Social Science and Public Policy
NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFITS OF NEVER SPANKING
Murray A. Straus
a revolution has o c c u r r e d in the last ur years in the state of scientific knowledge about the long-term effects of corporal punishment. This article summarizes the results of that r e s e a r c h and explains w h y the n e w r e s e a r c h shows, more clearly than ever before, the benefits of avoiding corporal punishment. Somewhat ironically, at the same time as these n e w studies were a p
Social Science and Public Policy
NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFITS OF NEVER SPANKING
Murray A. Straus
a revolution has o c c u r r e d in the last ur years in the state of scientific knowledge about the long-term effects of corporal punishment. This article summarizes the results of that r e s e a r c h and explains w h y the n e w r e s e a r c h shows, more clearly than ever before, the benefits of avoiding corporal punishment. Somewhat ironically, at the same time as these n e w studies were a p
Social Science and Public Policy
NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFITS OF NEVER SPANKING
Murray A. Straus
a revolution has o c c u r r e d in the last ur years in the state of scientific knowledge about the long-term effects of corporal punishment. This article summarizes the results of that r e s e a r c h and explains w h y the n e w r e s e a r c h shows, more clearly than ever before, the benefits of avoiding corporal punishment. Somewhat ironically, at the same time as these n e w studies were a p
THE BENEFITS OF NEVER SPANKING Murray A. Straus a revolution has o c c u r r e d in the last effective w i t h o u t c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t . T h e i r ur years in the state of scientific knowledge goal is to i n f o r m p a r e n t s a b o u t t h e s e m o r e ef- about the long-term effects of corporal punish- fective d i s c i p l i n a r y strategies, as e x e m p l i f i e d ment. This article summarizes the results of that in the very name of one such o r g a n i z a t i o n - - t h e r e s e a r c h and explains w h y the n e w r e s e a r c h Center For Effective Discipline (see their web site: shows, more clearly than ever before, the benefits http.'//www.stophitting.com; see also the web site of avoiding corporal punishment. of Positive Parenting p r o g r a m bttp:// Somewhat ironically, at the same time as these parenting, umn. edu). n e w studies were a p p e a r i n g , v o i c e s arose in state legislatures, the mass media, and in social science Previous Research o n Corporal P u n i s h m e n t journals to defend corporal punishment. Conse- In order to grasp the i m p o r t a n c e of the n e w quently, a s e c o n d p u r p o s e is to put these recent research, the limitations of the previous 45 years defenses of corporal p u n i s h m e n t in perspective. of research need to be understood. These 45 years This is followed by a section explaining a para- saw the publication of more than 80 studies link- dox c o n c e r n i n g trends in corporal punishment. ing corporal p u n i s h m e n t to child behavior prob- Public belief in the necessity of corporal punish- lems such as physical violence. A meta-analysis ment and the percentage of parents w h o hit teen- of these studies by Gershoff (in press) found that agers is about half of what it was only 30 years almost all s h o w e d that the more corporal punish- ago. Despite these dramatic changes, 94 p e r c e n t ment a child had experienced, the w o r s e the be- of parents of toddlers in a recent national survey havior of the child. Gershoff's review reveals a r e p o r t e d spanking, w h i c h is about the same as it consistency of findings that is rare in social sci- was in 1975 (Straus and Stewart, 1999). e n c e research. T h o m p s o n c o n c l u d e d that "Al- The article concludes with an estimate of the t h o u g h ... c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t d o e s s e c u r e benefits to children, to parents, and to society as children's immediate compliance,it also increases a w h o l e that could o c c u r if corporal p u n i s h m e n t the likelihood of eleven [types of] negative out- were to cease. comes [such as increased physical aggression by the Defenders of corporal p u n i s h m e n t say or im- child and depression later in life]. Moreover, even ply that no-corporal p u n i s h m e n t is the same as studies c o n d u c t e d by defenders of corporal pun- no-discipline or"permissiveness." Consequently, ishment s h o w that, even w h e n the criterion is im- before discussing the n e w research, it is impor- mediate compliance, non-corporal disciplinc strat- tant to e m p h a s i z e that n o - c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t egies work just as well as corporal punishment. d o e s n o t m e a n no-discipline. Writers and orga- The studies in my b o o k Beating the Devil Out n i z a t i o n s l e a d i n g the m o v e m e n t a w a y f r o m of Them are examples of the type of negative out- c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t believe that rules and disci- c o m e reviewed by Thompson. For example, the pline are necessary, but that they will be more m o r e c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t e x p e r i e n c e d , the
52 SOCIETY 9 SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2001
