ABSTRACT
Using the health belief model, the author examined spankers and nonspankers on the spanking messages they received from eight sources of discipline information and how important they perceived these messages to be. This chapter examines the sorts of advice families receive about the appropriateness of spanking and the importance of information sources. A growing body of literature on spanking has focused on the potential harmful effects of corporal punishment and its ineffectiveness as a child behavior management tool. Some of the potential harmful effects of frequent and severe spankings include subsequent antisocial behavior of children. Building on the principle that our attitudes and behaviors are formed, in part, by the environment, the health belief model incorporates how community norms and opinions about the negative consequences of a behavior affect an individual’s willingness to change a behavior. It looks beyond the individual to consider how macrolevel norms and environmental supports encourage individuals to change behaviors.
