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Benefits of spanking children
Effects of corporal punishment on students
Effects of corporal punishment on students
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Many U.S. parents believe in spanking their children when they behave badly. Straus and Stewart (as cited in Mulvaney & Mebert, 2007) found that "more than 90% of children and approximately 50% of adolescents have experienced corporal punishment at least once." Some research on this subject has shown that corporal punishment may increase the amount of externalizing behavior that children display rather than decreasing it. Other research on this subject has shown the opposite: Corporal punishment may not always be harmful or may only be harmful when it is harsh and excessive. Researchers that found an increase in externalizing behavior have hypothesized that children may model the parents' harsh behavior and therefore act out more after they have been spanked. They have also hypothesized that spanking may teach children that physical aggression is an appropriate way to make others comply with their wishes. Another hypothesis often addressed in this research is whether race and ethnic group may have a moderating effect on the relationship between corporal punishment and increased externalizing behavior.
In an article that focused on the relationship of corporal punishment to children's externalizing behaviors, Lansford, Wager, Bates, Pettit, and Dodge (2012) reported on the results of their experiment on the frequency and severity of spankings and the effects of those punishments. Lansford et al. regarded "externalizing behavior" as behavior that was considered inappropriate by parents or authority figures and/or behavior that was defiant, delinquent, or noncompliant in nature. They regarded "corporal punishment" as using physical force to inflict pain on the child, but not to injure the child in order to change the chil...
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...panking in one year would eventually increase to harsher spanking in the next year. They found that compared to the no spanking group, mild spanking led to a 50% increase in the risk of harsher spanking the next year.
In a study performed by Grogan-Kaylor (2004), the researchers examined the relationship between corporal punishment and antisocial behavior by analyzing data taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Their goal was to use stronger statistical controls than previous researchers used to analyze this data. They also wanted to examine whether the effect of corporal punishment on children's antisocial behavior depends on the frequency of the corporal punishment. Their last main hypothesis was to discover whether the race or ethnic group of the parent and child affected the impact corporal punishment had on the child's behavior.
Smith states in his introduction “many studies have shown physical punishment — including spanking, hitting and other means of causing pain — can lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury and mental health problems for children.” Throughout the article, many studies show that children do become more aggressive however, there were also studies mentioned that support the use of physical punishment on children between the ages of two and six years old. This does show that his research is thorough however, it still leads to room for error in his broad statement of physical punishment causing harmful effects to
There is a point raised by the author on the article “Spanking children isn’t abusing them” that children in residential schools had horrible and often fatal beatings (2015). Furthermore, while reading “Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review” Gershoff asserts, “Behaviors that do not result in significant physical injury (e.g., spank, slap) are considered corporal punishment, whereas behav- iors that risk injury (e.g., punching, kicking, burning) are consid- ered physical abuse. ” (2002) As it was stated on the previous point, reasonable force has its limits, and limits the parent and care givers to discipline the child without degrading them or causing physical or psychological harm.
Darcia begins her writing by first defining spanking as “hitting a child on the bottom with an open hand.” She then illustrates situations in which many parents may warrant the need for spanking. She follows with multiple examples of the negative effects of corporal punishment on the developing children ranging from increased aggression in retaliation to lack of trust
In the first study that examined the effects of spanking on child aggression, researchers wanted to look at whether or not there was an association between the use of corporal punishment on children at age 3 and the aggression of the child that could potentially follow when the child reached the age of 5. They also wanted to look at any other potential risk factors that could contribute to the mother’s use of corporal punishment on the child.
Three reasons why people do not believe in spanking are spanking can cause harmful side effects, spanking is no more effective than other punishments, and spanking promotes violence in children. Some harmful side effects that could possibly be caused by spanking are children suffering from depression, being inferior in their school performance, or having problems later on in life. It is impossible to see side effects because they are not usually revealed immediately. People also believe that spanking cannot be proven to be more effective than any other punishment. They think parents can use other positive and nonviolent punishments to show children their actions were wrong without subjecting the children to the detrimental effects of spanking. Spanking can also be perceived as contradictory to teaching nonviolent behaviors to children. (1) It can reinforce negative memories and violence can be passed down through generations. A study that was published in a journal about child development was done with small children. It concluded that by the age of one, children that were spanked al...
In order to conclude an argument, it is first necessary to define any vague or ambiguous terms. Spanking is an unclear term in need of explanation. To some spanking means to slap a child on the buttocks, while others believe it is a mild form of corporal punishment which does not cause harm to the child. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) defines spanking as ?one or two flat-handed swats on a child?s wrist or rear end? (Rosellini 52). The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary also agrees with the AAP when defining spanking as ?[to] strike with an open hand.? Spanking does not infer a sustained whipping from Dads belt, but a mild form of corporal punishment that does not cause injury.
