Spanking

Is Spanking Ruining Your Kid’s Life?
            There is a great debate amongst parents and psychologists if spanking is detrimental to a child. Spanking is a common occurrence in the United States. Regalado, Sareen, Inkelas, Wissow, & Halfron (2004; as cited in Berger, Gromoske and Maguire-Jack, 2012) note that about 30% of families reported spanking a child as young as 10-18 months. Straus and Stewart find that approximately 70% of American families admit to spanking children in the 2-4 year old range (1999; as cited in Berger et al., 2012). The United States government census estimates that there are roughly 20 million children between the age of 0 and 5 residing in the U.S. (U.S. Census Bureau Editors, 2014). Using these statistics from the 1999 and 2004 with the population from the recent census, we can assume that roughly 60 million 10-18 month old babies and about 140 million 2-4 year old children are being spanked. This debate topic is a very important one because it could impact parenting and punishment and change the lives of hundreds of millions of people, just in the United States, let alone the world.
Across many studies and reports, a general consensus has been agreed upon that spanking, to a certain degree, is detrimental to a child in a multitude of ways. These studies have shown that a child is affected cognitively, behaviorally, emotionally, and developmentally. Spanking can also lead to more dangerous levels of punishment from the parent. While spanking is not legally classified as abuse, Straus says, “most physical abuse begins as physical punishment-- punishment that then goes too far” (as cited Cook, 2013 p.287). Since 70% of parents report that they spank their child at a young age (between 2-4 years old), this could potentially be the cause of some physical child abuse.
 Spanking at a young age can have a negative impact on the attachment process between a caregiver (usually a parent) and the child.  In order for this secure attachment to occur, a child must be able to rely and be comforted by his or her parent. Spanking and physical punishment, especially at a time when the child needs comforted could lead to the child not being able to develop attachment or trust (Slade and Wissow, 2004; Zeanah, Boris, and Larrieu, 1997; as cited in Berger, et al., 2012). Psychoanalytic and attachment theory both propose that physical punishment is not beneficial to the child-parent relationship. Grusec and Goodnow say that, “psychoanalytic theory suggest that being spanked my engender feelings of hostility on the part of the children, but that such feelings may be repressed given fear that, if expressed, such hostility ‘will lead to punishment, particularly in the form of loss of love or abandonment”’ (as cited in Berger, et al., 2012). Attachment theory relates child depression, anxiety and low self-esteem to the idea that repeated scenarios of children being spanked when they are crying will lead to a child “develop[ing] an internal working model of the parent… as rejecting and of him or her “self” as unworthy of help, comfort, or love” (Berger, et al., 2012). If this attachment process is interrupted and a child develops some form of insecure attachment, this can lead to problems later in life.
Spanking could also has negative side effects on cognition which can lead to poorer performance in the academic setting. Constant stress, such as repeated spanking, has been shown to “affect children’s brain processes and neurofunctioning” (Anda et al., 2006; Bremner and Vermetten 2001, as cited in Berger, et al., 2012). Kopp explains that very young children, when spanked, cannot comprehend as well as older kids as to why they are being spanked; therefore, they are unable to change that behavior in order to avoid being spanked in the future (as cited in Berger, et al., 2012). Children who are too young won’t understand punishment, thus rendering spanking ineffective. Spanking children could be sending them the wrong message, especially if a child is too young to understand what the parent is trying to convey. They could take away from spanking that it is ok for a bigger person to use force to make another person listen and cooperate. Gershoff & Bitensky (2007), Lehman (1989), and Straus (1994) have found that hitting another person is a big reason why parents spank their children. It is a contradictory method of punishment: It is not ok to hit other people but I am going to hit you (as cited in Cook, 2012, p.287). If a child is too young, spanking as a punishment can become a confusing idea for the child to understand, even becoming detrimental to the kid’s future wellbeing.
            The two research studies I chose both focused on how spanking impacted kids behavior. One study looked at how different amounts of spanking impacted the kid while the other looked at how the age of the child impacted his or her behavior later in childhood. Slade and Wissow “explore[d] the relationship of spanking frequency before age 2 with behavior problems near time of entry into school” (203). According to their study among White non-Hispanic children, as the frequency of spanking over a weeks’ time increased, so did behavior that was deemed inappropriate, requiring a parent-teacher meeting. Parents were given a questionnaire asking how many times they spanked their children, over the course of a week, on a scale of “never”, “once or twice” or “more than twice”.  For White non-Hispanic children under the age of two who are attending preschool/kindergarten; 5.3% of the kids whose parents responded with “never” in the questionnaire had required a meeting, 9.6% when the mother responded “once or twice”; and 11.7% needed a meeting when the mother responded with “more than twice”. This study clearly shows the relationship between spanking frequency and inappropriate behavior among White children under the age of two.
