Predictors of Parental Use of Corporal Punishment in Ukraine.

Despite a great deal of evidence that corporal punishment is harmful, corporal punishment is still very prevalent worldwide. We examine predictors of different types of corporal punishment among Ukrainian mothers in 12 communities across Ukraine. Findings suggest that maternal spirituality, maternal coping styles, family communication, and some demographic characteristics are predictive of mothers' use of corporal punishment.

Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors among Ukrainian Children: The Role of Family Communication and Maternal Coping.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the relationship of mother's ways of coping with stress and family communication with the child internalizing and externalizing behaviors in Ukraine. METHODS: In a cross-sectional sample of 294 mother-and-child (9-16 years of age) Ukrainian dyads, mothers answered questions from the revised Ways of Coping Checklist, FACES Family Communication scale, Child Behavior Checklist, and questions about their sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Robust regression results suggest increased internalizing behaviors were statistically associated with poor family communication (b = -.19, 95% CI [-.30, -.08], p<.01), maternal coping by accepting responsibility (b = 2.14, 95% CI [.44, 3.84], p<0.05), escape-avoidance (b = 3.79, 95% CI [1.00, 6.58], p<0.01), planful problem solving (b=2.80, 95% CI [.61, 4.99], p<0.05), child female gender (b = -2.53, 95% CI [-4.22, -.83], p<.01) and lower family income (b = -.003, 95% CI [-.006, -.0001], p<.01). Increased child externalizing behaviors were statistically associated with maternal seeking social support (b = 3.25, 95% CI [1.06, 5.43], p<.01), decreased positive reappraisal (b = -1.52, 95% CI [-2.91, -.12], p <.05), maternal unemployment (b = -2.80, 95% CI [-5.30, -.30], p<.05), poor family communication (b = .46, 95% CI [-.59, -.34], p<.001), and child male gender (b = 3.48, 95%CI [1.53, 5.44], p<.01). Poor family communication was linked with significantly higher increase in internalizing behaviors for girls compared to boys (b = .17, 95% CI [.03, .32], p<.05). CONCLUSIONS: When examining child internalizing and externalizing behaviors it is important to consider the role of family communication and maternal coping.

Relationship Between Alcohol Use, Spirituality, and Coping.

Authors investigated a relationship between the frequency of alcohol consumption, spirituality, and coping with everyday life events in a cross-sectional, community-based sample of 320 adults in Ukraine, the country with one of the highest alcohol consumption levels in the world. Face-to-face interviews with participants took place in rural and urban locations across Eastern, Southern, and Central Ukraine. Results of the ordinary least-squares regression suggest that a higher frequency of alcohol consumption was related with the lower use of positive reappraisal (ß = -.27, p < .001), higher use of escape-avoidance (ß = .23, p < .01) and confrontive (ß = .15, p < .05) coping strategies, lower spirituality (ß = -.20, p < .001), and younger age (ß = -.11, p < .05). On the whole, current findings suggest that specific coping behaviors, younger age, and lower spirituality are involved in higher frequency of alcohol consumption among Ukrainian adults.