Buzz survey: NZ and Smacking

Data from www.buzzthepeople.co.nz
To veiw the graphs, and further information, click on the link above.

This survey looked at attitudes to Sue Bradford's Bill to repeal section 59 of the Crimes Act (commonly referred to as the Anti-smacking Bill). In particular respondents were asked:

• Whether they had heard about the Bill
• The form of discipline that they found most effective for different age groups
• Whether they thought that smacking was an appropriate form of discipline in some situations
• Whether they thought that people who lightly smacked children would be prosecuted
• About their opinion of the proposed changes to Section 59 of the Crimes Act

When this report was prepared a total of 4,735 had responded giving a sample error of plus or minus 1.4%(This is the theoretical margin of error, plus or minus 1.4 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split)

Results at 3pm 2nd March 2007.

SUMMARY

Bill

-          Most (99.4%) had heard of Sue Bradford's bill

-          Under half (43.3% do not think a change to the Act is necessary

-          Similar percentage (41.3%) support changes but not those proposed in the Bill

-          11.7% support Sue Bradford's Bill unchanged

Concerns

Those who do not want changes to the Act are much more likely to believe that people who lightly smack their children in public are likely to be prosecuted (69.4%) than those who support Sue Bradford's Bill (3.8%) [1]

Those who think that a smack is the most effective form of discipline for children under 3 (76.5%) are also much more likely to believe that people who lightly smack their children in public are likely to be prosecuted than those who consider other forms of discipline such as time out (47.2%) or a verbal telling off (54.1%).

  

Smacking as a form of discipline

Most (87.6%) believe that smacking is sometime appropriate.

Around one-quarter (28.4%) think that a smack is the most effective form of discipline for children under 3 compared with one third (33.9%) for children aged 4-7 years and around one sixth (17%) for children aged 8-11

For children aged from 4 to 7, a smack was to be considered the most effective form of discipline with one-third of respondents (33.9%) choosing this.

Those fully responsible for children under the age of 12 (87.7%) are slightly more likely to believe that smacking is appropriate than those who never have the responsibility of looking after children (86.6%) [2]

Men (91%) are much more likely consider smacking to be `sometimes appropriate' than women (84.5%)

Overall the younger the age group the more likely they are to consider smacking as`never appropriate'.