Use and abuse of corporal punishment: A Caribbean view

Abstract

In this study, 449 adults, aged 20 to 59 years, completed written questionnaires to indicate their views. Approximately 70 percent of respondents "generally approved" of corporal punishment, and three-quarters of the remainder considered it occasionally appropriate. There was evidence of considerable consensus as to what constitutes legitimate use of physical punishment and what is unsuitable and/or abusive. A small minority thought corporal punishment more generally undesirable or unproductive within the context of contemporary Barbadian society