A Decrease in Victimization From Physical Punishment in Finland in 1934–2014: An Evidence of an Emerging Culture of Nonviolent Parenting Address for correspondence: Karin Osterman, PhD. Department of Developmental Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Vasa, POB 311, FIN–65101, Finland Phone: +358-6-3247468 E-mail: karin.osterman@abo.f Submitted Date: july 02, 2018 Accepted Date: August 25, 2018 Available Online Date: October 11, 2018 © Copyright 2018 by Eurasian Journal of Medicine and Oncology - Available online at www.ejmo.org S ubsequent to the establishment of a Finnish law in 1983 [1] criminalising all types of physical punishment on children, in all situations, a signifcant decrease in victimisa- tion from physical punishment was found in 2011. [2] A simi- lar trend has been found in neighbouring Sweden, the frst country to abolish physical punishment in all situations in 1979. [3] Decreasing trends regarding the physical punish- ment of children have also been reported in countries with incomplete legislation against it, like Canada, [4, 5] and parts of the US. [6–8] In order to establish whether the observed decrease in Fin- land refects a permanent change in childrearing practices, a second survey was launched three years after (2014) the frst one. [2] This approach was selected since, according to Cohen (1994), [9] the best way to secure the correctness of fndings is to rely on the method of replication. Progress in International Legislation Against the Physical Punishment of Children A clear association between the existence of a law against physical punishment and how often children are being vic- timised has been reported. [10, 11] A study including six Euro- pean countries showed that children in countries without Karin Osterman, 1 Kaj Bjorkqvist, 1 Kristian Wahlbeck 2 1 Department of Developmental Psychology, Abo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland 2 The Finnish Association for Mental Health, Helsinki, Finland Abstract Objectives: In 1983, as the second country in the world, Finland established a law criminalizing all kinds of physical punishment of children, also in the homes. The aim of the present study was to establish whether an earlier observed decrease of physical punishment of children in Finland (Osterman et al., 2014) could be replicated 3 years later. Methods: A representative sample of citizens in Western Finland (3639 respondents, 15–80 years old) completed a questionnaire providing retrospective data about their childhood exposure to physical punishment. Four types of physical punishment were measured: pulled by the hair, pulled by the ear, hit with a hand, and hit with an object. Results: A continuous signifcant decline in self-reported physical punishment after the establishment of the law was observed. Of the 15–20-year-old respondents, 45% had never been exposed to any of the four types of punishment measured. Low parental educational level was found to be associated with higher levels of physical punishment. Conclusion: The present study replicates the fndings from the previous study conducted 3 years earlier (Osterman et al., 2014). It is concluded that a shift in the mindset toward a culture of nonviolent childrearing can be observed in Finland. Keywords: Corporal punishment, legislation, parental education, physical punishment Cite This Article: Osterman K, Bjorkqvist K, Wahlbeck K. A Decrease in Victimization From Physical Punishment in Finland in 1934–2014: An Evidence of an Emerging Culture of Nonviolent Parenting. EJMO. 2018; 2(4): 221-230 DOI: 10.14744/ejmo.2018.0027 EJMO 2018;2(4):221–230 Research Article