In another study, Magurie-Jack, Gromoske, and Berger tried to find if there was any relationship between spanking at certain ages and cognitive skills and behavior problems at a later age. They found that “spanking at age 1 was associated with a higher level of spanking and externalizing behavior at age 3, and spanking at age 3 was associated with a higher level of internalizing and externalizing behavior at age 5” (2003). Spanking can also lead to other behavioral problems, as (Berlin et a., Christie-Mizell, Pryor, & Grossman, Gamez-Guadix et al., Gershoff et al., Kerr, Lopez, Olsen, & Sameroff, Lansford et al., Mulvaney & Mebert, Straus, Straus, Sugarman & Giles-Sims) research studies have shown that “children who are spanked more often are more physically violent and aggressive; are twice as likely to attack their siblings; have lower moral standards and lower self-esteem; are more likely to feel depressed; and as they grow up are more likely to steal property, commit assaults, and commit other delinquent acts” (Cook, 2012 p.287). This research shows the internalizing and externalizing behavior abnormalities that can occur from excessive spanking. After analyzing numerous studies;
“Gershoff found consistent correlations between physical punishment and increases in child aggression, delinquency, and antisocial behavior; increased rates of child abuse by parents; and poorer relationships between children and parents. Children whose parents physically punished them were less likely to internalize moral values, and later in life they were more likely to suffer from mental health problems such as low self-esteem, depression, and alcoholism. As adults they were more likely to be aggressive, commit crimes, and abuse their own children and spouses (Cook, 2012 p.287).
This quote from the book really summarizes the argument that spanking is detrimental to a child’s health. Across Gershoff’s research, problems such as mental health issues and drug and substance abuse are shown to occur repeatedly after a child suffers abuse. While spanking may solve short term problems (for some kids it does not) it could potentially be the cause of a wide range of other complications; such as mental health abnormalities or future physical abusers themselves, that present themselves later in life.
            While the previous reports have made it appear that spanking is the root of all problems, it may not be as bad as it seems. The textbook makes a few legitimate points that there are several other factors that could result in “unwanted” behavior in children and adolescents. It is quite possible that children and adolescents are spanked because they are misbehaving or violent. Different styles of parenting could also play a factor in how a kid acts. The book makes a generalization saying, “parents who rely heavily on spanking and hitting also tend to be less warm and affectionate, less involved, and less consistent in their parenting than parents who use more positive forms of discipline” (Cook, 2013 p.288). That is a very valid point, one that should not be overlooked. It is hard to say that spanking is the only thing causing the rise in misbehavior that is seen in the study done by Slade and Wissow that I presented earlier. In their report, Slade and Wissow mention that “Larzelere concluded that on balance, the evidence suggests that “nonabusive” and “customary” use of spanking for children 2 to 6 years has neutral effects on child emotional well-being and may have beneficial effects on child behavior, because it may reduce the need for future punishments by deterring children’s misbehavior” (2012). Also in this study, they did not find any statistically significant correlation between the amount of spanking and behavior problems in Hispanic and Black children, which rejects the idea that spanking is the main reason for misbehavior. Slade and Wissow account for this by saying, “effects of spanking probably depend on how spanking is used and on its “normative acceptance” within particular cultures. Regarding cognition, the study done by Maguire-Jack, Gromoske and Berger showed no correlation between spanking at age one and cognitive skills at age 3 or 5 (2012). Overall, while both these studies and the textbook showed some correlation to spanking and behavioral problems, they also presented that there are other factors which go against the idea that spanking is the main problem and is detrimental to a child.
            After reviewing both cases and reading the textbook, I disagree with the notion that spanking, to a certain degree, is detrimental to a child’s health. If not abused or overused, I believe spanking could be a legitimate form of positive-punishment. In order for spanking to work as a punisher, it must be used only if it is “deserved” (whether or not it is deserved is up for interpretation), and must not be overused. I do believe that spanking can become detrimental when it is used improperly, especially when used at a young age where it impacts the attachment process, or when it is used in cases of abuse. While the two studies both provide some evidence that spanking is bad, I think their results are not conclusive and have some inconsistencies. Both of them talk about limitations in which they don’t know if spanking is the true cause of the results. I believe that there are other factors that influence these behaviors, such as genetics, environmental factors and how the spanking is used. The only way I could imagine a definitive test for seeing if spanking is truly the problem is to have an identical twin study where one twin is spanked for misbehavior and the other is not. Even though this would never be allowed in a professional psychological test due to the ethical violations, it could determine if spanking is detrimental to the child, while not allowing for “contamination” of environmental, genetics or other factors. Though the great debate is still a hot topic of discussion among scholars and parents alike, I do not think that proper use of spanking could cause harm to most children; however, I will not use it on my own children because I believe that there are other, more effective ways, to deal with misbehaving children.

















Cook, J., & Cook, G. (2013). The World of Children (Third Edition). New Jersey: Pearson.
Maguire-Jack, K. M. (2012). Spanking and Child Development During the First 5 Years of Life.              Child Development, 83(6), 1960-1977.
Slade, E. S., (2004). Spanking in Early Childhood and Later Behavior Problems: A Prospective    Study of Infants and Young Toddlers. Pediatrics, 113(5), 1321-1330.
U.S. Census Bureau Editors. (2014, July 8). State and County QuickFacts. Retrieved October 10,            2014, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html.