The Influence of Gender, Race, Age, Academic Level, and Political Affiliation on Corporal Punishment Attitudes

There is a paucity of research on attitudes toward the corporal punishment of criminal offenders. This research study explored the attitudes of college students on corporal punishment. The authors found limited support for use of corporal punishment as a sanction for theft. There was greater acceptance for use of corporal punishment as a sanction for acts of violence. The authors conducted multivariate analyses to assess the influence of gender, race, age, educational level, and political affiliation variables on attitudes toward corporal punishment. Gender was the most powerful predictor of attitudes: men were more accepting of corporal punishment than women. After gender, political affiliation had the most influence. Republicans were more supportive of corporal punishment than Democrats. Race, age, and academic level had only limited influence on attitudes toward corporal punishment