Testing the Link between Dyadic Concordance in Corporal Punishment, Positive Parenting, and Crime in An International Sample of Young Adults

Previous research on corporal punishment (CP) has found associations between CP and detrimental child outcomes including depression, behavioural problems, and crime. Conversely, positive parenting has been found to foster positive child outcomes but, positive parenting does not ameliorate the negative effects of CP. To date, research has not examined how parents' differential use of CP might be related to crime, while still controlling for positive parenting. The present study seeks to address the gaps in the CP literature by examining the effects of CP and positive parenting on criminality within the context of dyadic concordance types (DCTs). DCTs examine the behaviour of both parents in disciplining children with CP: father-only, motheronly, both, or neither parents. Using the large-scale, International Parenting Study (n9,376), we determined that CP perpetrated by both parents or by the mother only were most significantly associated with criminal propensity and criminal activity of individuals in early adulthood.