Physical Punishment and Maternal Beliefs in Sweden and Canada

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the cultural embeddedness of the notions of hierarchy and solidarity in parent-child relationships at the macro and micro levels in two nations. Mothers’beliefs about and use of physical punishment in Sweden, where parental use of physical punishment has been prohibited by law, were compared to those found in Canada, where physical punishment is a legally sanctioned behaviour. Questionnaires were administered to 102 Canadian mothers and 97 Swedish mothers of preschool children. Support was found for the hypothesized relationship between micro processes and macro structures. Canadians reported using mild physical punishment more often than Swedes. While attitudes toward spanking were generally negative in both groups, the attitudes of Canadian mothers reflected a belief system that could be described as higher on the hierarchy dimension and lower on the solidarity dimension than those of Swedish mothers. The findings are discussed in terms of connections and contradictions between micro and macro level processes and their evolving natures.