Given the wide readership of my previous post entitled: Spanking and Time-Out: Is there Really a Difference? and continued discussion about this (both for the motion that spanking is the least effective form of discipline, and against) in my social circles I decided to re-visit the topic.
This time I'm going to address a number of things.
1. I'm going to address the sort of 'slogan' of "I was spanked and I turned out fine" in terms of what that piece of anecdotal evidence really means in this context.
2. I'm going to bring into light further recent research (after 2000, and especially within the past few years) that deals with the topic of spanking and any long-term effects it might have on you.
3. I'm going to focus for the most part on spanking rather than other forms of discipline this time, as opposed to my previous post that dealt in equal weight with a number of disciplinary methods that parents incorporate.
As a fore-warning I'd like to say that, try as I might, I couldn't find much in the way of (outright, discernible) positive effects of spanking on children in the long-term. I looked through a number of databases, search engines, and textbooks and wasn't able to locate even a few (if you've had better luck, please refer them here). Call it a research bias (or that there actually aren't any positive effects), I don't know. But what I have to do is report on what I could find. That'll come soon.
Here we go.
Concerning the so-called 'slogan' that I've identified in the first point, I'd like to say a few things.
First, when we're saying that "I've been smacked and I turned out OK" we're really using our own sense of insight. This is called anecdotal evidence, and it can only be applied to your own experience, given the situation you find yourself in, along with a plethora of other possible factors.
You have no way of knowing how you could've turned out if your parents used a different disciplinary method rather than spanking. How can you know you wouldn't have benefited in a number of other ways were your parents to try something different?
Also, using that 'slogan' is using it relatively. It's saying that given the way you look at other people you turned out 'fine' so that's okay. That's a relative claim, and if you were to ask a number of other people how they perceive you and how you present to them given your behaviours and such, they might give you vastly conflicting stories.
Finally, I think you have to ask yourself, "Am I the way I am ['good'] because I was spanked, or is it despite being spanked?" That's an important question. It relates to what I said before about your limited knowledge of how you could've turned out. You only know how you are now, and that's given a variety of different factors. You can't possibly know other ways you might've benefited were your parents to incorporate a style of discipline that wasn't so confronting.
Second, I'll premise this section by saying that all research must be taken with a critical eye. You'd do well to exercise caution when you're interpreting results of whatever study you're interested in. What you need to be aware of is that all research is based on averages. What do I mean by that? Well, there are always going to be a scattering of results when you study a phenomena. Some of those results are removed because they're so far from the number of standard deviations from the average that they'd skew the results (i.e. make them worth about as much as a half-burnt hundred dollar note).
The results are then tested for significance. That is, do they represent reliable statistical significance for what the study's about? They then report on these results and whether they support what their contention was (i.e. hypothesis) or not.
Finally, I'd like to say that you have to be a little aware of the entire research body when you're dissecting a certain study you're after. If it's one study that's not a peer-reviewed article (i.e. not analysed by others in the discipline) and stands against what the rest of the body of research says, I'd be a little critical of that. There might be a reason it's like that.
The two-minute video below is great for understanding how to interpret research when there are so many conflicting studies.
Now, to begin discussing relevant research!
Beginning the discussion I thought I'd discuss a number of ways that mothers (as a lot of the research I found does focus on mothers' disciplinary practices) discipline their children.
One study discussed the use of reasoning, denying privileges (i.e. taking things away), yelling, and spanking and their effects on a child's externalising behaviours (i.e. where the child aims their negative energy outwards, towards other kids, objects, parents, and so on). It found that in a multicultural sample of participants (African American and European American) the most common methods of discipline seemed to be starting with reasoning, then yelling, then denying privileges, and least of all spanking (Lansford, Wager, Bates, Dodge, & Pettit, 2012).
For children in Kindergarten to grade 3 it didn't matter which disciplinary method was used, they still tended to show teacher-reported externalising behaviours. With children in grade 4 however only spanking showed an increase in externalising behaviours.
