Child Disciplinary Practices: Results from the MICS3

Child Disciplinary Practices: Results from the MICS3

John Fluke, Ph.D.Katherine Casillas, Ph.D.

Child Protection Research CenterAmerican Humane Association

Lijun Chen, Ph.D. Fred Wulczyn, Ph.D.

Chapin HallCenter for Children

Claudia CappaStatistics and

Monitoring SectionUNICEF

www.americanhumane.org www.childinfo.org www.chapinhall.org

ISCI - York2011

Overview• Paper 1: UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)

– History– MICS3 child discipline module – Methodology

• Paper 2: Overview of Results: Items and Subscales– Violent: Psychological, physical, and severe physical– Belief in need for physical punishment– Nonviolent

• Paper 3: Risk & Protective Factors– SES & Household Characteristics– Child Characteristics– Attitudes about Violence– Caregiver Characteristics– Summary & Program Implications

Section 1: UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)

UNICEF’s efforts in data collection: MICS

Household surveys designed to collect data on children and women and to provide evidence base for improved policy formulation and programme planning

Key data source for monitoring the MDGs, World Fit for Children, and other major international commitments

More than 100 indicators (nutrition, mortality, child protection, HIV, etc.)

Data available by background characteristics (sex, ethnicity, wealth, education, etc.) and at the sub-national level

Evolution of MICS over time

• MICS implemented every 5 years since 1995 (MICS1 in 1995, MICS2 in 2000, MICS3 in 2005)

• Nearly 200 MICS surveys conducted globally in first three rounds of surveys

• MICS3 in over 50 countries during 2005-2006

• MICS frequency increasing from every 5 years to every 3 years (MICS4 in 2009-2011)

Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) 15 years, 100 countries and 200 surveys

Survey toolsDeveloped by UNICEF after consultations with relevant experts from various UN organizations as well as with interagency monitoring groups.

Implementation and capacity buildingSurveys carried out by government organizations, with the support and assistance of UNICEF (HQ, RO and CO) and other partners.

Technical assistance and training provided through regional workshops (questionnaire content, sampling and survey implementation, data processing, data quality and data analysis, and report writing and dissemination)

MICS methodology

MICS questionnaires/methods Three modular questionnaires that can be customized to fit the data needs of a country.

-Household questionnaire-Questionnaire for women aged 15-49 -Questionnaire for children under the age of five(administered to the mother or caretaker)

Data are collected during face-to-face interviews in nationally representative samples of households

Complex cluster sampling design

Child Discipline Module in MICS

•Aims at measuring prevalence of violent and non-violent discipline methods used at home

•Uses as framework the CRC (1989):Article 19 of CRC: States Parties shall take all […] measures

to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.

Background

• Based on a Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale• Measures how parents (or adults in general) use different

tactics to teach children the right behavior or address a behavioral problem

• A set of questions (CD10-CD21) to calculate the indicator for children aged 2 to 14 years old

• The last question assesses attitude toward corporal punishment

Violent Discipline Indicator: definition

• Numerator: Children age 2-14 years who experienced psychological aggression or physical punishment during the 30 days preceding the survey

• Denominator: Children age 2-14

Definition of violent discipline• Psychological aggression: shouting, yelling and screaming at

the child, and addressing her or him with offensive names.

• Physical (or corporal) punishment: actions intended to cause the child physical pain or discomfort but not injuries. This include: shaking the child and slapping or hitting him or her on the hand, arm, leg or bottom, hitting the child on the face, head or ears, or hitting the child hard or repeatedly.

UNICEF MICS3: Countries Analyzed(N = 162,127)

• Central & Eastern Europe– Albania, Azerbaijan,

Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, & Ukraine

• Latin America & The Caribbean– Belize, Guyana, Jamaica,

Suriname, & Trinidad and Tobago

•East Asia & The Pacific– Lao & Vietnam

• Middle East & North Africa – Algeria, Djibouti , Iraq,

Syria, & Yemen • West & Central Africa

– Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, & Togo

Method of Analysis• MICS is multistage stratified cluster sample

– Clustering: households clustered within PSUs – Stratification of PSUs: by urban / rural, and

administrative or geographic region – Sample weights: household weights provided

• Complex Survey Analysis: using SPSS 17 Complex Samples add-on module.