g r e a t e r the p r o b a b i l i t y of hitting a wife or hus- of the n e w studies t o o k into a c c o u n t the child's b a n d later in life. A n o t h e r study of k i n d e r g a r t e n behavior atTime 1, and all five were based on large c h i l d r e n used data on c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t ob- and nationally representative samples of A m e r i c a n t a i n e d by i n t e r v i e w s w i t h the m o t h e r s of the chil- children. None of t h e m d e p e n d e d on adults re- dren. Six m o n t h s later the children w e r e o b s e r v e d calling w h a t h a p p e n e d w h e n t h e y w e r e children. in school. I n s t a n c e s of p h y s i c a l aggression w e r e tallied for each child. The c h i l d r e n of m o t h e r s Study 1: Corporal Punishment and Subsequent who used corporal punishment attacked other Antisocial Behavior c h i l d r e n t w i c e as o f t e n as the c h i l d r e n w h o s e This r e s e a r c h s t u d i e d o v e r 3,000 c h i l d r e n in m o t h e r s did not. The c h i l d r e n of m o t h e r s w h o tile National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (Straus, w e n t b e y o n d o r d i n a r y c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t had et al., 1997). T h e c h i l d r e n w e r e in t h r e e age four times the rate of a t t a c k i n g o t h e r c h i l d r e n . groups: 3-5,6-9,and 10-14. The m o t h e r s of all three This illustrates a n o t h e r p r i n c i p l e : that the psycho- g r o u p s of c h i l d r e n w e r e i n t e r v i e w e d at the start logically harmful effects of c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t of the study in 1988, and t h e n again in 1990 and are p a r a l l e l to t h e h a r m f u l e f f e c t s of p h y s i c a l 1992. The findings w e r e v e r y similar for all t h r e e abuse, e x c e p t that the m a g n i t u d e of the effect is age g r o u p s and for c h a n g e after two years and less. four years. To avoid e x c e s s detail only the results D e s p i t e the unusually high c o n s t a n c y in the for the 6-9 year old c h i l d r e n and for the c h a n g e in f i n d i n g s of r e s e a r c h on c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t , antisocial b e h a v i o r t w o years after the first inter- t h e r e is a s e r i o u s p r o b l e m with all the p r e v i o u s v i e w will be d e s c r i b e d here. r e s e a r c h , t h e s e studies do not i n d i c a t e w h i c h is Measure of corporal punishment. To m e a s u r e cause and w h i c h is effect. That is, t h e y do not corporal punishment, the mothers were told take into a c c o u n t the fact that a g g r e s s i o n and "Sometimes kids mind p r e t t y well and s o m e t i m e s o t h e r b e h a v i o r p r o b l e m s of the child lead p a r e n t s t h e y don't," and asked "About h o w many times, if to spank. Consequently, a l t h o u g h t h e r e is clear any, have you had to spank y o u r child in the past e v i d e n c e that the m o r e c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t , the week?" g r e a t e r the p r o b a b i l i t y of hitting a s p o u s e later in Measure of Antisocial Behavior. To m e a s u r e life, that finding c o u l d simply i n d i c a t e that the Antisocial Behavior the mothers were asked p a r e n t s w e r e r e s p o n d i n g to a high level of aggres- w h e t h e r , in the past t h r e e m o n t h s , the child fre- sion by the child at Time 1. For e x a m p l e , t h e y q u e n t l y "cheats or tells lies," "bullies or is c r u e l / might have s p a n k e d b e c a u s e the child r e p e a t e d l y m e a n to o t h e r s , " " d o e s not feel sorry after misbe- g r a b b e d toys from or hit a b r o t h e r or sister. Since having,""breaks things deliberately,""is d i s o b e d i - a g g r e s s i o n is a relatively stable trait, it is not sur- e n t at school," "has t r o u b l e g e t t i n g along w i t h prising that the most aggressive c h i l d r e n at Time teachers." This was u s e d to c r e a t e a m e a s u r e of 1 are still the most aggressive at Time 2 and are the n u m b e r of a n t i s o c i a l b e h a v i o r s f r e q u e n t l y n o w hitting their wives or husbands. To deal with e n g a g e d in by the child. that p r o b l e m , the r e s e a r c h n e e d s to take into ac- Other Variables. We also t o o k into a c c o u n t c o u n t the child's a g g r e s s i o n or o t h e r antisocial several o t h e r variables that c o u l d affect antiso- b e h a v i o r at Time 1 (the time of the spanking). cial b e h a v i o r by the child. These i n c l u d e the sex Studies using that design can e x a m i n e w h e t h e r , of child, c o g n i t i v e s t i m u l a t i o n p r o v i d e d by the in the m o n t h s or years following, the b e h a v i o r of p a r e n t s , e m o t i o n a l s u p p o r t by the mother, e t h n i c c h i l d r e n w h o w e r e s p a n k e d i m p r o v e s (as most g r o u p of the mother, and s o c i o e c o n o m i c status p e o p l e in the USA think will be the case) or gets of the family. w o r s e . T h e r e are finally n e w studies that use this Findings. The m o r e c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t used d e s i g n and p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n on long t e r m d u r i n g the first year of thc study, the g r e a t e r the c h a n g e in the child's behavior. t e n d e n c y f o r A n t i s o c i a l Behavior to increase sub- sequent to the corporal p u n i s h m e n t . It also shows Five New Landmark Studies that this effect a p p l i e d to b o t h Euro A m e r i c a n In the t h r e e - y e a r p e r i o d 1997-1999 five stud- c h i l d r e n and c h i l d r e n of o t h e r e t h n i c groups. Of ies b e c a m e available that can be c o n s i d e r e d "land- course, o t h e r things also i n f l u e n c e Antisocial Be- mark" studies b e c a u s e t h e y o v e r c a m e this serious havior. For e x a m p l e , girls have l o w e r rates of An- d e f e c t in 45 years of p r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h on the tisocial Behavior than boys, and c h i l d r e n w h o s e long-term effects of c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t . All five m o t h e r s are w a r m and s u p p o r t i v e are less likely
NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFITS OF NEVER SPANKING 55
