Coming from a kid who was spanked (a lot), I find the debate concerning spanking to be rather interesting. I was an incredibly problematic child, and thinking back I have no idea how I would have even handled my own behavior as an adult. When I threw tantrums, I sure as hell threw a tantrum. I was relentless in getting my way. I was a biter, a kicker, a screamer, a hitter, you name it. I'm not by any means blaming my parent's for spanking me, but I'd like to point out why it's a good idea NOT to spank. (The pictures are of me as a terrible child!)
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| Caught red-handed |
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| Chicken Pox |
This Thursday (3/5) I have my first literature review due. I chose to write mine on weather or not spanking leads to cognitive consequences. I've found some really interesting information and empirical studies on the topic. Almost everything I researched came up with the conclusion that yes, spanking kids leads to cognitive development delays.
My literature review is comprised of 3 studies regarding spanking. For those of you who are not familiar with what a literature review is, it's a research paper based solely on studies that have already been done. It's subjective and merely analyzes what has been done. There is one section in my literature review that synthesis's with the information and points out the gaps and inconsistencies I've found. Anyway, the main points in my lit review explain the causes of spanking. Here are the main causes I've researched.
1. Spanking at age 1 is a predictor for aggressive behavior later in life.
2. Spanking early in life has proven to lead to lower Bayley scores. Bayley's scores are scores that analyze cognitive ability.
3. Spanking inflicts fear and stress into a child's life.
Moral of the story, don't spank your kids because you're doing more harm than good. You're teaching that violence is ok. If you spank at a younger age then you're creating somewhat of a domino affect. Spanking at age 1 will lead to aggression at age 2 which leads to more spanking at age 2 which leads to cognitive delays at age 3 etc. It's completely normal for kids to have melt downs and misbehave. Melt downs are important steps in childhood development. If a kid is not "behaving" there are always alternatives to spanking.
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| Camping trips |
Abstract
There
are many ideas afloat concerning the effects of corporal punishment, also
referred to as spanking. There are numerous reports concerning spanking, which
all include an array of opinions and variables. This paper looks at the
connections between spanking and decreased cognitive ability along with
increased aggression in children. Studies provide links between spanking and
childhood effects. There have been multiple methods to study the correlation, including
interviews, surveys, and observation. The results cover a variety of variables;
race is taken into account, along with income levels, mother’s education level,
child’s age, mother’s age, and more. Accuracy in research is taken into account
along with major gaps between studies. The connections between studies are
assessed as well as the disconnections. The importance in psychology is
discussed. Lastly, future research is suggested in order to increase the
accuracy of research and provide important information for future prevention
methods.
Introduction
Spanking
is a controversial topic in America due to concerns of the effect of corporal
punishment on children. Spanking is a tradition that dates back to Ancient
Greece. It has been practiced throughout the Catholic Church and continues to
be used as a way of corporal punishment to this day. According to Lisa J Berlin
et al. (2009), out of 2000 parents, 29% of White American parents spank their
10-18 month olds, while 64% spank their 19-35 month olds. Likewise, Lee et al.
(2013) cited Maguire-Jack (2012) who reported that 65% of American parents
spanked their three year olds in the past month. In a Murray A. Straus and
Mallie J. Paschall (2009) experiment, 93% mothers to two to four years old children
spanked, while 58% of mothers spanked children aged five to nine in a two-week
period. Furthermore, Lee et al. established that out of a sample of urban
parents, one third spanked one year olds and 65% spanked three year olds at
least once in a month.
Spanking has proved to
be prevalent in America, therefore it is important to identify the lasting
effects. Straus and Paschall (2009) defined corporal punishment as “an act
carried out with the intention of causing a child to experience physical pain,
but not injury, for purposes of correction or control,” which they used synonymously
with sparking or hit. Berlin et al. cited Baumrind (2001) in saying that
spanking is defined as open handedly striking a child on the butt with the
intent to correct behavior and not cause serious injury. I am studying corporal punishment to find out
if spanking kids is detrimental to their development, in order to determine if
those kids show signs of decreased cognitive development or increased
aggression. The paper identifies studies that have been conducted, the methods
of the studies, and the results of the studies. This paper reveals that
spanking has proved to lead to developmental delays and early childhood
aggression.