In this study, it seems that yelling was almost as detrimental to the child's behaviour as spanking was - probably the reason UNICEF (2009) described yelling as a harsh form of punishment in itself. Denying privileges also seemed to provide evidence of higher externalising behaviours (although, if a mother enforced the denial rather than being quite lax with it, the punished behaviour seemed to be less likely to be repeated).
Another study also discussed externalising behaviours in children from a number of cultural backgrounds (i.e. White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian), but did so with a long-term (longitudinal) focus in mind.
This study found that the earlier in life the child was spanked the more predicted increase in externalising behaviours in the long run across all ethnic groups (this was evident with a sample of over 11,000 families; Gershoff, Lansford, Sexton, Davis-Kean, & Sameroff, 2012). They also brought to light discussion of a large body of research that they were building on which described the higher rates of aggressive and antisocial behaviours when physical punishment was used on children (Gershoff, 2002).
Okay, so what does the research say about spanking and child development during the first five years? Researchers found that spanking at age one carried with it higher externalising behaviour at age three. And spanking at age three carried with it a higher amount of externalising and internalising behaviour at age five (Maguire-Jack, Gromoske, & Berger, 2012)!
According to Rizzo (2002) spanking is often used because of its simplicity and stems from the parents frustration rather than it being the "wisest choice for the child" (p. 88). That said, it seems very intuitive that most people spank because the child's done something that triggers frustration in the parent. The best way to vent that frustration is to direct it to the child. You're not usually thinking of whether it's going to get the child to behave in the long run, but rather - I'd argue - to give yourself an outlet to rid yourself of your negative emotions.
Looking at another study that reviewed the long-term negative (I guess because positive effects are hard to come by) effects of spanking on children it was found was there actually weren't many (Ferguson, 2013)! Seems like there's mixed results. Externalising, internalising (taking negative energy inwards - a predictor for depression in many people) and low cognitive performance were looked at only to see that in the long run negative effects were trivial. One of the highlights of the study was that
Let's take another study which looked at a massive amount of published research (a meta-analysis of 70 studies over 40 years involving close to 48,000 people) to see the effects spanking has on children. What was found were very small negative behavioural and emotional outcomes of spanking on those spanked. It was also seen that there was almost no negative effect on cognition when a child is spanked (Paolucci, & Violato, 2004).
Finally, here's the big question (I think): Does your good relationship with your child moderate the negative effects of spanking? In other words, if you're close with your child and do spank them on occasion, is your good relationship enough to counterbalance the later negative effects?
Let's see...
It was found (in a study with over 3,200 mothers) that when a mother spanked her child at age one they were more likely to show increased aggression at age three; and when spanked at age three there was higher aggression at age five (Lee, Altschul, & Gershoff, 2013). Over time, the warmth of the mother (maternal warmth - their good relationship with the child) regarding the child did not counteract the negative consequences of spanking.
So whether or not, this study shows, the mother shows warmth towards the child, there still isn't any significant difference between when the mother shows no warmth at all. Interesting results!
I could bring to light further research that backs the points that've been made thus far, but that'll make this post much longer than it really needs to be. i think the research speaks for itself, and I'll start closing now.
Let's wrap up.
So what can we learn given this little exposé on the consequences of spanking on young children for the long run?
1. I think we can see that there's a large body of research that shows us the negative consequences of spanking in terms of its negative effects towards increased aggression in children, and increased externalising and internalising behaviours.
2. Although there's a large body of research supporting the negative effects of spanking on kids, there's also mixed-results in terms of longitudinal research as to the actual proposed deficits of spanking of kids' behaviour in the long run.
3. No research, whether it's for or against the notion, attempts to show any positive effects of spanking for kids in the long run.
4. Using the 'slogan' "I was spanked and I turned out fine" isn'e really helpful given anybody can use their own anecdotal evidence to counter what you're saying. I think empirical research will speak truer than any anecdote could.
I'd like to close by taking psychologist Kelly McDonigal's (the lady in the video I put up) advice as to the interpretation of research. We're inclined to look critically at the research we read (including the research I've presented) and see how this applies to our situation. We got to keep in mind that research is based on averages, and you could be an outlier - someone that stands outside the average. We also have to trust our own situation and process of discipline, and use research to supplement that. If what you're doing is working extremely well, this post isn't to dissuade that!
