Maternal violence, victimization, and child physical punishment in Peru.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined whether mothers' experience of violence was a risk factor for physical punishment.


METHODS
Data were derived from the nationally representative 2000 Peru Demographic and Family Health Survey. Participants were 12,601 currently married women who were living with biological children aged 0-17 years and were responsible for disciplining the children. A multinomial logit model was used to determine the probabilities of using no physical punishment, slapping/spanking only, beating only, and both slapping/spanking and beating to discipline children.


RESULTS
The study found that childhood history of physical punishment, a greater variety of intimate partner emotional violence and experience of intimate partner physical violence increased significantly a mother's probability of using physical punishment with her children, even after controlling for confounding factors. A mother's history of physical violence victimization by someone other than the current partner was also a significant factor for beating children as opposed to using non-physical forms of punishment.


CONCLUSIONS
Mothers were at substantially increased risk of using physical punishment if they were victims of parental physical violence in childhood, intimate partner violence in the current union, and physical violence by someone other than the current partner.


CONCLUSIONS
Increased public education is needed of the negative consequences of intimate partner emotional and physical violence victimization for mothers' childrearing strategies. There is a need to integrate intimate partner violence into child welfare programs and develop effective screening mechanisms for maternal violence victimization and child maltreatment.
Gage
Anastasia J
AJ
Department of International Health and Development, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2200 TB46, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
Silvestre
Eva A
EA
The Policy & Research Group, New Orleans, LA, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D019548:Crime Victims; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D011678:Punishment / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult