Spanking - What Research Says

A 1994 survey (USA Today-CNN-Gallup Poll) found that 67 percent of American adults agree that, "it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking." That's a 20 percent drop from a similar survey in 1986, but spanking remains a widely accepted discipline tool. The notion that spanking a child is a parent's obligation also persists.

Murray Straus, a leading researcher in the field of family violence, says spanking, hitting or slapping are all forms of corporal punishment. He defines corporal punishment as the use of physical force with the intent of causing bodily pain, but not injury, for the purpose of correction or control. Straus makes the following conclusions in his research:

• A mother who has been hit by her husband is more likely to hit her children.
• Parents who were hit when they were children or teenagers are more likely to do the same thing to their own children.
• The more a parent was hit as a teenager, the greater the chances that parent will physically abuse his or her own child.

There is little difference between white parents and minority groups in the use of corporal punishment, although minority group parents tend to support its use more. From the research of Straus and others, we've learned quite a bit about the effects of spanking. We've learned that spanking teaches kids that hitting others is morally correct. In other words, hitting is okay if the other person is doing something wrong and won't stop it.

We've learned that children who are spanked control their behavior to avoid being hit. But children of nonspanking parents tend to control their behavior on the basis of right and wrong. They learn to control their behavior without parental involvement. We've also learned that the more corporal punishment an individual experiences, the greater the probability that person as an adult will be depressed, feel alienated and have thoughts of committing suicide. Higher rates of depression and alienation can lead to lower earnings and occupational achievement later in life.

Here are some other things you should know about spanking:

• Seventy percent of child abuse cases begin as spanking.
• Spanking hinders the development of empathy remorse or compassion. The child focuses on the pain, rather than the effect of his or her own behavior on others.
• Corporal punishment, used at the toddler age, can reduce the degree to which children develop a conscience.

The research done by Straus tells us that if parents avoid spanking and find other ways to discipline, they are likely to have children who are easier to manage and better behaved.

For more information visit the Children Youth and Families Education Research Network web site at www.cyfernet.org.