When Parental Discipline Is a Crime: Overcoming the Defense of This judgment is not arbitrary, however, and can be made based on the meaning that the behavior communicates to the child and the meaning that the child makes of the pattern. Two recent, rigorously conducted studies illuminate the picture. 2019 Aug;94:104022. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104022. All United States jurisdictions have statutory definitions of child abuse consistent with the medical model of child abuse, which focuses specifically on the immediate and short-term physical effects of abuse on the child.16 Child-abuse definitions typically appear in both the criminal and civil sections of a states statutory code. Defining Child Abuse: Exploring Variations in Ratings of Discipline Severity Among Child Welfare Practitioners. 7B-101(1)(a) (West 2004 & Supp. Large variations across countries and regions show the potential for prevention. Professionals who daily must deal with child physical abuse uniformly speak of the fact that most physical abuse results from attempts to punish or control the child, which attempt has escalated to produce physical harm. Courts often consider how much force and how many strikes parents employ when they administer physical discipline, as well as whether they use an object such as a belt or paddle.103 The cases suggest that courts view with more suspicion a parent who uses extreme force to strike a child repeatedly with a paddle or belt than one who swats a child a couple of times with an open hand; correspondingly, such discipline is more likely to be found to exceed the bounds of reasonableness.104 To some extent, these factors simply correspond to the degree or severity of harm inflicted on the child. Fineman Martha Albertson. Thus, in order to fulfill their professional obligations, case workers, prosecutors, and judges should be regularly educated about the status of scientific evidence in child abuse and be trained to interpret that evidence. Associations between corporal punishment and a number of lifetime aggression indicators were examined in this study after efforts to control the potential influence of various forms of co-occurring maltreatment (parental physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse, sibling abuse, peer bullying, and observed parental violence). Contextual risk factors for corporal punishment A limit on this conclusion is that, beyond a certain level of severity of corporal punishment, harmful outcomes are likely to accrue to the child no matter what context surrounds the act or how it is interpreted by the child.179 This level is not always clear but may be a defining characteristic of physical abuse. States also may define child abuse and neglect in criminal statutes. For example, Arkansas statutory definition provides a list of intentional or knowing acts, with physical injury and without justifiable cause26 that constitute abuse, as well as a list of intentional or knowing acts, with or without physical injury27 that constitute abuse. Examples of the latter include infants and some special-needs children who, because of their level of brain development or pathology, simply cannot make the connection between their conduct and the physical force that follows. Applying Socio-Emotional Information Processing theory to explain child abuse risk: Emerging patterns from the COVID-19 pandemic. For mild and normative levels of corporal punishment, these consequences may include, on the positive end, immediate compliance with parental commands and, on the negative end, increased anxiety, aggressive behavior, decreased academic success, and lower self-esteem.190 The costbenefit ratio of these consequences seems adverse to some observers but acceptable to others. To these ends, this article contributes to the literature on the subject of broad and vague abuse definitions in law and the social sciences by proposing a legislative solution to the problem of where and how to draw the line between reasonable corporal punishment and maltreatment that is grounded in long-standing parental-autonomy norms and informed by the science that teaches when and how children suffer harm. Just over half of state definitions contain only broad language and fail to provide specific examples of injuries or acts constituting physical abuse or to elaborate otherwise on the meaning of physical harm or injury. Law Contemp Probl. The issues of discipline and punishment always arise in any consideration of child physical abuse because this is the primary justification given as reason to beat, burn or cut a child. Among the acts that constitute abuse with a showing of physical injury are [t]hrowing, kicking, burning, biting, or cutting a child; [s]triking a child with a closed fist; [s]haking a child; or [s]triking a child on the face or head.28 Similarly, Floridas statute provides that abuse is any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical injury or harm that causes or is likely to cause the childs physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired.29 It then enumerates injuries that can harm a childs health or welfare. Because they do some important good, however, and because their contents often reflect nonnormative parenting, either in fact or aspirationally, we do not suggest that they be eliminated. Dodge Kenneth, McLoyd VC, Lansford Jennifer E. The Cultural Context of Physically Disciplining Children. Lower rates were found in the WHO Western Pacific Region, with lifetime and past year prevalence around 25%. Indeed, depending on the jurisdiction, these parent-focused factors may predominate. That administrative regulations and policies promulgated by state and local CPS departments often narrow agency discretion helps CPS itself to be more consistent and may help families know what to expect when they are dealing with CPS. Storming the Castle to Save the Children: The Ironic Costs of a Child Welfare Exception to the Fourth Amendment. In some cases, the act or injury may fall precisely within one of the enumerated classes. Many states have exceptions for corporal punishment written into theirchild abuse laws. 2006). Child Abuse Negl. 702. Renteln Alison Dundes. Our interviews were designed to establish the degree and nature of the discretion CPS professionals have as they evaluate cases involving parental claims of reasonable corporal punishment. Coleman Doriane Lambelet.
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