Where and when to spank : A comparison between U.S. and Japanese college students

Although physical punishment has been studied for decades, there are gaps in the literature regarding frequently used form, context, & cross cultural differences. A comparison was made using 227 college students in the United States & Japan, who were presented with four scenarios & surveyed regarding attitudes toward physical punishment, perceptions of appropriate discipline methods, & past experience with physical punishment. Japanese & U.S. respondents reported similar personal experience with physical punishment (Japanese 86%, U.S. 91%). However, U.S. respondents reported a higher likelihood of being hit with an object than did Japanese respondents. For U.S. respondents, the bottom & the hand were the top two sites on the body used for physical punishment, whereas the head & the face were the top two places for the Japanese sample. Unlike U.S. respondents, type of child misbehavior was found to have an impact on Japanese respondents' views on the appropriate discipline method. Tables, Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.