Subject(s)
Aptitude , Breast Feeding/psychology , Child Development , Intelligence , Child, Preschool , Female , Hawaii , Humans , Male , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
Patterns and correlates of child maltreatment were investigated both within the military and between military and civilian families. The results revealed that certain patterns and correlates emerged within the military that were significant. For example, loss of control and lack of tolerance were two major reasons given for abuse by military perpetrators . Also the stresses of family discord, new baby and continuous child care along with relocation and isolation played important roles in the occurrence of abuse within the military. When comparisons were made between military and civilian families, some differences were discovered but many more similarities were found. As an example, the analysis revealed that the stress of broken family was a more important correlate of abuse in civilian than in military cases of abuse. For all the other kinds of stresses (e.g., family discord and isolation), however, one was no more important for military than for civilian perpetrators . Although the patterns and correlates of child abuse and neglect may not be unique to the military, this does not minimize the importance of the problem in the armed forces. Programs of treatment and prevention must be developed and implemented to fit the needs and life styles of military families.
Subject(s)
Child Abuse , Military Personnel/psychology , Social Environment , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Family , Female , Hawaii , Humans , Infant , Life Change Events , Male , Middle Aged , Parent-Child Relations , Referral and Consultation , Stress, Psychological/complicationsABSTRACT
In many countries, corporal punishment of school children continues to be an officially or unofficially sanctioned form of institutional child abuse. Continuing support for the use of corporal punishment is related to the following factors: (1) widely held beliefs regarding the effectiveness of corporal punishment, (2) an unawareness of problems resulting from the use of physical punishment, and (3) a lack of knowledge about effective disciplinary alternatives. The purpose of this paper is threefold: One is to show that many of the beliefs are myths, e.g., corporal punishment is not needed to build character. The second purpose is to show that physical punishment can lead to more problems than it appears to solve, e.g., the punitive teacher is avoided, and thus, is not a positive factor in the child's education and development. The third purpose is to discuss two types of alternatives to punishment, the social learning approach and communication skills training. These positive methods of discipline not only enhance classroom behavior, but also facilitate learning. In an atmosphere free of abusing and demeaning acts and in a classroom characterized by positive mutual regard, teachers can maximize their effectiveness as teachers and students can maximize their effectiveness as learners.
