Child Abuse & Neglect 32 (2008) 1058–1062 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Child Abuse & Neglect Brief communication Beliefs in the necessity of corporal punishment of children and public perceptions of child physical abuse as a social problem Enrique Gracia a,∗ , Juan Herrero b a University of Valencia, Department of Social Psychology, Valencia, Spain b University of Oviedo, Department of Psychology, Oviedo, Spain article info Article history: Received 19 June 2006 Received in revised form 2 April 2008 Accepted 15 May 2008 Available online 21 November 2008 Keywords: Child physical abuse Corporal punishment Public perception Logistic regression Introduction Research on corporal punishment of children has examined issues such as its prevalence (Daro, 1999; Durrant, 1999; Roberts, 2000; Straus & Mathur, 1996; Straus & Stewart, 1999), relation with negative outcomes (Friedman & Schonberg, 1996; Gershoff, 2002a; Straus, 2000a), role as a risk factor for physical abuse (Gil, 1970; Straus & Stewart, 1999; Whipple & Richey, 1997), or influence on perceptions and the reporting of maltreatment (Ashton, 2001; Tirosh, Shechter, Cohen, & Jaffe, 2003), and has generated intense debates about the appropriateness of corporal punishment as a mode of discipline (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1998; Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002; Gershoff, 2002b; Larzelere, 1996; Larzelere, Sather, Schneider, Larson, & Pike, 1998; Rosemond, 2004; Straus, 2000a, 2000b, 2004). To our knowledge, however, no study has examined whether beliefs concerning the necessity of corporal punishment for child rearing are related to public perceptions of the extent of child maltreatment as a social problem in society. Perceptions of what constitutes child maltreatment are related to public beliefs of what is tolerable in the way parents treat their children. Because individuals hold different views of what is tolerable in the way parents treat their children, it is likely that the perception of the pervasiveness of child maltreatment in society will vary accordingly. From this viewpoint, beliefs in the necessity of corporal punishment (hitting, spanking, or slapping) as a child rearing practice might be related to public perceptions of the extent of child physical abuse as a social problem. The relationship between beliefs in the necessity of corporal punishment and public perceptions of the extent of child abuse as a social problem is an issue that deserves examination because it may add relevant knowledge to orient public education and prevention initiatives. The perception of the extent of a social problem in society may influence people’s concern, sense of responsibility, and positive attitudes to intervene and to exercise informal social control (Gracia & Herrero, ∗ Corresponding author address: Departamento de Psicología Social, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Valencia, Avda. Blasco Iba˜ nez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain. 0145-2134/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.05.004