There is a robust and growing literature base indicating that spanking is a common, but potentially problematic, discipline strategy. Goals: Using a randomized controlled trial design, this study examined whether participation in a brief online program, Play Nicely, would result in favorable changes in caregivers’ attitudes toward spanking. The study also examined whether the intervention was equally effective for participants of color (POC) and White participants, and it assessed caregivers’ perceptions of the program’s cultural sensitivity. Methods: Participants were 52 caregivers from 1- to 5-year-old children who were visiting a pediatric clinic. Participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to either engage in the Play Nicely online program (n = 21) or view a control condition website (n = 31) in a clinic exam room. Results: There was not a statistically significant difference between the treatment and control groups’ scores on attitudes toward spanking (ATS) at post-test (F (1, 49) = 1.515, p = 0.224), but a small between-group effect size was detected (d = 0.20). Within the treatment condition, desired changes in ATS scores were significantly higher among White participants than POC (t (17) = −2.125, p = 0.049), but there was not a significant difference in reported perceptions of Play Nicely’s cultural acceptability between White participants and POC (t (19) = 0.469, p = 0.644). Conclusions: Findings suggest a need for further investigation of Play Nicely’s impact on caregivers’ ATS with a larger sample to clarify the program’s utility as a potential population-based tool for parent education and violence prevention. Additional research is needed to identify sociocultural factors that may moderate the effects of spanking interventions for families across diverse racial backgrounds.

有一个强大且不断增长的文献基础表明，打屁股是一种常见但可能存在问题的管教策略。目标：使用随机对照试验设计，本研究检验了参与一个简短的在线计划 Play Nicely 是否会导致看护者对打屁股的态度发生有利的变化。该研究还检查了干预是否对有色人种 (POC) 参与者和白人参与者同样有效，并评估了看护者对该计划的文化敏感性的看法。方法：参与者是 52 名在儿科门诊就诊的 1 至 5 岁儿童的看护者。参与者被登记并随机分配到参与 Play Nicely 在线计划（n= 21) 或在诊所检查室查看控制条件网站 ( n = 31)。结果：治疗组和对照组在测试后对打屁股的态度 (ATS) 得分之间没有统计学上的显着差异 ( F (1, 49) = 1.515, p = 0.224)，但组间效应很小检测到大小（d = 0.20）。在治疗条件下，白人参与者 ATS 分数的预期变化明显高于 POC（t (17) = −2.125，p = 0.049），但白人参与者对 Play Nicely 的文化可接受性的报告看法没有显着差异和 POC ( t(19) = 0.469，p = 0.644）。结论：研究结果表明，需要用更大的样本进一步调查 Play Nicely 对看护人 ATS 的影响，以阐明该计划作为一种潜在的基于人群的家长教育和暴力预防工具的效用。需要进行更多的研究来确定可能缓和打屁股干预对不同种族背景家庭的影响的社会文化因素。