to behave in antisocial ways. M t h o u g h these other on the relation of corporal p u n i s h m e n t toAntiso- variables do lessen the effect of corporal punish- cial Behavior s h o w that the more corporal pun- ment, w e found that the t e n d e n c y for corporal ishment e x p e r i e n c e d by the children in Year 1, p u n i s h m e n t to make things worse over the long the higher the level of Antisocial Behavior five run applies regardless of race, s o c i o e c o n o m i c sta- years later. Moreover, they found that the harm- tus, gender of the child, and regardless of the ex- ful effect of corporal p u n i s h m e n t applies to all tent to w h i c h the m o t h e r p r o v i d e s c o g n i t i v e the categories of children they s t u d i e d - - t h a t is, stimulation and emotional support. to children in each age group, to all races, and to both boys and girls. Thus, both of these major Study 2: A Second Study of Corporal Punishment long-term prospective studies resulted in evidence and Antisocial Behavior that, although corporal p u n i s h m e n t may w o r k in Sample and Measures. G u n n o e and Mariner the short run, in the long run it tends to boomer- (1997) analyzed data from a n o t h e r large and rep- ang and make things worse. resentative sample of American c h i l d r e n - - t h e Na- An important sidelight of the Gunnoe and Mari- tional Survey of Families and Households. They ner study is that it illustrates the way inconve- studied 1,112 children in two age groups: 4-7 and nient findings can be ignored to give a desired 8-11. In half of the cases the m o t h e r was inter- "spin." The findings section includes one brief viewed and in the o t h e r half the father provided sentence acknowledging that their study "repli- the information. The parents were first inter- cates the Straus et al. findings." This crucial find- v i e w e d in 1987-88, and t h e n five years later. ing is never again mentioned. The extensive dis- G u n n o e and Mariner's measure of corporal pun- cussion and conclusion sections omit mentioning ishment was the same as in the Straus et al. study the results showing that corporal p u n i s h m e n t at just d e s c r i b e d ; that is, h o w o f t e n the p a r e n t Time 1 was associated with more antisocial be- spanked in the previous week. havior subsequently for children of all ages and G u n n o e and Mariner examined the effect of all ethnic groups. Marjorie G u n n o e told me that corporal punishment on two aspects of the child's she is o p p o s e d to spanking and has never spanked behavior: fighting at school and antisocial behav- her o w n children. So the spin she put on the find- ior. Their Antisocial Behavior measure was also ings is not a reflection of personal values or be- the same as in the Straus et al. study. havior. Perhaps it reflects teaching at a college Findings on Fighting. G u n n o e and Mariner affiliated with a c h u r c h w h i c h teaches that God found that the more corporal punishment in 1987- expects parents to spank. 88, the greater the a m o u n t of fighting at school five years later. This is consistent with the t h e o r y Study 3: Corporal Punishment and Child-to-Parent that in the long r u n c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t is Violence counter-productive. However, for toddlers and for Timothy Brezina (1999) analyzed data on a na- African-American children, they found the oppo- tionally representative sample of 1,519 adolescent site, i.e. that corporal p u n i s h m e n t is associated boys w h o participated in the Youth in Transition with less fighting 5 years later. G u n n o e and Mari- study. This is a three-wave panel study that was ner suggest that this occurs because y o u n g e r chil- b e g u n in 1966. Although the data refer to a pre- dren andAfrican-American children tend to regard vious generation of high school students, there is corporal p u n i s h m e n t as a legitimate parental be- no reason to think that the relationship b e t w e e n havior rather than as an aggressive act. However, corporal p u n i s h m e n t and children hitting parents corporal punishment by parents of young children is different n o w that it was then, e x c e p t that the and byAfrican-American parents is so nearly uni- rate may have decreased because fewer parents versal (for example, 94 p e r c e n t of parents of tod- n o w slap teen-agers. dlers) that it suggests an alternative explanation: Measure of Corporal Punishment. Corporal that no-corporal punishment means no-discipline. p u n i s h m e n t was measured by asking the boys If that is the case, it is no w o n d e r that children "How often do your parents actually slap you?" w h o s e parents exercise no-discipline are less well The response categories ranged from 1 (never) behaved. Corporal p u n i s h m e n t may not be g o o d to 5 (always). Twenty eight p e r c e n t of the boys for children, but failure to properly supervise and r e p o r t e d being slapped by their parents during control is even worse. the year of the first wave of the study w h e n their Findings on Antisocial Behavior. The findings
54 SOCIETY 9 SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2001
average age was 15, and 19 p e r c e n t w e r e s l a p p e d Measure of Delinquency at Time 1. As ex- d u r i n g t h e w a v e 2 year (a year and half later). p l a i n e d earlier, it is critical to take into a c c o u n t Measure of Child Aggression. The boys w e r e the m i s b e h a v i o r that leads p a r e n t s to use c o r p o - asked similar q u e s t i o n s a b o u t h o w often t h e y hit ral p u n i s h m e n t . In this study, that was d o n e by t h e i r father and t h e i r mother. Eleven p e r c e n t re- asking the b o y s at Time 1 h o w often t h e y had p o r t e d hitting a p a r e n t the first year, and 7 per- e n g a g e d in each of 24 d e l i n q u e n t acts such as c e n t r e p o r t e d hitting a p a r e n t at Time 2 of the s k i p p i n g school, stealing, and physically attack- study. ing s o m e o n e w i t h a w e a p o n ; and also h o w often Findings. Brezina found that c o r p o r a l punish- they had used drugs and alcohol. m e n t a t T i m c 1 was a s s o c i a t e d with an increased Parental involvement and support. Finally the p r o b a b i l i t y of a child assaulting the p a r e n t a year study also t o o k into a c c o u n t the e x t e n t to w h i c h and a half later. Thus, while it is true that c o r p o - the p a r e n t s s h o w e d w a r m t h and affection, w e r e ral p u n i s h m e n t t e a c h e s the child a lesson, it is c o n s i s t e n t in t h e i r discipline, m o n i t o r e d and su- c e r t a i n l y n o t the l e s s o n i n t e n d e d by the parents. p e r v i s e d the child, and e x p l a i n e d rules and ex- As w i t h the o t h e r four studies, the data analy- p e c t a t i o n s . In a d d i t i o n , it also c o n t r o l l e d for wit- sis t o o k into a c c o u n t s o m e of the many o t h e r fac- nessing p a r e n t a l v i o l e n c e . tors that affect the p r o b a b i l i t y of c h i l d - t o - p a r e n t Findings. Simons and his colleagues fotmd that v i o l e n c e . T h e s e i n c l u d e t h e s o c i o e c o n o m i c sta- the m o r e c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t e x p e r i e n c e d by tus a n d r a c e of t h e family, t h e age of t h e par- these boys, the g r e a t e r the p r o b a b i l i t y of t h e i r ents, the child's a t t a c h m e n t to the p a r e n t , c h i l d ' s physically assaulting a girlfriend. Moreover, like a t t i t u d e t o w a r d aggression, and child's physical the o t h e r p r o s p e c t i v e studies, the analysis t o o k size. into a c c o u n t the m i s b e h a v i o r that led p a r e n t s to use c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t , and also the quality of Study 4: Corporal Punishment and Dating p a r e n t i n g This means that the relation of c o r p o - Violence ral p u n i s h m e n t to v i o l e n c e against a girlfriend is Simons, Lin, a n d G o r d o n ( 1 9 9 8 ) t e s t e d t h e very unlikely to be due to p o o r p a r e n t i n g . Rather, t h e o r y that c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t by the p a r e n t s it is a n o t h e r study s h o w i n g that the long r u n ef- i n c r e a s e s the p r o b a b i l i t y of later hitting a part- fect of c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t is to e n g e n d e r m o r e n e r in a dating relationship. They studied 113 boys r a t h e r than less misbehavior. In short, s p a n k i n g in a rural area of the state of Iowa, b e g i n n i n g w h e n boomerangs. t h e y w e r e in the 7th grade or a b o u t age 13. Measure of Corporal Punishment. The moth- Study 5: Corporal Punishment and Child's ers and the fathers of these b o y s w e r e asked h o w Cognitive Development often t h e y s p a n k e d or s l a p p e d the child w h e n he T h e last of t h e s e five s t u d i e s ( S t r a u s a n d did s o m e t h i n g w r o n g , and h o w often t h e y used a Paschall, 1999) was p r o m p t e d by studies show- belt or p a d d l e for c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t . These ing that talking to c h i l d r e n ( i n c l u d i n g p r e - s p e e c h q u e s t i o n s w e r e r e p e a t e d in waves 2 and 3 of this infants) is a s s o c i a t e d w i t h an increase in neural 5-year study. The s c o r e s for the m o t h e r and the c o n n e c t i o n s in the brain anti in c o g n i t i v e p e r f o r - father for each of the t h r e e years w e r e c o m b i n e d m a n c e . T h o s e f i n d i n g s led us to t h e o r i z e t h a t to c r e a t e an o v e r a l l m e a s u r e of c o r p o r a l pun- if p a r e n t s aw)id c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t , t h e y are i s h m e n t . More t h a n h a l f of t h e b o y s e x p e r i - m n r e l i k e l y to e n g a g e in v e r b a l m e t h o d s of be- e n c e d c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t d u r i n g t h o s e years. h a v i o r c o n t r o l s u c h as e x p l a i n i n g to t h e child, Consequently, the findings about corporal pun- and that the i n c r e a s e d verbal i n t e r a c t i o n with the i s h m e n t a p p l y to the majority of boys in that child will in turn e n h a n c e the c h i l d ' s c o g n i t i v e c o m m u n i t y , n o t just to the c h i l d r e n of a small ability. g r o u p of v i o l e n t parents. This t h e o r y w a s t e s t e d on 806 c h i l d r e n of Measure of Dating Violence. The i n f o r m a t i o n m o t h e r s in the N a t i o n a l L o n g i t u d i n a l Study of on dating v i o l e n c e c a m e from the boys, so it is Youth w h o w e r e age 2 to 4 in the first year of our n o t i n f l u e n c e d by w h e t h e r the p a r e n t s v i e w e d analysis, and the tests w e r e r e p e a t e d for an addi- t h e b o y as a g g r e s s i v e . T h e b o y s w e r e a s k e d tional 7{)4 c h i l d r e n w h o w e r e age 5 to 9 in the w h e t h e r , in the last y e a r , " W h e n you had a dis- first year. C o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t was m e a s u r e d by a g r e e m e n t w i t h your girlfriend, h o w often did you w h e t h e r the m o t h e r was o b s e r v e d h i t t i n g the hit, push, shove her?" child d u r i n g the i n t e r v i e w and by a q u e s t i o n on
NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFITS (.)F NEVER SPANKING 55
