On the Relationship between Forward Punishment with Beating and Behavioral Problems in Junior Middle School Students

Objective To understand the occurrence rate of behavioral problems of children having the previous punishment with beating history,and to analyze the effect of the previous punishment with beating on the behavioral problems among junior school students.Methods 842 students were investigated in a rural middle school.A self-report method was applied to collect the information of the forward punishment with beating and familial socio-demographic characteristics.Achenbach Child Behavior Scale (Teacher′s report form) (CBCL-TRF) was used to test behavioral problems of the students.The data of 812 students,in which 128 students were rated as forward punishment with beating and 684 as controls according to their self-reported previous punishment with beating history,were analyzed.The difference of each kind of behavioral problem rated by CBCL-TRF was compared between the two groups.Multiple non-conditional logistic regression model was applied to analyze the influential factors of the child behavior problem,which was defined as having any kind of these behavior problems:withdrawal,somatic complaints,attention problem and so on.Results The rate of male students having anxiety or depression syndromes in the forward beating group was higher than the that in control group (15.3% vs 6.2%,P0.01).The positive rate of thought problems(29.4%)was significantly higher than that of the control group (17.4%)(P0.05).The total behavioral problem positive rates in children with forward punishment with beating and in controls were 37.6% and 26.5% respectively.There was no difference in other behavioral problems rated by CBCL-TRF,including withdrawals,somatic complaints,attention problems,delinquent behaviors,aggressive behaviors,internalizing or externalizing problems between male students in two groups.The differences were not significant in all behavioral problems between female students in the two groups.Scores in academic performance and adaptability of neither male students nor female students showed differences between the forward punishment with beating group and the control group.Variables referring to gender,age and forward beating history of students,and age and education background of parents,residential qualification,family economics were selected for non-conditional multiple logistic regression analysis (α=0.05,β=0.10).It showed that forward punishment with beating history in childhood was one of the risk factors of behavioral problems.Conclusion The rate of behavioral problems of male students,who suffered with forward punishment with beating,was higher especially in anxiety or depression syndromes,thought problems and general behavioral problems.Forward punishment with beating is a dangerous factor of the occurrence of children′s Behavioral problems.