I thank you for your time!
Ferguson, C. J. (2013). Spanking, corporal punishment and negative long-term outcomes: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(1), 196-208.
Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579.
Gershoff, E. T., Lansford, J. E., Sexton, H. R., Davis-Kean, P., & Sameroff, A. J. (2012). Longitudinal links between spanking and children's externalising behaviors in a national sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American families. Child Development, 83(3), 838-843.
Lansford, J. E., Wager, L. B., Bates, J. E., Dodge, K. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2012). Parental reasoning, denying privileges, yelling, and spanking: Ethnic differences and associations with child externalizing behavior. Parenting: Science and Practice, 12, 45-56.
Lee, S. J., Altschul, I., & Gershoff, E. T. (2013). Does warmth moderate longitudinal associations between maternal spanking and child aggression in early childhood? Developmental Psychology, 49(11), 2017-2028.
Maguire-Jack, K., Gromoske, A. N., & Berger, L. M. (2012). Spanking and child development during the first 5 years of life. Child Development, 83(6) 1960-1977.
Paolucci, E. O., & Violato, C. (2004). A meta-analysis of the published research on the affective, cognitive, and behavioural effects of corporal punishment. The Journal of Psychology, 138(3), 197-221.
Rizzo, C. P. (2002). Counterpoint. Clinical Pediatrics, 41(2), 88-91.
UNICEF. (2009). Progress for children: A report card on child protection. New York, NY: Author.
Beginning the discussion I thought I'd discuss a number of ways that mothers (as a lot of the research I found does focus on mothers' disciplinary practices) discipline their children.
One study discussed the use of reasoning, denying privileges (i.e. taking things away), yelling, and spanking and their effects on a child's externalising behaviours (i.e. where the child aims their negative energy outwards, towards other kids, objects, parents, and so on). It found that in a multicultural sample of participants (African American and European American) the most common methods of discipline seemed to be starting with reasoning, then yelling, then denying privileges, and least of all spanking (Lansford, Wager, Bates, Dodge, & Pettit, 2012).
For children in Kindergarten to grade 3 it didn't matter which disciplinary method was used, they still tended to show teacher-reported externalising behaviours. With children in grade 4 however only spanking showed an increase in externalising behaviours.
In this study, it seems that yelling was almost as detrimental to the child's behaviour as spanking was - probably the reason UNICEF (2009) described yelling as a harsh form of punishment in itself. Denying privileges also seemed to provide evidence of higher externalising behaviours (although, if a mother enforced the denial rather than being quite lax with it, the punished behaviour seemed to be less likely to be repeated).
Another study also discussed externalising behaviours in children from a number of cultural backgrounds (i.e. White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian), but did so with a long-term (longitudinal) focus in mind.
This study found that the earlier in life the child was spanked the more predicted increase in externalising behaviours in the long run across all ethnic groups (this was evident with a sample of over 11,000 families; Gershoff, Lansford, Sexton, Davis-Kean, & Sameroff, 2012). They also brought to light discussion of a large body of research that they were building on which described the higher rates of aggressive and antisocial behaviours when physical punishment was used on children (Gershoff, 2002).
Okay, so what does the research say about spanking and child development during the first five years? Researchers found that spanking at age one carried with it higher externalising behaviour at age three. And spanking at age three carried with it a higher amount of externalising and internalising behaviour at age five (Maguire-Jack, Gromoske, & Berger, 2012)!
According to Rizzo (2002) spanking is often used because of its simplicity and stems from the parents frustration rather than it being the "wisest choice for the child" (p. 88). That said, it seems very intuitive that most people spank because the child's done something that triggers frustration in the parent. The best way to vent that frustration is to direct it to the child. You're not usually thinking of whether it's going to get the child to behave in the long run, but rather - I'd argue - to give yourself an outlet to rid yourself of your negative emotions.