Correlates and
Consequences of Spanking
Lisa J. Berlin, Jean M. Ispa, Mark A. Fine, Patrick
S. Malone, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Christy Brady-Smith, Catherine Ayoub, and Yu Bai
(2009) addressed the predictors of children who are spanked, the outcomes of
spanking, and the prevalence of spanking. Berlin et al. (2009) not only assessed
spanking, but they also looked at verbal punishment and the prevalence of both
spanking and verbal punishment in relation to ethnicity (White, African
American, and Mexican American). Berlin et al. (2009) also examined the
mother’s age, education, and depression level. The authors assessed family
income, structure, and the child’s sex and “fussiness” (Berlin et al., 2009)
level in order to predict spanking. Likewise, they looked at if maternal race
or emotional responses effect spanking at ages one and two and cognitive
development at ages two and three.
Methods
Berlin et al. experimented by analyzing 2,573 one,
two, and three year old, low-income, White, Africa American, and Mexican
American toddlers. The participants were a part of the 17-site, longitudinal study
called Early Head Start (EHS) National Research and Evaluation Project. It was
a requirement that family incomes be at or below the federal poverty level. EHS
was randomly assigned to half of the participants; these services began in the
third trimester of pregnancy and consisted of either home or center based
services (Berlin et al., 2009). Two thousand five hundred seventy three participants
were selected out of the 3,001 original participants based on race. Race was
self-reported by mothers. One hundred thirty five mothers were excluded who identified
as Indian, Alaskan, Asian, or Pacific Islander. Data was collected from trained
and certified staff from all 17 research sites (Berlin et al., 2009).
Enrollment interviews is how they conducted their research. More data also came
from a two hour interview held in-home; these interviews were conducted in
either Spanish or English and were comprised of observations and child
assessments at the ages of one, two and three. Seventy eight percent of the
3,001 children’s mothers were interviewed, while 63% of the children got
assessed. Seventy percent of mothers were interviewed when their children were
age two, and 58% of children were assessed. Seventy percent of mothers were
interviewed when their children were at age three and 55% of children were
assessed (Berlin et al., 2009). To accommodate missing data, the analyses were
done by using full information maximum (FIML) likelihood estimations. Mothers
were instructed to complete a depression test during the age one assessment, a
child fussiness test at the age on assessment, and a child aggression behavior
test at the two and three year old assessments. Furthermore, children took a
child cognitive development called Mental Development Index (MDI) from the Bayley
Scales of Infant Development at ages two and three. Mothers reported how often they
or anyone else spanked the child in the past week.
Results
Berlin et al. identified that at age one, child
fussiness was a predictor for spanking. They also identified that spanking a
child at age one is a predictor for child aggressiveness at age two. Likewise,
it was predicted that spanking at age one can lead to low Bayley mental
development scores at age three. Spanking ranged from zero to 14 (34%) times in
the past week at age one. Sixty six percent of children did not get spanked,
but out of those who did the mean was 2.58 (Berlin et al., 2009). Spanking
frequency ranged from zero to 28 (49%) at age two in the past week. The mean
number of times of those who received spanking was 2.97. At three years old,
spanking ranged from zero to 28 (49%), with a mean of 2.62 for those who had
been spanked. Berlin et al. (2009) examined that African American children were
spanked more at all three ages than White or Mexican American children. They
found that not all associations (structure, child sex, income, etc.) turned out
to be significant at all three ages. However, younger maternal age, maternal
depression, and lower income predicted more frequent spanking (Berlin et al.,
2009). Fussiness also turned out to be a predictor of spanking. Spanking at age
one predicted aggressive behavior at age two and lower Bayley scores at age
three.
Corporal
Punishment and Cognitive Ability
Straus and Paschall (2009) tested their hypothesis
that corporal punishment, such as spanking, causes cognitive ability
restrictions. The author’s purpose is, if their hypothesis proves true, then to
end corporal punishment in hope to increase the average cognitive level (Straus
& Paschall, 2009). Straus and
Paschall (2009) believe corporal punishment leads to decreased cognitive
ability due to stress and fright, based on Heuer and Finkelhor (1996) studies.
Methods
A sample was taken from interviewed women who were
part of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The sample included
both low-income and minority youth (Status & Paschall, 2009). Eight hundred
six children age’s two to four were the original base of the data. They then
tested their hypothesis on children ages five to nine because it was thought
that spanking had a longer lasting effect on older children. In the second
test, 1,510 children were used. They also accounted for 10 variables: child’s
birth weight, child’s age, female children, euro-American children, African
American children, Hispanic children, number of children in the home, mothers
age at the birth of the child, the mothers education, and if the mother was
living with the father. Cognitive ability was then measured at T1 and four years
later at T2 for both studies (Stratus & Paschall, 2009). At T1, they administered tests on body parts
recognition, memory for locations, and motor and social development. Whereas,
for T2 they administered the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) for
math and reading recognition. The tests were modified for each age group. They
were then measured by putting the raw scores for each three-month age group
into z scores and then translating them into the z-score for each age band.
They then put it into a standard score with a 100 mean and standard deviation
of 15 (Stratus &Paschall, 2009). The scores the children received indicated
whether they fell below or above the mean score. Spanking was measured twice,
for two one week samples using two types of data. The data was collected both
by an interviewer and observer. Lastly, they separated the children into four
categories based on how many times they were spanked (Stratus & Paschall,
2009).
Results
Straus and Pashcall (2009) found that children whose
mothers used little or no corporal punishment gained cognitive ability faster
than children who were spanked. The authors found that the more corporal
punishment that children experienced, the more they fell behind cognitively. It
was found that age’s two to four were spanked 93% at least once, whereas five
to nine year olds were spanked 58.2% in a week (Stratus & Paschall, 2009).
Furthermore, one third of two to four year olds were spanked four or more times
a week, with an average of three point six spankings a week. Five to nine year
olds were spanked on average two and a half times a week. Stratus and Pschall
(2009) found a relationship between low cognitive ability and spanking, however
they couldn’t be sure which one was cause and which was effect. Mothers may have
spanked due to their child’s low ability, or spanking can cause low ability.
However, they assessed if spanking at a young age would affect cognitive
ability in the future and found positive results. They found that spanking is
associated with lower cognitive ability related to other children, with a one
point three decrease for children two to four and one point one decrease for
children five to nine (Stratus & Paschall, 2009). The authors analyzed that spanking is associated
with failing to keep up with developmental averages with children the same age.
Likewise, it showed that children who were not spanked increased in cognitive
ability in comparison to those who were spanked. Two to four year olds gained five
and a half points, and five to nine year olds gained two points.
Maternal
Spanking: Warmth vs. Aggression
Shawna J. Lee, Inna Altschul, and Elizabeth T.
Gershoff (2013) examined if maternal warmth and spanking are independent
correlates to child aggression over time and if maternal warmth moderates the
maternal spanking predictions of increased child aggression over time. The
authors analyzed the correlation between maternal warmth and spanking. They
defined warmth as support, comfort, concern and nurturance, which creates
reciprocity between mother and child and responsiveness. It has also been found
that lack of warmth creates lower self-regulation and child internalization.
Lee et al. (2013) established that warmth and corporal punishment can co-occur
in families because it has been thought that warmth acts as a buffer to
damaging the relationship by spanking. To add on to this hypothesis, Lee et al.
did a longitudinal study, which allowed for the inclusion of the correlation between
child aggression and maternal spanking. The authors hypothesized that the
results may not be unidirectional but bidirectional because they may reveal the
externalizing behaviors, aggression, or antisocial behaviors of children who
are spanked (Lee et al., 2013). They analyzed if maternal warmth effected the
results of maternal spanking in young children. Lee et al. (2013) took into the
account the variables of each participant and controlled them; they assessed
family income, mother’s age, race/ethnicity, relationship status, child gender,
mother’s additional stress, mother’s alcohol use, and the mother’s depression
levels.
Methods
The data came from the Fragile Families and Child
Wellbeing Study, core interviews, and in-home longitudinal study, which
included 3,279 mothers and their children from 20 urban U.S cities. They tested
the spanking at ages one, three, and five. They then measured maternal warmth
and child aggression at three and five years old. The author’s controlled demographic
characteristics at birth, as well as the child’s emotionality at age one, and
maternal psychosocial risk factors at age three. The majority of mothers came
from hospitals. There were interviews at the child’s birth, at age one, age
three, and age five (Lee et al., 2013). The child behavior assessments and
maternal warmth measures were taken at the in-home study. Race was taken into
consideration while examining results; 49% were black, 26% Hispanic, and 22%
white. In addition, child gender and emotionality were included as variables. Two questions acted as the basis for mother’s
spanking, which were asked at one year, three years, and five years old. The
first question asked the mothers if they spanked their child in the past month
because the children were miss-behaving (Lee et al., 2013). If the participant answered the previous
question with yes, they were asked how frequently they spanked. For maternal
warmth, mothers were observed on a basis of standards. Aggressive behavior was
based on the administration of an in-home assessment at three and five years
old. The mothers responded to 19 statements for three year olds, and 20
questions for five year olds (Lee et al., 2013).
Results
Lee et al. (2013) found that at age one, maternal
spanking was associated with high levels of child aggression at age three.
Likewise, they found that spanking at three years old predicted increased
aggression at five years old. The results showed that child aggression was
highest in children with low warmth at ages three and five. It was also proven that warmth didn’t change
the association between spanking and aggression. The author’s found that
spanking a child at age one can predict child aggression later on in life.
Furthermore, maternal warmth proved to not counteract the consequences of spanking.
Synthesis
All three articles came to the same conclusion that
spanking causes childhood development issues of some sort, whether it be
cognitive development or aggression. Likewise, all articles tested children
under the age of 10, which helps ensure results for that age group. Spanking at
a young age also proved to be a predictor for spanking or childhood aggression
at later ages. However, none of the statistics pertaining to how many mothers
spank their children add up. For example, Berlin et al. (2009) said that 70% of
parents spanked their two to four year olds, whereas Stratus and Pashcall
(2009) said that 93% of parents spanked their two to four year olds. Likewise,
there seem to be gaps in each individual article. Berlin et al. (2009) showed
gaps in research pertaining to missing data. If there is missing data there is
no way to be sure of the accuracy of the data being used. Furthermore, there
was not a significant explanation for the way they filled in their missing
data. Additionally, the data Berlin ex al. (2009) used was a majority of
self-reports; therefore, accuracy may be tampered with. It was also unclear on
the means of self-report. It is also important
to note that Berlin et al. (2009) used a sample from a population of low income
mothers who are enrolled in a support program. Because they are enrolled in a
support program, the actuality of all mothers who spank may be tampered with
due to the advice these women are receiving from specialty services.
Furthermore, this sample was further narrowed down by a eliminating a portion
of the sample; the researchers chose who exactly they wanted to observe based
on race. Moving on, Stratus and Paschall (2009) may have outdated research
based on when their data was collected. Their report was written in 2009,
whereas their data was conducted in the 80s and 90s. Conjointly, each article
centered on maternal responses to spanking, thus leaving out the input from
fathers. Each article also incorporated multiple different variables, which may
have affected their individual outcomes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, further research should be conducted.
Fathers were left out of the all of the research and should be included. It is
important to assess spanking frequency in dual parenting households as well. It
is also important to conduct studies done with a complete random sample, so one
receives data that correlates more precisely with America’s whole population.
It would be useful to look into the lasting effects of delays in cognitive
ability and aggression in children. It is
also important for the field of psychology to understand the importance of the
effects of spanking, in order for further definitive research to be conducted.
Likewise, the world of psychology can inform the general population of the
effects of spanking, which will increase research on prevention methods and
alternatives.
References
Straus,
M., & Paschall, M. (2009). Corporal Punishment By Mothers And Development
Of Children's
Cognitive Ability: A Longitudinal Study Of Two Nationally Representative
Age
Cohorts. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 459-483.
Berlin, L., Ispa, J.,
Fine, M., Malone, P., Brooks-Gunn, J., Brady-Smith, C., Bai (2009). Correlates And
Consequences Of Spanking And Verbal Punishment For Low-Income White, African
American, And Mexican American Toddlers. Child Development, 1403-1420.
Lee, S., Altschul, I., & Gershoff, E.T (2013).
Does warmth moderate longitudinal associations between maternal spanking and child aggression
in early childhood? Developmental Psychology, 2017-2028.
Once again, thanks for reading! Sorry for the weird formatting issues. If you have any questions or comments, hit me up. Thanks :)
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