Among researchers and clinicians alike, large controversy surrounds the parental use of non-abusive corporal punishment in order to correct child transgressions. The purpose of this study was to address the gap in literature regarding young children's evaluations and interpretations of various discipline methods. Child ethnicity, sex, age, history of disciplinary experiences, and parental educational attainment level were evaluated in order to determine their unique contribution to a child's perception of physical discipline situations.

Participants included 59 parents and 67 children between the ages of 4 and 8. Parents of child participants completed a questionnaire assessing the types and frequencies of disciplinary methods employed within their homes. Children were shown a series of line drawings depicting child misbehaviors and then were asked to provide their opinions regarding acceptable parental disciplinary responses.

Results indicated that 81% of parents reported using physical discipline at home and 87% of children viewed physical discipline as acceptable. Overall, children believed that their counterparts should be spanked hard or very hard for engaging in common childhood transgressions and attributed negative emotions (i.e. sadness and anger) to children who had experienced corporal punishment. African American children, younger children (ages 4-5), children whose parents had a lower educational attainment level, and children who more frequently experienced corporal punishment at home rated physical discipline as the most acceptable. The sex of the child and type of misbehavior engaged in by the stimulus child in the vignettes did not influence acceptability ratings of corporal punishment.

Findings from this study suggest that the age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status of the child should be considered when developing parent-training programs, creating legal policies outlining physically abusive parental behaviors, and evaluating the social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes resulting from corporal punishment.