Parental discipline in Spain and in the United States: differences by country, parent-child gender and education level / Disciplina parental en España y en Estados Unidos: diferencias en función del país, del sexo de padres e hijos y del nivel educativo

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse and compare the frequency of a wide range of parental discipline methods between Spain and the United States of America, according to country, parent-child gender and education level. To this end, 2,755 undergraduates, 1,416 from Spain and 1,339 from the United States, retrospectively reported the discipline that their parents had administered. Spanish parents, compared with Americans, showed a higher frequency in all types of discipline. Mothers in both countries more often applied most of the discipline methods, while the gender of the children was generally not related to the discipline received. Finally, a higher parental education level was associated with a higher rate of verbal explanation, a higher frequency of penalty tasks and with a lower use of physical punishment by the mothers. The implications of these findings are discussed based on the results of previous studies and cultural differences between the two countries.