Last update: Jan 2012
UNICEF documents and publications
This report, published by UNICEF in 2010, analyzes findings on parents’ and caregivers’ use of child disciplinary practices from 35 MICS and DHS surveys conducted in low- and middle-income countries in 2005 and 2006. The report represents one of the few available resources on the prevalence and nature of child discipline across regions and countries.
Article on attitudes related to child discipline in Child Abuse and Neglect
This article presents findings on caregivers’ attitudes towards physical punishment of children from 34 household surveys conducted in low- and middle-income countries in 2005 and 2006. The article analyses the variability in attitudes by background characteristics of the respondents to examine whether various factors at the individual and family levels correlate with the caregivers’ beliefs in the need for violent discipline. The article also examines to what extent attitudes influence behaviours and compares groups of respondents to see how attitudes relate to disciplinary practices across caregivers of different socio-economic backgrounds.