Spanking teaches the child that violence is a socially accepted behavior to attain a desired result. To better understand this concept, we must first look at how a child’s brain works. From infancy, children learn through observation and imitation. Studies have shown that infants as young as forty-two minutes can successfully replicate simple facial expressions (Metzloff, Decety 492). By eight months, infants can imitate basic motor movement, even after twenty-four hours have passed since the initial movement occurred. At fourteen months, children can apply an imitation to an external situation up to a week after the initial imitation. (Windell, 67-68, 221). A famous example of this is Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment. Christopher Green of York University helps interpret Bandura’s experiment and results: While acknowledging that certain children may have inherited aggressive personalities, Bandura demonstrated that the majority of personality is learned. Adult models were escorted to a room and shown various toys to play with while child observers watched from outside the room. Among the various toys was a clown “bobo” doll. In some “play” sessions, the models demonstrated aggression toward the doll by punching, kicking, hitting and yelling at it. In other sessions, the models quietly pla...
Nonetheless, considers spanking an outcome with dysfunctional mental and physical health issues that roots from often harsh spankings (Kazdin and Benjet, 2003). If parents were set to believe corporal punishment leads to the development of mental issues or physical aggression with peers solving conflicts (Taylor et al.,2016). If the world knew what corporal punishment actually does parents would seek a different approach. Most parents think the views of their children is a reflection of how they are being raised, which supports why this article argument is stronger. Another reason this article is stronger argument is because of how severe the logical fallacies are with in “Spanking and Children’s Externalizing Behavior Across the First Decade of Life:” Even so, the article did provide some strong points as well by recognizing the limitations the studies bring with parents by relying on their responses to general questions about spanking.
[3] Lansford, Jennifer E. "The Special Problem of Cultural Differences in Effects of Corporal Punishment." Law & Contemporary Problems 73.2 (2010): 89-106. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
In a research project done using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, researchers examined the antecedents of parents’ spanking behavior. This study represents an important step forward in understanding the profile of parents who spank their children.
Many parents say physical punishment works on improving behavior or teaching a child a lesson. These parents think this is the only way to discipline a child. So as years pass more parents tend to use this strategy to discipline their own children. According to the Health Update, “one of four 10-16 year olds or 6.2 million children is a victim of assault or abuse every year” also “one-third of the children surveyed said that they were assaulted or abused or that someone had tried to victimize them in the previous year” (Lawton 10). Physical abuse is not effective for any child. Another statistic according to the Public Health article wrote “nearly half of abused and neglected children were six years old or younger” and “one million children in 48 states were victims of abuse and neglect in 1994, a 27 percent increase over 1990” (Montague, Pitman 10). Some may say this is the only way and it really does work but do these parents actually see what is happening to their child? The following will give a few reasons of what can happen to a child whose parent uses physical punishment. The parents who physically punish their child are mentally, physically and verbally abusing their child.
Holden (2002) reviewed Gershoff’s (2002) meta-analyses of eighty-eight (88) studies and noted that there were both positive and negative outcomes associated with the punishment of spanking. According to Gershoff’s (2002) analysis, the one positive outcome was immediate compliance by the child (Holden, 2002). This result was found to be consistent in five (5) studies. Immediate compliance was defined as the child complying to the parents directive within five (5) seconds. In stark contrast, there were four (4) negative outcomes. The analysis showed a negative effect on the quality of the parent child relationship, the child’s mental health, the child’s perception of being a victim of physical child abuse, and also impacted aggression in adulthood (Holden, 2002).
One study conducted by Murray A. Straus, David B. Sugarman, and Jean Giles-Sims seems to suggest that child spanking has a negative effect on the child’s behavior as he or she matures. In their 1997 study “Spanking by Parents and Subsequent Antisocial Behavior of Children,” they sampled 807 mothers of children aged six to nine years old to determine if a causal relationship existed between corporal punishment as a child and antisocial behavior later in life. The results were very clear:
There has been a misconception about how to properly discipline children due to secular views and flawed studies. Many of these so called “studies” have made “many experts believe that corporal punishment will likely lead to increased resistance or aggressive behavior from the child” ("Corporal Punishment." World Book Advanced). One study in particular “suggests that children who experienced harsh spanking (with objects or at a frequency of once a week or more with a hand) had significantly higher levels of mother-reported externalizing behavior at ages 6, 7, and 8 than did children who experienced no spanking or mild spanking at those ages, even controlling for prior externalizing behavior and other possible confounds.” ( Lansford ). However, aggressive behavior should be expected if a parent beats their child out of their own anger instead of a desire to better their child for the future. There are several other “studies” that claim to prove spanking increases negative behavior but they just lump them all together and say that all spanking in every form, regardless of it severity, is the same and creates worse children. “Any form of punishment, physical or otherwise, can have negative consequences if it is abused.”. (Green) If parents don’t discipline their children physically, they will ve...
...E. (2000). Child Outcomes of Nonabusive and Customary Physical Punishment by Parents: An Updated Literature Review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. doi:10.1023/A:1026473020315.