f r e q u e n c y of spanking in the past week. A corpo- tion was made by the American Academy of Pedi- ral p u n i s h m e n t scale was created by adding the atrics, w h i c h in 1998 published "Guidelines for n u m b e r o f times the p a r e n t s p a n k e d in t w o Effective Discipline" (Pediatrics I 01:723-728) that sample weeks. Cognitive ability was measured in advises parents to avoid spanking. Year 1 and two years later by tests appropriate for the age of the child at the time of testing such Is There a Backlash? as the Peabody Picture VocabularyTest. It is ironic that during the same period as the The study took into a c c o u n t the m o t h e r ' s age new and more definitive research was appearing, and education, w h e t h e r the father was present in there were hostile or ridiculing articles in news- the household, n u m b e r of children in the family, papers and magazines on the idea of never spank- m o t h e r ' s supportiveness and cognitive stimula- ing a child. In 1999,Arizona and Arkansas passed tion, ethnic group, and the child's age, gender, and laws to remind parents and teachers that they child's birth weight. have the right to use corporal p u n i s h m e n t and to The less corporal p u n i s h m e n t parents use on urge them to do so. There has also been a con- toddlers, the greater the probability that the child tentious debate in scientific journals on the ap- will have an above average cognitive growth. The propriateness of corporal punishment. These de- greater benefit of avoiding corporal p u n i s h m e n t v e l o p m e n t s made some advocates for children for the y o u n g e r children is consistent with the c o n c e r n e d that there is a backlash against the idea research showing the most rapid g r o w t h of neu- of no-spanking. However, there are several rea- ral c o n n e c t i o n s in the brain at early ages. It is sons for doubting the existence of a backlash in also consistent with the theory that what the child the sense of a reversal in the trend of decreasing learns as an infant and toddler is crucial because public s u p p o r t for corporal punishment, or in the it provides the necessary basis for s u b s e q u e n t sense of non-spanking parents reverting to using cognitive d e v e l o p m e n t . The greater adverse ef- corporal punishment. fect on cognitive d e v e l o p m e n t for toddlers has One reason for d o u b t i n g the existence of a an extremely important practical implication be- backlash is that, each year, a larger and larger pro- cause the defenders of corporal p u n i s h m e n t have p o r t i o n of the American p o p u l a t i o n o p p o s e s cor- n o w retreated to limiting their advocacy to tod- poral p u n i s h m e n t . In 1968, w h i c h was only a dlers. Their r e c o m m e n d a t i o n is not based on g e n e r a t i o n ago, almost e v e r y o n e (94 p e r c e n t ) empirical evidence. The evidence from this study believed that corporal p u n i s h m e n t is sometimes suggests that, at least in so far as cognitive devel- necessary. But in the last 30 years public s u p p o r t o p m e n t is c o n c e r n e d , supporters of corporal pun- for corporal p u n i s h m e n t has been decreasing. By ishment have unwittingly advised parents to use 1999, almost half of US adults rejected the idea corporal punishment at the ages w h e n it will have that spanking is necessary. the most adverse effect. The Advocates Are Long-Time Supporters The Message Of The Five Studies:"Don't Spank" In 1968, those w h o favored corporal punish- Each of the five studies I briefly summarized is ment did not need to speak out to defend their far from perfect. They can be picked apart one view because, as just indicated, almost everyone by one, as can just about every epidemiological believed it was necessary. The dramatic decrease study. This is what the t o b a c c o industry did for in s u p p o r t for corporal p u n i s h m e n t means that many years. The Surgeon General's c o m m i t t e e on long time adw)cates of corporal p u n i s h m e n t n o w smoking did the opposite. Their review of the have reason to be worried, and they are speaking research acknowledged the limitations of the stud- out. Consequently, their recent publications do ies w h e n taken one-by-one. But they c o n c l u d e d not indicate a backlash in the sense of a change that despite the defects of the individual studies, from being o p p o s e d to corporal p u n i s h m e n t to the cumulative evidence indicated that smoking favoring it. I suggest that it is more like dying does cause lung c a n c e r and other diseases, and gasps of s u p p o r t for an ancient mode of bringing they called for an end to smoking. With respect up children that is heading towards extinction. to spanking, I believe that the cumulative weight The efforts of those w h o favor corporal pun- of the evidence, and especially the five prospec- ishment have also been spurred on by tim increase tive studies provides sufficient evidence for a new in crime in many countries. The rise in y o u t h Surgeon General's warning. A start in that direc- crime in the United States, although recently re-
56 SOCIETY 9 SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2001
versed, is a very d i s t u r b i n g trend, and it has all,focusing almost exclusively on a so-called "posi- p r o m p t e d a search for causes and corrective steps. tive approach," unwittingly c o n t r i b u t e s to per- It should be no surprise that p e o p l e w h o have petuating corporal p u n i s h m e n t and helps explain always believed in the use of corporal punishment the first paradox. believe that a return to their favored mode of Paradox 1: Contradictory Trends. Some as- bringing up children will help cure the crime pects of corporal p u n i s h m e n t have changed in problem. They argue that children need "disci- major ways. A smaller and smaller p e r c e n t of the pline," w h i c h is correct. However, they equate public favors spanking (Straus and Mathur, 1996). discipline with corporal p u n i s h m e n t , w h i c h is not Fewer parents n o w use belts, hairbrushes and correct. No-corporal p u n i s h m e n t does not mean paddles. The p e r c e n t of parents w h o hit adoles- no-discipline. Delinquency prevention does re- cents has d r o p p e d by half since 1975. Neverthe- quire, a m o n g o t h e r things, discipline in the sense less, other aspects of corporal p u n i s h m e n t con- of clear rules and standards for behavior and pa- tinue to be prevalent, chronic, and severe. The rental supervision and monitoring and enforce- 