• Strata: pseudo-strata created based on implicit geographic stratification within region

• Weights: child-based weights used in analysis

Section 2: Overview of Results: Items and Subscales

Defining child discipline:Violent discipline subscales & Item prevalences

Subscale MICS Items Median 3Q

Violent Discipline SubscalesPsychological discipline Shouted, yelled at, or screamed at him/her .69 .78

Called him/her dumb, lazy, or another name like that .31 .44

Physical discipline Shook him\her .28 .39

Spanked, hit or slapped him/her on the bottom with a bare hand .39 .46

Hit him/her on the bottom or elsewhere on the body with something like a belt, hairbrush, stick or other hard object .22 .33

Hit or slapped him/her on the hand, arm, or leg .30 .38Severe physical discipline

Hit or slapped him/her on the face, head or ears .15 .20

Beat him/her up with an implement (Hit over and over as hard as one could) .04 .07

Discipline item:Attitude about need for physical punishment

Median 3rd Quartile

Do you believe that in order to bring up (raise/educate) (target child) properly, you need to physically punish him/her?

.27 .37

Discipline subscales:Discipline subscales & Subscale prevalences

Median 3QVIOLENT:

Psychological ONLY .15 .23

Physical ONLY .07 .11

BOTH Psychological and Physical .55 .68

Severe Physical .17 .24

TOTAL who use ANY form of violent discipline .82 .89

NONVIOLENT:ONLY use nonviolent .15 .20

Use nonviolent (as well as violent) .90 .93

NONE: Use neither violent nor nonviolent discipline methods .04 .06

Overall Percentage of Children Receiving Any Violent Discipline

YemenVietnam

CameroonSierra LeoneCote d'Ivoire

TogoGhana

JamaicaCentral African Republic

SyriaAlgeria

GambiaSuriname

IraqBelarus

Burkina FasoGuinea-Bissau

TajikistanTrinidad & Tobago

GuyanaAzerbaijan

SerbiaLao

MacedoniaDjibouti

BelizeUkraineGeorgia

MontenegroKazakhstanKyrgyzstan

AlbaniaBosnia & Herzegovina

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Trinidad & Tobago

Overall Percentage of Children Receiving Severe Violent (Physical) Discipline

YemenCentral African Republic

IraqGuinea-Bissau

CameroonTogo

AlgeriaSierra Leone

SyriaGambia

Cote d'IvoireDjiboutiGeorgia

Burkina FasoTajikistan

AzerbaijanGuyana

MacedoniaGhana

VietnamSuriname

AlbaniaJamaica

LaoBelize

SerbiaMontenegro

Trinidad & TobagoBosnia & Herzegovina

KyrgyzstanUkraineBelarus

Kazakhstan

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Overall Percentage of Children Receiving ONLY or ANY Nonviolent Discipline

YemenCameroon

Sierra LeoneBurkina Faso

VietnamCote d'Ivoire

GhanaAlgeria

SyriaCentral African Republic

TogoJamaicaGambia

SurinameIraq

BelarusGuyana

Guinea-BissauDjibouti

TajikistanTrinidad & Tobago

GeorgiaLao

SerbiaAzerbaijanMacedonia

BelizeUkraine

KazakhstanMontenegro

KyrgyzstanAlbania

Bosnia & Herzegovina

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Only Nonviolent Any Nonviolent

