A survey of parental opinions on corporal punishment in schools

Forty-three states permit corporal punishment in schools. This practice continues despite the universal opposition of professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. This study determines parental attitudes concerning the use of physical punishment in schools. The surveyed sample is drawn from parents of military dependents who brought their children to this clinic for routine physical examinations. One hundred and twenty-nine of 132 questionnaires were returned for a 98% response rate. Fifty-one percent of the parents supported the use of corporal punishment in schools, 37% disagreed (77% of these strongly), 11% had no opinion, and 1% did not respond to the question. Analysis of the responses displayed a relationship between parental attitudes on the use of corporal punishment and opinion of the positive effects of physical punishment on children's behavior (p less than 0.0001). No relationship was found between position on corporal punishment and the respondent (mother, father, or both), the age of parents, the military rank of the sponsor (the individual whose military service makes the child eligible for military medical care, i.e., father, mother, guardian, etc.), the sex of the children, the marital status of the parents, or the schools attended by the children (public or private). Thirty-four percent of parents believed corporal punishment would improve behavior, and 20% of parents felt that physical punishment would improve their child's academic performance.     

Relationship of corporal punishment and antisocial behavior by neighborhood

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship of corporal punishment with children's behavior problems while accounting for neighborhood context and while using stronger statistical methods than previous literature in this area, and to examine whether different levels of corporal punishment have different effects in different neighborhood contexts. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: General community. PARTICIPANTS: 1943 mother-child pairs from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Internalizing and externalizing behavior problem scales of the Behavior Problems Index. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Parental use of corporal punishment was associated with a 0.71 increase (P<.05) in children's externalizing behavior problems even when several parenting behaviors, neighborhood quality, and all time-invariant variables were accounted for. The association of corporal punishment and children's externalizing behavior problems was not dependent on neighborhood context. The research found no discernible relationship between corporal punishment and internalizing behavior problems.     

大中专学生儿童期教师体罚经历回顾性调查研究

目的了解大中专学生儿童期被教师体罚经历,探讨教师体罚学生的影响因素及儿童期教师体罚经历与青少年心理问题的关联。方法对河北1所大学和1所中专的528名在校学生就有关儿童期虐待经历进行回顾性不记名自填式问卷调查。结果57．6％（304／528）的学生报告16岁前受到至少1次下列5项中的1项来自学校教师的体罚：非身体接触体罚53．4％（282／528）、徒手打16．1％（85／528）、用物品打10．2％（54／528）、限制活动0．2％（1／528）,没有学生报告教师曾使其窒息／烧烫／刺伤。与没有教师体罚经历的学生相比,儿童期有2项或2项以上教师体罚经历的学生其SCL-90量表中躯体症状、强迫症状、人际关系敏感、抑郁、焦虑、敌对、偏执、精神病性症状等因子均分和总均分均明显偏高;在过去1年里出现严重忧郁情绪、饮酒醉过、参与或卷入打架斗殴的比例以及目前吸烟等的发生率偏高。结论儿童被教师体罚现象较普遍。儿童期教师体罚经历与青少年心理问题显著相关。急需提高公众对儿童权利的意识,学校要为儿童营造一个友好的学习环境。     

The role of the pediatrician in abolishing corporal punishment in schools. Committee on School Health, American Academy of Pediatrics

Corporal punishment in school is allowed in 30 states in the United States. The American Academy of Pediatrics, together with numerous other child-advocacy groups, has reaffirmed its position that corporal punishment in schools should be prohibited by state statute in all states. This article provides background information and recommendations regarding the potential role for pediatricians in attaining this goal.     

Pediatricians' role in supporting parents as they care for infants and young children

Primary care pediatric health care clinicians can integrate basic principles and strategies of the field of infant mental health within the time constraints of their current practice, while advocating for additional resources to support the expansion of the preventive potential afforded by new scientific advances in this field. Infant mental health is a relatively young field with the potential to reduce human suffering and health care costs associated with early-onset developmental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. This will depend not only on primary care pediatric diagnostic acumen, but also on related investments in health care preventive screenings and interventions, training and infrastructure, as well as community supports. The health and development of infants, young children, and families emerge from the interactions of a wide range of factors-including health, education, and economic policy, as well as attributes of local communities and the larger physical environment-and impact economics and security at national and global levels.     

Pediatricians' screening urinalysis practices

OBJECTIVE: To determine pediatricians' routine screening urinalysis practices. STUDY DESIGN: This was a survey of a nationally representative sample of pediatricians practicing in the U.S. regarding their screening urinalysis practices in childhood. RESULTS: Of the 1502 pediatricians sampled, 653 eligible subjects participated, for an estimated response rate of 49.5%. The vast majority of participants (78%) routinely screen asymptomatic children with urinalysis in at least 1 age group. Pediatricians' screening urinalysis practice varies based on age group: 9% screen during infancy (<1 year), 60% screen during early childhood (1 up to 5 years), 55% screen during late childhood (5 to 12 years), and 58% screen during adolescence (13 to 20 years). The majority of pediatricians (58%) routinely screen more than 1 age group. Some 38% of the pediatricians surveyed believe that the overall health of children is improved by screening all asymptomatic children with urinalysis. CONCLUSIONS: Many pediatricians routinely conduct screening urinalysis during childhood, frequently at ages not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.     

