CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
The chapter introduces the main purpose and its problems that the study will
encounter. It includes the introduction, significance of the study, conceptual
framework, statement of the problem, hypothesis, definition of the variables
and the scope and delimitation.
INTRODUCTION
In federal terms, physical abuse is generally defined as “any non-accidental
physical injury.” That may include burning, kicking, biting, or striking a
child. Some states include threatening a child with harm or creating a
situation where harm to a child is likely as part of their definitions of
physical abuse.
Physical punishment or corporal punishment is the most common
form of violence experienced by children. It involves inflicting pain on a
child by a parent or guardian in the home by spanking or slapping, or
occasionally with an implement such as belt, slipper, cane or paddle. In our
country, our culture still considers it as part of parental responsibility to
discipline the child. About 100 children die every year as victims of corporal
punishment and many more suffer from disabilities. In terms of health,
physical punishment of children predisposes to physical illnesses such as
asthma, cardiovascular disease, obesity, arthritis, neoplasia, decreased
volume of cerebral gray matter, and increase in the frequency of hospital
stays.
According to a study conducted by Save the Children Philippines, a
nongovernmental organization crusading against child abuse, Filipino
children experience punishment at home 85 percent of the time and that 65
percent of them have received spanking as a form of punishment.
This form of violence is now widely recognized as a public health problem
because of its impact on physical and mental health of children and their
social, family and professional future interactions. It is only recently that
children were legally protected from corporal punishment in a growing
number of countries.
Dr. Stella Guerrero-Manalo, a developmental pediatrician and director of the
UP-Philippine General Hospital Child Protection Unit, advocates against
corporal punishment, emphasizing that it cannot be delineated from physical
abuse of children. She considers it as abusive and infringing on a child’s
right to human dignity. “If you treat children like dirt, they wouldn’t know
how to treat other people with dignity,” This simply means that corporal
punishment highly affects the child’s thinking, he/she might think that
everything that an adult is doing is right. Same as the saying goes, “what a
child see, a child do.”
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Other countries used corporal punishment in the Ancient times as a
part of a disciplinary regime designed to build willpower and authority
against the younger people and lower society class. It means paying for your
sins using your body. It is a method used in the middle ages for punishing
minor crimes. Child abuse on the other hand consists of anything that
endangers or impairs a child's physical or emotional well-being and
development. People who physically abuse others may give different
reasons for hurting someone. Sometimes, they might be struggling with
different issues. And certain things might trigger abusive behaviour, like
alcohol or drug use and other substances. Physical abuse can happen
alongside with other types of abuse, like sexual abuse, emotional abuse or
domestic abuse.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study, “Corporal Punishment: a Form of Discipline or Abuse”
attempts to determine and answer the following:
1. The demographic profile of the parents/guardians in terms of:
1.1 Age
1.2 Gender
1.3 Educational attainment
1.4 Status in life
2. What are the factors that differentiate corporal punishment from
discipline?
3. How does corporal punishment affects the children’s health?
3.1 Mental
3.2 Physical
3.3 Emotional
4. The cause of the occurrence of corporal punishment or abuse.
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION
The scope and delimitation of the said research study will be focusing
on the impacts or effects, and the purpose of this study to explore when
corporal punishment crosses the line into abuse. The gathered information
that is related to the research study which is acquired from surveying,
interviewing, researching and observing the respondents. This study may not
include and gather all the information and effects, but we will show the
major effects and boundaries of corporal punishment and discipline.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is beneficial to the following persons:
Parents/Guardians - This study could help them guide their children.
Students – This study will give students more knowledge about corporal
punishment and gives them idea for their future research regarding
Future Researchers – This study could help them to find basis and guidance
through this.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
This chapter presents a Review of Related Literatures and Studies of
researchers both local and foreign, which bear significant relationship
to present study.
Foreign Literature