1995 (}allup national survey of parents (Straus and ment. To the extent that part of the explanation Stewart, 1999) found that: for crime, especially crime by youth, is the lack 9 Almost all parents of toddlers (94 p e r c e n t ) of discipline, the appropriate step is not a return used corporal p u n i s h m e n t that year to corporal p u n i s h m e n t but parental standards, monitoring, and enforcement by non-violent meth- 9 Parents w h o spanked a toddler, did it an av- ods. In fact, as the studies reviewed here indi- erage of about three times a week cate, if discipline takes the form of more corporal p u n i s h m e n t , the p r o b l e m will be e x a c e r b a t e d 9 28 p e r c e n t of parents of children age 5-12 because, while corporal p u n i s h m e n t does work used an object such as a belt or hairbrush with some children, more typically it b o o m e r a n g s and increases the level of juvenile delinquency 9 Over a third of parents of 13-year-old chil- and other behavior problems. dren hit them that year The criticism in scientific journals of research on corporal p u n i s h m e n t is also not a backlash. It The myths about corporal p u n i s h m e n t in Beat- has to be viewed in the light of the n o r m s of sci- ing The Devil Out Of Them provide important ence. A standard aspect of science is to examine clues to understanding w h y parents w h o "don't research critically, to raise questions, and to sug- believe in spanking" c o n t i n u e to do so. These gest alternative interpretations of findings. This myths also u n d e r m i n e the ability of professionals results in a s o m e w h a t paradoxical tendency 6)r w h o advise parents to do what is needed to end criticism to increase as the amount of research goes corporal punishment. up. There has recently been an increase in research Paradox 2: Opposing S p a n k i n g Out Failing showing long-term harmful effects of corporal pun- to Sale Don't ,Spank. Many pediatricians, devel- ishment. Given the critical ethos of science, it is opmental psychologists, and parent educators are only to be expected that the i n c r e a s e d research n o w o p p o s e d to corporal punishment, at least m has elicited m o r e c o m m e n t a r y and criticism, principle. But most also c o n t i n u e to believe that e s p e c i a l l y on the part of t h o s e w h o believed there may be a situation w h e r e spanking by par- in c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t in the first place. ents is necessary or acceptable (Schenck, 2000). This is based on cultural myths. One myth is that Three Paradoxes About Corporal P u n i s h m e n t spanking works w h e n other things do not. An- Three paradoxical aspects of the m o v e m e n t o t h e r is that "mild" corporal p u n i s h m e n t is harm- away from corporal p u n i s h m e n t are w o r t h not- less. All but a small minority of parents and pro- ing. The first is that, although approval of corpo- fessionals continue to believe these myths despite ral p u n i s h m e n t had declined precipitously in the the experimental and o t h e r e v i d e n c e s h o w i n g last generation, almost all parents c o n t i n u e to that other disciplinary strategies work just as well spank toddlers. The s e c o n d p a r a d o x is that pro- as spanking, even in the short run and are more fessionals advising parents, including those w h o effective in the long run as s h o w n by the first are o p p o s e d to spanking, generally fail to tell par- R)ur of the studies described earlier in this article. ents not to spank. They call this aw)iding a"nega- Consequently, w h e n I suggest to pediatricians, tive approach." Finally, anti most paradoxically of parent educators, or social scientists that it is es-
NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFITS OF NEVER SPANKING ~7
sential to tell parents that they should never spank apply equally to corporal punishment and to other or use any other type of corporal punishment, disciplinary strategies (Larzelere, et al., 1996). with rare exception, that idea has been rejected. Consequently, on any given day, a parent is almost Some, like one of America's leading developmen- certain to find that so-called alternative disciplin- tal psychologists, object because of the u n p r o v e n ary strategies such as explaining, deprivation of belief that it w o u l d turn off parents. Some object privileges and time out,"do not work." W h e n that on the false belief that it could be harmful be- happens, they turn to spanking. So, as pointed cause parents do not k n o w what else to do. They out previously, just about everyone (at least 94 argue for a "positive approach" by w h i c h they percent) spanks toddlers. mean teaching parents alternative disciplinary The difference b e t w e e n spanking and o t h e r strategies, as c o m p a r e d to w h a t t h e y call the disciplinary strategies is that, w h e n spanking does "negative approach" of advising to never spank. not work, parents do not question its effective- As a result, the typical pattern is to say nothing ness. The idea that spanking works w h e n o t h e r about spanking. Fortunately, that is slowly chang- m e t h o d s do not is so ingrained in American cul- ing. Although they are still the exception, an in- ture that, w h e n the child repeats the misbehav- creasing n u m b e r of books for parents, parent edu- ior an h o u r or two later (or sometimes a few min- cation programs, and guidelines for professionals utes later) parents fail to perceive that spanking advise never-spanking. has the same high failure rate as o t h e r modes of Both the m o v e m e n t away from spanking, and discipline. So they spank again, and for as many an important limitation of that m o v e m e n t are il- times as it takes to ultimately secure compliance. lustrated by publication of the "Guidelines For Ef- That is the c o r r e c t strategy because, with consis- fective Discipline" o f the American Academy of tency and perseverance, the