An Exploratory Study of Parenting in Public Places: What Can We Learn from Parents’ Activity Locations and Physical Punishment?

Abstract

In this exploratory study, we examine how abusive parenting behaviors cluster across activity space locations in order to assess whether these clusters may be places where parenting norms are learned. We used survey data from Sacramento, California, to identify activity space locations for physical punishment and administrative data to identify physical abuse clusters. We find that physical punishment clusters occur primarily in stores and do not overlap with physical abuse clusters. Alcohol outlet density within the clusters was significantly different. Findings from this study allow us to think about those venues or microcontexts that might be the most risky for children to experience physical punishment and parents to engage in punitive parenting. Furthermore, this study may provide insight into ways practitioners and prevention experts can engage in harm reduction program planning to reduce maltreatment.