ATTITUDES OF MEDICAL STUDENTS TO VIOLENT DISCIPLINARY METHODS, SOCIAL GENDER ROLES AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL RESEARCH

Year 2018, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 23 - 38, 31.01.2018

Esin Akgül Kalkan

Abstract

The
use of all types of violent disciplinary methods degrading the child including
physical punishment is a common violation of children’s rights. As a result,
the aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes of medical students
related to “violent disciplinary methods, social gender roles and children’s
rights” and to examine the correlation between these attitudes. Based on the
United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child and the child abuse
literature, a survey developed by the researcher aiming to measure attitudes
and containing 5-point Likert type questions was applied to medical students.
The correlations between attitude questions were analyzed with Kendall’s Tau
Correlation. The survey was voluntarily completed by medical students in years
1 to 5. Of students 54.1% were female and the mean age was 21.3±2.7
years. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between
attitudes that “children may be punished physically” and “the use of some
behavior with the aim of demeaning children as a disciplinary method” with
attitudes “supporting traditional social gender roles” (p<0.05). There was a
statistically significant negative correlation between these violent
disciplinary methods and attitudes supporting stereotypical gender roles with
“rights of the child” (p<0.05). Students gave the answer “definitely
disagree” at a rate of 32.8% in answer to the statement “some harmful
traditional applications may be carefully used with the aim of increasing
children’s stamina”. Medical students’ attitudes supporting “violent
disciplinary methods” and “traditional social gender roles” are an important
factor causing attitudes that prevent protection and provision of children’s
rights. This study reveals the need for educational interventions aiming to
change attitudes of medical students in terms of selective preventive studies.

Keywords

violent disciplinary, gender roles

References

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