Abstract. Despite corporal punishment being associated with negative developmental outcomes for children, it is commonly practiced in Malaysian courts, schools, and homes. This study examined the relationships among the Dark Tetrad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, sadism), anger rumination, and attitudes toward corporal punishment of children. Two hundred sixty-three participants from a university and community sample in Malaysia completed measures of attitudes toward child corporal punishment, the Short Dark Tetrad, and the Anger Rumination Scale. Participants also answered questions about whether they received corporal punishment at home and school as children. Correlation analyses showed that Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism were positively associated with acceptance of corporal punishment. Further regression analyses revealed that having received corporal punishment at home – but not at school – during childhood as well as trait Machiavellianism and sadism predicted accepting attitudes toward corporal punishment. Identifying factors that influence people’s attitudes regarding corporal punishment and discipline behaviors could yield new insights into parenting education programs and policies.

中文翻译：

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对体罚儿童的态度

摘要。尽管体罚与儿童的负面发展结果有关，但在马来西亚法院、学校和家庭中普遍存在。这项研究检查了黑暗四人格特质（马基雅维利主义、自恋、精神病、虐待狂）、愤怒反刍和对儿童体罚的态度之间的关系。来自马来西亚大学和社区样本的 263 名参与者完成了对儿童体罚、短暗四联体和愤怒反刍量表的态度测量。参与者还回答了有关他们是否在儿童时期在家中和学校受到体罚的问题。相关分析表明，马基雅维利主义、精神病和虐待狂与接受体罚呈正相关。进一步的回归分析表明，在童年时期曾在家中接受过体罚——而不是在学校——以及马基雅维利主义和虐待狂的特质，都预示着接受体罚的态度。确定影响人们对体罚和管教行为的态度的因素可以对育儿教育计划和政策产生新的见解。