RATINGS OF THE APPROPRIATENESS OF TOUCH AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS

Increased awareness of inappropriate touch with children may discourag e positive parent-child touch. The present study was designed to asses s the extent of agreement regarding the appropriateness of various typ es of parent-child touch. Respondents were 83 men and 121 women who we re shopping in an open air market in a metropolitan area. Touches invo lving parents and children in several settings were rated on a scale o f appropriateness. Reasonably clear norms emerged for touching with ch ildren of different ages. There were no differences in relation to the gender of the respondents and few in relation to the respondent's age , family income, or marital status. Blacks rated many of the touches a s less appropriate than did Whites but cultural differences within the two groups were not investigated. It was concluded that rating scales may be useful in assessing norms for parent-child touch but cultural differences are probably important.