How are parental practices and attitudes towards corporal punishment related to child academic, developmental, or psychological-emotional dysfunctioning?

Corporal punishment (CP) is a widely spread disciplining technique among parents and caregivers globally. The aim of our paper was to explore the relationship between the parental attitudes towards CP, expected outcomes of CP, and parenting practices on one hand, with the reported dysfunctions of their children. In addition, we aimed to explore the relationship between the use of CP and the reported academic, developmental and psychological-emotional dysfunctions of their children. The present study involved a nationally representative sample of 1186 parents in Serbia, who had at least one child aged 0 to 18 years in the moment of interviewing. The parents filled out a series of interviews on their attitudes towards CP, expectations of CP outcomes and their parental practices. Our findings indicate that parents that report having a child with dysfunctions have positive attitudes towards CP and expect positive outcomes of CP. These parents also report using more CP as a disciplining method, as well as other harsh disciplining techniques. We also identified significant predictors of reported child dysfunctions. When these measured effects combine, this puts the children with health-related and school-related issues at a significant risk of further maltreatment and abuse.