Pediatricians' immunization consent practices in Washington state

A survey of Washington state pediatricians and allied health professionals showed that two thirds provide written information to parents on diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis; measles-mumps-rubella; and oral polio vaccines. Twenty-two percent of pediatricians provide written information on inactivated polio vaccine. Sixty-two percent of pediatricians who give immunizations require a parent's signature as evidence of having provided information or obtained consent.     

Iron-fortified formulas. Pediatricians' prescribing practices

Primary care pediatricians in Washington State were surveyed regarding their attitudes about iron-fortified formula. Of the 210 responding physicians who stated an opinion 70 (33%) feel that there are definite indications for non-fortified formula, and 33 (16%) routinely recommend formula without added iron. Despite evidence that adding iron to formula has helped reduce the prevalence of anemia in children and does not cause gastrointestinal symptoms, iron-fortified formula is not universally recommended by pediatricians.     

Pediatricians' involvement in gun injury prevention.

BACKGROUND: Injuries from small arms are of concern internationally. The health perspective is an emerging aspect of international work to reduce these injuries. This aspect has been evident in US firearm injury prevention work for over a decade, exhibited by strong statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to remove firearms from children's environments. OBJECTIVES: To assess trends among US pediatricians related to firearm injury prevention counseling practices and attitudes toward gun legislation. DESIGN: National random sample, mailed surveys of AAP members: (1) 1994 (response rate = 68.9%, n = 982); (2) 2000 (response rate = 62.4%, n = 922). chi(2) Tests were used to assess bivariate relationships and logistic regression to assess multivariate relationships regarding counseling practices. RESULTS: Respondents in both years believed that violence prevention should be a priority for pediatricians (91.4% and 92.0%) and reported always or sometimes recommending handgun removal from the home (46.2% and 55.9%, respectively). In 2000, 74% of the respondents were comfortable discussing firearm safety; fewer thought they had sufficient training (32.7%) or time (27.5%) to discuss firearms. In 1994 and 2000, the likelihood of counseling on handgun removal was positively related to recent experience treating a gun injury, female sex and not owning a gun. In both years, >80% of pediatricians thought that gun control legislation or regulations would reduce injury and death. CONCLUSIONS: US pediatricians continue to adopt policies promoting gun injury prevention. The practices and attitudes of pediatricians may be important for public education strategies regarding firearm injury prevention in the US and internationally.     

Pediatricians' perceptions of mentally retarded individuals

Three hundred randomly selected members of the American Academy of Pediatrics were surveyed to determine their perceptions of mildly, moderately, and severely mentally retarded individuals. For each of the three categories of mental retardation, pediatricians completed the Prognostic Beliefs Scale which consisted of 27 functional capabilities and choices of residential and vocational placement. Of the 169 (56%) questionnaires returned, 142 (47%) were available for analysis. The pediatricians' perceptions were different for mildly, moderately, and severely retarded individuals. Most pediatricians believed mildly retarded individuals could do all but tasks requiring judgment, could function in unskilled competitive employment, and were likely to live in their own apartments. They believed that those with moderate retardation were limited in their capacity to simple and supervised tasks, could function in sheltered workshops, and were likely to live in group-home settings. They believed that severely retarded individuals were restricted to simple feeding tasks and following one-stage commands, were not capable of any productive employment, and would most likely live in institutions. Pediatric expectations and prognostications for placements were significantly lower than those of other professionals caring for mentally retarded individuals.     

Pediatricians' attitudes concerning motherhood during residency

Because half of pediatric residents are women, pregnancy is increasingly common among pediatric house staff. We hypothesized that the heavy work load of pregnant pediatric residents is tolerated because those who have experienced a residency themselves underestimate the strain of residency compared with other work. A questionnaire, designed to survey pediatricians' attitudes concerning the effects of employment on the fetus, mother, and newborn infant, was produced in two formats, which were identical except that one concerned residents, while the other concerned women employed full-time in other jobs. Each type of questionnaire was sent to 1000 randomly selected members of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Respondents in both groups shared many attitudes concerning the effects of maternal employment. Certain subgroups (eg, males, those married to spouses not employed, and those women not pregnant in residency) judged employment as more harmful in general. Contrary to the original hypothesis, however, all subgroups consistently judged residency as more deleterious than other work. Training programs need to adopt humane strategies to integrate motherhood with residency.