Spanking, or corporal punishment has always been a social issue discussed and measured. Over time the social values of it and who they are held by have changed. Through the years and the changing roles of men and women their values and priorities have changed, effecting the way they feel and choose to handle certain situations. When a child is disobedient the question of whether or not to spank a child comes into play. Another factor that is taken into consideration is the adult who is making the choice to spank. Looking back at studies done into the 1960’s you can see that there is and has always been a difference in the feelings of men compared to women on the topic of spanking. The question we examined is: Do you agree or disagree that it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good hard spanking?

A study done in 1994 shows the difference between men and women in the approval of corporal punishment is statistically significant. By taking a look at the rates you can see that the difference is significant, but it is not very large: 83% of men approved of corporal punishment compared to 76% of women. Over the years both sexes approval ratings of

APPROVAL BY YEAR AND GENDER OF RESPONDENT

People’s opinions fluctuate over time with a society’s changing norms. In the 60’s women were the primary care givers in the home while the men were the breadwinners. During this time women surveyed said they were more willing to spank their children than men. The difference in percentages wasn’t by much but it was the only time in which the women’s responses out-numbered the men’s.

When cross-tabulating the Sex variable with the Spanking variable in the GSS 96 data file, the chart presents the responses of respondents to the question: Do you agree or disagree that it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking? The chart shows the data as follows:

Understanding that these surveys have been very closed ended we have not been able to know if people fell into a middle ground and had to make a decision that didn’t accurately represent their feeling. Also, by not having written responses as to why they answered the way they did we cannot know their reasons for the responses. And if we take society’s pressures for conformity into account then all this data may have just been a waste of time. Unfortunately, this is how many surveys are done and the data is used, regardless of its randomness, statistical significance, or society’s desired responses by the masses. As for now, according to the question: Do you agree of disagree that it is sometimes necessary for a child to be disciplined by a good, hard spanking? , I would have to say that men have always been more approving of spanking and less influenced by other’s desires.

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