child will eventually Pediatrics. This was an important step forward, learn. What so many parents miss is that it is also but it also reflects the same problem. It recom- the c o r r e c t strategy for non-spanking methods. mends that parents avoid corporal punishment. Thus, unless there is an absolute prohibition on However, it also carefully avoids saying that par- spanking, parents will "see with their o w n eyes" ents should never spank. This may seem like split- that alternatives do not work and continue to find ting hairs, but because of the typical sequence of it is necessary to spank. parent-child interaction that eventuates in corpo- ral p u n i s h m e n t described in the next paragraph, "Never-Spank" Must Be The Message it is a major obstacle to ending corporal punish- Because of the typical behavior of toddlers and ment. Omitting a never-spank message is a seri- the almost inevitable information p r o c e s s i n g er- ous obstacle because, in the absence of a com- rors just described, teaching alternative disciplin- mitment to never-spank, even parents w h o are ary techniques by itself is not sufficient. There against spanking c o n t i n u e to spank. It is impor- must also be an u n a m b i g u o u s "never-spank" mes- tant to u n d e r s t a n d what underlies the paradox of sage, which is needed to increase the chances that parents w h o are o p p o s e d to spanking, nonethe- parents w h o disapprove of spanking will act on less spanking. their beliefs. Consequently, it is essential for pe- Paradox 3: Failing To Be Explicit A g a i n s t diatricians and others w h o advise parents to aban- Spanking Results in More Spanking. The para- d o n their r e l u c t a n c e to say "never-spank." To dox that fewer and fewer parents are in favor of achieve this, parent-educators must themselves be spanking, but almost all spank toddlers reflects a educated. They need to understand why, w h a t c o m b i n a t i o n of needing to c o p e with the typical they n o w consider a "negative approach," is such behavior of toddlers and perceiving those behav- an important part of ending the use of corporal iors through the lens of the myth that spanking punishment. Moreover, because they believe that works w h e n o t h e r things do not. a "negative approach" does not work, they also W h e n toddlers are c o r r e c t e d for misbehavior need to k n o w about the e x p e r i e n c e of Sweden. (such as hitting a n o t h e r child or disobeying), the The Swedish experience shows that, c o n t r a r y to "recidivism" rate is about 80 p e r c e n t within the the currently prevailing opinion, a never-spank same day and about 50 p e r c e n t within two hours. a p p r o a c h has w o r k e d (Durrant, 1999). For some children it is within two minutes. One In short, the first priority step to end or reduce researcher ( w h o is a defender of corporal pun- spanking may be to educate professionals w h o ishment) found that these "time to failure" rates advise parents. Once professionals are ready to
58 SOCIETY 9 SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2001
move, the key steps are relatively easy to imple- associated with no-corporal punishment. An in- ment and inexpensive, crease of that size w o u l d hardly be noticed in an individual case. However, it is a well e s t a b l i s h e d Parent-education programs, such as STEP, p r i n c i p l e in p u b l i c h e a l t h and e p i d e m i o l o g y w h i c h are n o w silent on spanking, can be that a w i d e l y p r e v a l e n t risk f a c t o r w i t h small revised to include the evidence that spank- effect size, for e x a m p l e spanking, can have a ing does n o t work better than other disci- m u c h g r e a t e r i m p a c t on public health t h a n a plinary tactics, even in the short run; and to risk f a c t o r w i t h a large e f f e c t size, but l o w specifically say "never spank." prevalence, for example, physical abuse. For ex- ample, assume that: (1) 50 million US children The Public Health Service can follow the e x p e r i e n c e d CP and 1 million e x p e r i e n c e d physi- Swedish m o d e l and s p o n s o r no-spanking cal abuse. ( 2 ) T h e probability of being depressed public service a n n o u n c e m e n t s onTV and on as an adult is increased by 2 percent for children milk cartons. w h o e x p e r i e n c e d CP and by 25 p e r c e n t for chil- There can be a "No-Spanking" p o s t e r and dren w h o e x p e r i e n c e d physical abuse. Given pamphlets in every pediatrician's office and these assumptions, the additional cases of depres- every maternity ward. sion caused by CP is 1.02 times 50 million, or 1 million. The additional cases of depression caused There could be a notice on birth certificates by p h y s i c a l a b u s e is 1.25 time 1 m i l l i o n or such as: 250,000. Thus CP is associated with a four times greater increase in depression than is physical WARNING: SPANKING HAS BEEN DETER- abuse. MINED TO BE DANGEROUS TO THE HEALTH Another example of a major benefit resulting AND WELL BEING OF YOUR C H I L D - - D O from reducing a risk factor that has a small effect, N O T EVER, U N D E R A N Y CIRCUM- but for a large p r o p o r t i o n of the population, might STANCES, SPANK OR HIT YOUR CHILD be the increase in scores on intelligence tests that Until professionals w h o advise parents start has been o c c u r r i n g worldwide. Corporal punish- advising parents to n e v e r spank, the paradox of ment has also been decreasing worldwide. The parents b e c o m i n g less and less favorable to spank- decrease in use of corporal p u n i s h m e n t and the ing while at the same continuing to spank tod- increase in scores on IQ tests could be just a co- dlers will continue. Fortunately, that is starting incidence. However, the results of the study de- to happen. scribed earlier in this article w h i c h s h o w e d that The benefits of avoiding corporal p u n i s h m e n t less spanking is associated with faster cognitive are many, but