title: Staff Responses When Parents Hit Children in a Hospital Setting.
abstract: Physical punishment of children is a prevalent practice that is condemned by most medical professionals given its link with increased risk of child physical abuse and other adverse child outcomes. This study examined the prevalence of parent-to-child hitting in medical settings and the intervention behaviors of staff who witness it.
  
  
  
  Staff at a children's medical center and a general medical center completed a voluntary, anonymous survey. We used descriptive statistics to examine differences in the experiences of physicians, nurses, and other medical staff. We used logistic regression to predict intervention behaviors among staff who witnessed parent-to-child hitting.
  
  
  
  Of the hospital staff who completed the survey (N = 2863), we found that 50% of physicians, 24% of nurses, 27% of other direct care staff, and 17% of nondirect care staff witnessed parent-to-child hitting at their medical center in the past year. A majority of physicians, nurses, and other direct care staff reported intervening sometimes or always. Nondirect care staff rarely intervened. Believing staff have the responsibility to intervene, and having comfortable strategies with which to intervene were strongly predictive of intervention behavior. Staff who did not intervene commonly reported that they did not know how to respond.
  
  
  
  Many medical center staff witness parent-to-child hitting. Although some of the staff reported that they intervened when they witnessed this behavior, the findings indicate that staff may need training to identify when and how they should respond.
authors: *Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX;†School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA;‡Division of Child Abuse and Neglect, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO;§Department of Psychology, St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, MO;‖Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO;¶Department of Pediatrics, Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, WI;#Department of Behavioral Health, Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, WI.
authors: Sarah A
authors: SA
authors: Font
authors: Elizabeth T
authors: ET
authors: Gershoff
authors: Catherine A
authors: CA
authors: Taylor
authors: Amy
authors: A
authors: Terreros
authors: Monica
authors: M
authors: Nielsen-Parker
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Spector
authors: Rebecca H
authors: RH
authors: Foster
authors: Ann
authors: A
authors: Budzak Garza
authors: Denyse
authors: D
authors: Olson-Dorff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011678:Punishment