Looking at another study that reviewed the long-term negative (I guess because positive effects are hard to come by) effects of spanking on children it was found was there actually weren't many (Ferguson, 2013)! Seems like there's mixed results. Externalising, internalising (taking negative energy inwards - a predictor for depression in many people) and low cognitive performance were looked at only to see that in the long run negative effects were trivial. One of the highlights of the study was that
Spanking has not only few benefits, but also fewer consequences than often assumed. (Ferguson, 2013; italics mine)What's that meant to suggest? Well, exactly what it says! Although you can't see almost any benefit in spanking, you'll see even less negative consequences.
Let's take another study which looked at a massive amount of published research (a meta-analysis of 70 studies over 40 years involving close to 48,000 people) to see the effects spanking has on children. What was found were very small negative behavioural and emotional outcomes of spanking on those spanked. It was also seen that there was almost no negative effect on cognition when a child is spanked (Paolucci, & Violato, 2004).
Finally, here's the big question (I think): Does your good relationship with your child moderate the negative effects of spanking? In other words, if you're close with your child and do spank them on occasion, is your good relationship enough to counterbalance the later negative effects?
Let's see...
It was found (in a study with over 3,200 mothers) that when a mother spanked her child at age one they were more likely to show increased aggression at age three; and when spanked at age three there was higher aggression at age five (Lee, Altschul, & Gershoff, 2013). Over time, the warmth of the mother (maternal warmth - their good relationship with the child) regarding the child did not counteract the negative consequences of spanking.
So whether or not, this study shows, the mother shows warmth towards the child, there still isn't any significant difference between when the mother shows no warmth at all. Interesting results!
I could bring to light further research that backs the points that've been made thus far, but that'll make this post much longer than it really needs to be. i think the research speaks for itself, and I'll start closing now.
Let's wrap up.
So what can we learn given this little exposé on the consequences of spanking on young children for the long run?
1. I think we can see that there's a large body of research that shows us the negative consequences of spanking in terms of its negative effects towards increased aggression in children, and increased externalising and internalising behaviours.
2. Although there's a large body of research supporting the negative effects of spanking on kids, there's also mixed-results in terms of longitudinal research as to the actual proposed deficits of spanking of kids' behaviour in the long run.
3. No research, whether it's for or against the notion, attempts to show any positive effects of spanking for kids in the long run.
4. Using the 'slogan' "I was spanked and I turned out fine" isn'e really helpful given anybody can use their own anecdotal evidence to counter what you're saying. I think empirical research will speak truer than any anecdote could.
I'd like to close by taking psychologist Kelly McDonigal's (the lady in the video I put up) advice as to the interpretation of research. We're inclined to look critically at the research we read (including the research I've presented) and see how this applies to our situation. We got to keep in mind that research is based on averages, and you could be an outlier - someone that stands outside the average. We also have to trust our own situation and process of discipline, and use research to supplement that. If what you're doing is working extremely well, this post isn't to dissuade that!
I thank you for your time!
References
Ferguson, C. J. (2013). Spanking, corporal punishment and negative long-term outcomes: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(1), 196-208.
Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579.
Gershoff, E. T., Lansford, J. E., Sexton, H. R., Davis-Kean, P., & Sameroff, A. J. (2012). Longitudinal links between spanking and children's externalising behaviors in a national sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American families. Child Development, 83(3), 838-843.
Lansford, J. E., Wager, L. B., Bates, J. E., Dodge, K. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2012). Parental reasoning, denying privileges, yelling, and spanking: Ethnic differences and associations with child externalizing behavior. Parenting: Science and Practice, 12, 45-56.
Lee, S. J., Altschul, I., & Gershoff, E. T. (2013). Does warmth moderate longitudinal associations between maternal spanking and child aggression in early childhood? Developmental Psychology, 49(11), 2017-2028.
Maguire-Jack, K., Gromoske, A. N., & Berger, L. M. (2012). Spanking and child development during the first 5 years of life. Child Development, 83(6) 1960-1977.
Paolucci, E. O., & Violato, C. (2004). A meta-analysis of the published research on the affective, cognitive, and behavioural effects of corporal punishment. The Journal of Psychology, 138(3), 197-221.
Rizzo, C. P. (2002). Counterpoint. Clinical Pediatrics, 41(2), 88-91.
UNICEF. (2009). Progress for children: A report card on child protection. New York, NY: Author.
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