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Physical punishment happening less, but still common – study
There is a clear downward trend in the number of parents using physical violence as a punishment in New Zealand, but its use is still relatively common, a new University of Otago study reveals.
Anti-smacking legislation that prohibited the use of physical punishment of children was introduced in New Zealand in 2007. The Otago study, to be published tomorrow in the New Zealand Medical Journal, spans before and after the legislation came into force and examines how the prevalence of child physical punishment changed between 2002 to 2017.
The 763 parents studied were members of the longitudinal Christchurch Health and Development Study which started in 1977.
Georgia Forrester02:05, Apr 30 2021
Charles Deluvio/ Unsplash
A researcher says it s disappointing some parents still view physical punishment, such as smacking, as an acceptable form of discipline. (File photo)
It’s still “fairly common” for some parents to physically discipline their children, despite the country’s anti-smacking law change, new research has found. In an effort to improve child health outcomes in New Zealand, the Government introduced anti-smacking legislation in 2007 that prohibited the physical punishment of children. New research, published in the
New Zealand Medical Journal on Friday, examined how the prevalence of child physical punishment changed in the 15-year period between 2002 and 2017 – before and after the legislation came into force.
File image
Photo: Unsplash / Jelleke Vanooteghem
The research, published in the Medical Journal, is based on data collected as part of the 40-year Christchurch Health and Development Study, which has followed more than 1000 participants since they were born in 1977.
In this study, University of Otago researchers tracked participants who were parents over a 15-year period between 2002 and 2017, when they were aged between 25 and 40, and collected information about how they disciplined their children.
Researchers found minor assaults against children reduced over that time by almost half, from 77 percent to 42 percent.
Severe assaults decreased by two-thirds, from 12 percent
In 2007, the anti-smacking law came into effect but researcher Geraldine McLeod said it was difficult to say whether it was a big factor in the decline.