem positive-screening rate (37.6%, 32/85), was significantly higher among male students in the forward flogging group than in the control group (26.5%, 99/373)(x2=4.181,P<0.05)By using multip...