EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PHYSICAL CHILD-ABUSE IN JAPAN - HOW BIG IS THE ICEBERG

A total of 207 individuals (90 men and 117 women) aged 18 or more livi ng in a provincial town in Japan were asked about their experience of five categories of disciplinary behaviour from the father or mother be fore the age of 16. Father's scolding, slapping, punching, hitting and burning were reported to have occurred at least several times a year by 22%, 15%, 8%, 2% and 0% of the subjects, respectively. The correspo nding figures for maternal disciplinary behaviour were 15%, 4%, 2%, 2% and 1%, respectively. The study revealed that 2% of boys and 1% of gi rls were hit with an object by the father at least several times a mon th and that 3% of boys were also hit similarly by the mother at least: several times a month. Boys were also victims of parental burning: 1% and 3% of boys were burned by the father and the mother, respectively , at least several times a year. The frequencies of disciplinary behav iour by the father (r = 0.07 to 0.62) and by the mother (r = 0.31 to 0 .96) were moderately correlated among them. This suggests that a paren t who selects one mode of abusive parenting is likely to adopt another .