Corporal punishment (CP) remains a widely used disciplinary strategy in many cultural contexts, including Indonesia, despite substantial evidence of its detrimental developmental consequences. Research has often focused more heavily on maternal use of CP, leaving paternal contributions understudied, particularly in socioeconomically vulnerable communities. This preliminary study examines whether maternal and paternal CP differentially relate to children’s cognitive emotion regulation (ER) strategies within a coastal Jakarta community. Data were collected from 99 parent–child triads, with reports obtained from school-aged children and both mothers and fathers. Findings indicate that CP from both mothers and fathers is associated with maladaptive cognitive ER strategies, yet with distinct patterns: paternal CP showed a stronger association with children’s rumination, whereas maternal CP was more closely linked to other-blame. Socio-demographic factors also played a role. As expected, older children experienced higher levels of CP, whereas higher paternal and family income were unexpectedly associated with greater CP use. The study highlights the importance of acknowledging maternal and paternal differences when designing culturally sensitive parenting interventions and underscores the need to challenge the normalization of CP within family and community contexts. Implications for future research are also discussed, including the need for longitudinal and multi-informant approaches to better examine the pathways between CP and ER, as well as investigations into how cultural norms shape parental disciplinary strategies and children’s ER across diverse Indonesian settings.

Authors:
Nur Islamiah, IPB University, Indonesia
Dhia Nur Sabrina, IPB University, Indonesia
Dwi Hastuti, IPB University, Indonesia
Cut Nurul Kemala, Radboud University, The Netherlands

About the Presenter(s)
Nur Islamiah, Ph.D., is a Child Clinical Psychologist and lecturer at Child Development Division, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (IKK), IPB University, Indonesia.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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