Distributions of Major Discipline Categories

YemenSyria

AlgeriaCentral African Republic

CameroonCote d'IvoireSierra Leone

TogoIraq

JamaicaGhana

GambiaVietnam

Guinea-BissauBurkina Faso

SurinameTajikistan

GuyanaDjibouti

MacedoniaAzerbaijan

BelarusTrinidad & Tobago

SerbiaGeorgia

BelizeLao

MontenegroUkraine

KyrgyzstanKazakhstan

Bosnia & HerzegovinaAlbania

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

3.59%6.89%6.85%7.08%

4.05%6.51%5.71%7.12%

11.84%7.35%6.60%

8.99%5.93%

14.83%5.87%

10.98%16.42%

14.58%16.06%

22.07%20.03%

12.92%16.62%

18.87%17.14%

24.83%18.52%

31.69%26.99%

38.09%28.83%

56.82%43.20%

8.93%10.79%12.64%11.24%

15.34%17.79%

13.45%14.98%

13.69%12.31%

19.51%12.95%

30.50%8.08%26.46%

24.55%18.06%

13.77%5.70%

14.36%27.33%

32.94%23.16%

20.64%17.33%

12.34%26.21%

18.18%33.50%

16.83%30.04%

13.98%1.98%

2.22%4.51%

3.52%6.05%

6.55%3.06%

9.26%7.54%

3.75%12.13%

5.78%9.50%

3.68%14.22%

4.26%5.44%

4.99%10.75%

15.69%11.84%

2.33%5.63%

9.20%11.36%

7.88%17.40%

9.14%7.23%

4.83%11.09%

4.07%9.56%

39.90%

83.86%73.65%71.82%

71.78%71.23%70.26%69.48%68.43%

67.97%65.02%64.52%

64.43%59.74%

59.72%57.54%

56.64%54.62%

52.82%51.61%

46.41%46.00%

45.33%45.29%

43.28%41.67%

41.07%38.29%

37.83%32.01%

26.23%19.81%

14.40%10.00%

1.32%4.56%5.25%3.91%2.82%2.53%2.08%1.97%2.74%3.23%3.61%4.14%

0.09%3.65%

6.06%2.24%

5.91%8.85%

11.11%5.43%4.45%3.20%

5.75%5.71%

16.46%4.47%

7.84%5.06%

2.68%7.80%

17.26%5.15%4.93%

Only non-violent discipline

Psychological discipline ONLY

Physical dis-cipline ONLY

Both Psycholog-ical and Physical discipline

No discipline or punishment

CD13: Do you believe need to physically punish in order to raise child properly?

Syria

Vietnam

Cameroon

Cote d'Ivoire

Jamaica

Gambia

Belize

Trinidad & Tobago

Guyana

Azerbaijan

Tajikistan

Ukraine

Belarus

Macedonia

Kyrgyzstan

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Montenegro

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

No Yes

Section 3: Risk & Protective Factors

Factors Analyzed with Non-Significant or Mixed Results

• Place of residence (Urban / Rural)• Living arrangement (Neither biological parent,

mother only, father only, both)• Caregiver age (Under 30 / 30-39 / 40+)• Marital status• Polygyny

Risk & Protective Factors: Significant & consistent within-country differences

• SES & HOUSEHOLD RESOURCES– Family wealth– Family & Primary

caregiver education– Child labor– Number of household

members

• CHILD CHARACTERISTICS– Child gender– Child age

• ATTITUDES ABOUT VIOLENCE– Belief in need for physical

discipline– Maternal attitudes towards

domestic violence

• CAREGIVER BEHAVIORS– Children’s & non-children’s

books– Educational & play activities– Non-adult care

SES & Household Resources

• Family wealth• Family education

• Child Labor• Number of household members

Family Wealth• Definition

– Wealthiest 40 percent & Poorest 60 percent– Relative not absolute wealth is measured

• More violent discipline in poorest 60% (N=30 countries)

Family wealth (N=30):More violent discipline in poorest 60%

Bosnia & Herzegov-ina**

Albania***

Lao***

Azerbaijan*

Macedonia***

Serbia***

Trinidad & Tobago**

Guyana***

Belarus*

Gambia**

Suriname**

Vietnam*

Togo**

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Poorest 60% Wealthiest 40%

Family Wealth• Definition

– Wealthiest 40 percent & Poorest 60 percent– Relative not absolute wealth is measured

• More violent discipline in poorest 60% (N=30 countries)

N = 12Poorest 60% Wealthiest 40%

Median 0.79 0.72

3rd Quartile 0.86 0.82

Family Education• Definition: None or Primary; Secondary; Higher• Least violent discipline in households with “higher”

education (N=26)

Family Education: Average (N = 26):Least violent discipline in households with “higher” education

Albania**

Kazakhstan**

Montenegro***

Azerbaijan*

Gambia*

Serbia*

Sierra Leone*

Suriname***

Jamaica***

Vietnam***

Syria*

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Higher Secondary None or Primary

Family Education• Definition: None or Primary; Secondary; Higher• Least violent discipline in households with “higher”

education (N=26)

N = 11None or Primary Secondary Higher

Median 0.87 0.85 0.71

3rd Quartile 0.91 0.91 0.81

Child Labor• Definition:

• 5-11 years: 1 hour of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week

• 12-14 years: 14 hours of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week

• More violent discipline when child involved in labor (N=29)

Child labor (N = 29):More violent discipline when child involved in labor

Georgia**

Guyana**

Iraq*

Gambia**

Jamaica*

Cameroon*

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Children in Child Labour No Labor

Child Labor• Definition:

• 5-11 years: 1 hour of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week

• 12-14 years: 14 hours of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week

• More violent discipline when child involved in labor (N=29)