they are virtually impossible for d e v e l o p m e n t suggest that the trend away from parents to perceive by observing their children, corporal p u n i s h m e n t may be one of a n u m b e r of The situation with spanking is parallel to that of social changes (especially, better e d u c a t e d par- smoking. Smokers could perceive the short run ents) that explain the increase in IQ scores in so satisfaction from a cigarette, but had no way to many nations. see the adverse health c o n s e q u e n c e s d o w n the The other four prospective studies reviewed road. Similarly, parents can perceive the benefi- in this article and the studies in B e a t i n g the Devil cial effects of a slap (and, for the reasons explained Out o f T h e m s h o w that ending corporal punish- in the previous section, fail to see the equal ef- ment is likely to also reduce juvenile violence, fectiveness of alternatives), they have no way of wife-beating, and masochistic sex, and increase the looking a year or more into the future to see if probability of c o m p l e t i n g higher education, hold- there is a harmful side effect of having hit their ing a high i n c o m e job, and lower rates of depres- child to correct misbehavior. The only way par- sion and alcohol abuse. Those are not only hu- ents can k n o w this w o u l d be if there were a pub- manitarian benefits, they can also result in huge lic policy to publicize the results of research such m o n e t a r y savings in public and private costs for as the studies summarized in this article. dealing with mental health problems, school prob- Another reason the benefits of avoiding spank- lems, marital and family problems, and crime. ing are difficult to see is that they are not dra- I c o n c l u d e d the first edition of B e a t i n g the matic in any one case. This is illustrated by the Devil Out o f T h e m in 1994 by suggesting that average increase of 3 or 4 points in mental ability ending corporal punishment by parents "portends
NEW EVIDENCEFOR THE BENEFITS OF NEVER SPANKING 59
p r o f o u n d and far r e a c h i n g benefits fi)r humanity." Schenck, Eliza R., Robert D. Lyman, and S. Douglas T h e n e w r e s e a r c h s u m m a r i z e d in this a r t i c l e Bodin. 2000. "Ethical beliefs, attitudes, and pro- makes t h o s e w o r d s even m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e . We fessional practices of psychologists regarding can look f o r w a r d to the day w h e n c h i l d r e n in al- parental use of corporal punishment:A survey." m o s t all c o u n t r i e s h a v e t h e b e n e f i t of b e i n g Children's Services:Social Policy, Research, and b r o u g h t up w i t h o u t b e i n g hit by t h e i r parents; Practice 3:23-38. and just as i m p o r t a n t , to the day w h e n many na- Simons, Ronald L., Kuei-Hsiu Lin, and Leslie C. Gordon. tions have the b e n e f i t of the healthier, wealthier, 1998. "Socialization in the Family of origin and and wiser citizens w h o w e r e b r o u g h t up free from male dating violence:A prospective study."Jour- the v i o l e n c e that is n o w a part of t h e i r earliest hal of Marriage and the Family 60:467-478. and m o s t influential life e x p e r i e n c e s . Straus, MurrayA., and Anitia K. Mathur. 1996. "Social change and change in approval of corporal pun- ishment by parents from 1968 to 1994." Pp. 91- SUGGESTED FURTHER READINGS 105 in Family violence against children.'A chal- lenge f o r society., edited by D. Frehsee,W. Horn, Brezina,Timothy. 1999. "Teenage violence toward par- and K-D Bussmann. NewYork:Walter deGruyter. ents as an adaptation to family strain: Evidence Straus,MurrayA.,and MallieJ. Paschall. 1999. "Corpo- from a national survey of male adolescents." Youth ral punishment by mothers and children's cogni- & Society 30:416-444. tive development:A logitudinal study of two age Durrant, Joan E. 1999. "Evaluating the success of cohorts." in 6th International Family Violence Sweden's corporal punishment ban" ChildAbuse Research Conference. Durham, NH: Family Re- Neglect 23:435-448. search Laboratory, University of New Hampshire. Gershoff, ElizabethThompson. In press. "Corporal pun- Straus, Murray A., and Julie H. Stewart. 1999. "Corpo- ishment by parents and associated child behav- ral punishment by American parents: National iors and experiences:A meta-analytic and theo- data on prevalence, chronicity, severity, and dura- retical review." Psychological Bulletin, tion, in relation to child, and family characteris- Gunnoe, Marjorie L., and Carrie L. Mariner. 1997. "To- tics." Clinical Child and Family Psychology Re- ward a developmental-contextual model of the view 2:55-70. effects of parental spanking on children's aggres- Straus, Murray A., David B. Sugarman, and Jean Giles- sion."Archives of Pediatric andAdolescent Medi- Sims. 1997. "Spanking by parents and subsequent cine 151 :768- 775. antisocial behavior of children."Archives of pe- Larzelere, Robert E.,William N. Schneider, David B. diatric and adolescent medicine 151:761-767. Larson, and l~atricia L. Pike. 1996. "The effects of discipline responses in delaying toddler misbe- M u r r a y A. Straus is professor o f sociology a n d co- havior recurrences." Child and Family Therapy director o f the Family Research Laboratory at the 18:35-37. University o f N e w Hampshire. He is the author or Neisser, Ulric. 1997. "Rising scores on intelligence tests: co-author or editor o f 18 books including Stress, Test scores are certainly gong up all over the Culture, andAggression. This article is adapted f r o m world, but whether intelligence itself has risen Chapter 12 of Beating the Devil Out of Them: Corpo- remains controversial." A m e r i c a n Scientist ral Punishment inAmerican Families and Its Effects on 85:440-447. Children, 2 n d edition, published by Transaction.
Pedagogical Suicide, Philosophy of Nihilism, Absurdity and Existentialism in Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus and Its Impact On Post-Independence Odia Literature