How Mothers in Poverty Explain Their Use of Corporal Punishment: A Qualitative Study in Kampala, Uganda

Nicola Boydell (), Winifred Nalukenge, Godfrey Siu, Janet Seeley and Daniel Wight
Additional contact information
Nicola Boydell: University of Edinburgh
Winifred Nalukenge: MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit On AIDS
Godfrey Siu: MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit On AIDS
Janet Seeley: MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit On AIDS
Daniel Wight: MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow

The European Journal of Development Research, 2017, vol. 29, issue 5, No 4, 999-1016

Abstract: Abstract Corporal punishment in the early years is associated with antisocial behaviour and violence, but little is known about its social and cultural context in low-income countries. This paper analyses how 12 deprived women in Kampala, Uganda, perceived corporal punishment, drawing on repeated semi-structured interviews. All thought it was sometimes necessary, for three main reasons. First, it was an important strategy to ensure good behaviour and maintain their and their child’s, respectability, crucial to self-respect given severe poverty. Second, it was a means of establishing household routines and managing scarce resources. Third, it was a way to protect children from health risks. However, all mothers thought corporal punishment could be excessive, and most said it can be counter-productive, making children ‘stubborn’. There appeared to be considerable variation in their degree of harsh parenting and emotional support. These findings could inform culturally appropriate interventions to reduce violence against children.

Keywords: Uganda; mothers/motherhood; parenting; corporal punishment; discipline; qualitative; parenting interventions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41287-017-0104-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:29:y:2017:i:5:d:10.1057_s41287-017-0104-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/41287/PS2

DOI: 10.1057/s41287-017-0104-5

Access Statistics for this article

The European Journal of Development Research is currently edited by Spencer Henson and Natalia Lorenzoni

More articles in The European Journal of Development Research from Palgrave Macmillan, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().