N = 6No Labor Child Labor

Median 0.87 0.92

3rd Quartile 0.89 0.95

Number of Household Members• Definition: 2-3, 4-5, 6 + • More violent discipline in largest households (N=33)

Number of household members (N = 33):More violent discipline among larger households

Bosnia & Herzegov-ina***

Montenegro*

Tajikistan**

Djibouti*

Lao**

Guinea-Bissau**

Guyana***

Gambia***

Iraq***

Syria***

Belarus*

Algeria***

Central African Republic**

Yemen**

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

6+ 4-5 2-3

Number of Household Members• Definition: 2-3, 4-5, 6 + • More violent discipline in largest households (N=33)

N = 131-3 4-5 6+

Median 0.74 0.80 0.83

3rd Quartile 0.75 0.86 0.88

Child characteristics

• Child gender• Child age

Child Gender

• More violent discipline against boys (N=33)

Child gender (N = 33):More violent discipline against boys

Albania**

Kazakhstan***

Kyrgyzstan***

Georgia***

Lao*

Ukraine***

Macedonia*

Azerbaijan***

Tajikistan**

Guyana**

Iraq***

Belarus***

Algeria***

Syria**Central African

Republic*Vietnam**

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Male Female

Child Gender

• More violent discipline against boys (N=33)

N = 16Male Female

Median 0.80 0.73

3rd Quartile 0.88 0.84

Child Age

• Definition: 2-4, 5-9, 10-14• More violent discipline against 5-9 year olds

(N=33)

Child age (N = 33):More violent discipline against 5-9 year olds

Kazakhstan***

Georgia***

Ukraine***

Tajikistan***

Belarus*

Gambia**

Central African Republic***

Syria***

Jamaica**

Sierra Leone***

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

10-14 years 5-9 years 2-4 years

Child Age

• Definition: 2-4, 5-9, 10-14• More violent discipline against 5-9 year olds

(N=33)

N = 182-4 5-9 10-14

Median 0.84 0.87 0.83

3rd Quartile 0.85 0.91 0.88

Attitudes about violence

• Belief in need for violent discipline• Maternal attitudes towards domestic violence

Endorsement of Belief that Physical Punishment is Necessary and Any Physical Discipline

• Definition: Belief in need for physical punishment• More physical discipline in households that endorse use of

physical discipline (N=33)

Endorsement of Belief that Physical Punishment is Necessary and Any Physical Discipline

Kazakhstan***Lao***

Bosnia & Herzegovina***Azerbaijan***Kyrgyzstan***

Trinidad & Tobago***Albania***

Burkina Faso***Ukraine***Vietnam***

Ghana***Suriname***

Belarus***Guyana***

Belize***Gambia***Djibouti***

Sierra Leone***Tajikistan***

Togo***Serbia***

Montenegro***Jamaica***

Central African Republic***Iraq***

Cote d'Ivoire***Cameroon***

Georgia***Guinea-Bissau***

Yemen***Algeria***

Syria***

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

Endorsement of Belief that Physical Punishment is Necessary and Any Physical Discipline

• Definition: Belief in need for physical punishment• More physical discipline in households that endorse use of

physical discipline (N=33)

N = 31No Yes

Median .52 .86

3rd Quartile .66 .91

Maternal justification of domestic violence and Any Physical Discipline

• Definition: Justification of use of domestic violence (Yes/no: endorsed 1+ items)

• More physical discipline when mother justifies use of domestic violence (N=27)

Maternal justification of domestic violence and Any Physical Discipline

Kazakhstan***Bosnia &

Herzegovina***Azerbaijan***

Albania***

Ukraine*

Tajikistan*

Montenegro**

Georgia***

Trinidad & Tobago*

Vietnam

Serbia***

Suriname**

Belize*

Iraq***

Gambia***

Algeria***

Cote d'Ivoire**

Jamaica*

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

1+ Justifications None

Maternal justification of domestic violence and Any Physical Discipline

• Definition: Justification of use of domestic violence (Yes/no: endorsed 1+ items)

• More physical discipline when mother justifies use of domestic violence (N=27)

N = 18None 1+

EndorsementsMedian 0.56 0.66

3rd Quartile 0.62 0.75

Caregiver behaviors

• Children’s & non-children’s books• Educational & play activities

• Non-adult care

Summary & Program implications• Widespread use of violent discipline• Need to combat simultaneously against all forms of

violent discipline (Physical and psychological)• A lack of knowledge of alternative parenting

methods?• Planning for future prevention approaches