Parents' Self‐Reported Use of Corporal Punishment and Other Humiliating Upbringing Practices in Finland and Sweden – A Comparative Study

Abstract

Sweden and Finland were the first countries to ban corporal punishment 30 years ago. Since then, the prevalence of attitudes supporting the use of corporal punishment and the practice itself have decreased. This study examines the current frequencies of corporal punishment and other humiliating upbringing practices in Finnish and Swedish families. The analysis is based on survey data among 3170 Finnish and 1358 Swedish parents with children from newborn to 12 years of age. Data were analysed using univariate tests (chi‐square) and logistic regression. According to the analysis, a larger proportion of Finnish parents, and especially mothers, use humiliating upbringing practices compared to Swedish parents. This difference is not found with regard to corporal punishment. A larger proportion of Finnish parents push their children compared to Swedish parents, while a larger proportion of Swedish parents shake their children. In both countries, corporal punishment is more frequently used by fathers, boys are more often victimised than girls, toddlers are more often exposed to corporal punishment and school‐age children are more often subjected to psychologically abusive practices. Corporal punishment and other humiliating upbringing practices are strongly correlated in both countries. The differences found between countries were not explained by socio‐demographic factors.‘This study examines the current frequencies of corporal punishment and other humiliating upbringing practices in Finnish and Swedish families’Key Practitioner Messages Use of corporal punishment is still quite common among Finnish and Swedish parents. Parents use corporal punishment more often towards children aged two to six years while other humiliating upbringing practices are used more often towards children above age six. The differences between Finland and Sweden in the use of corporal punishment and other humiliating upbringing practices are not explained by traditional socioeconomic characteristics, nor by the parents' own experiences.