Summary: Researchers report that spanking is associated with lower social development in 3- and 4-year-old children.
Source: University of Michigan
Spanking may be more harmful to young children worldwide than previously understood, a new University of Michigan study suggests.
Most prior research on corporal punishment has focused on families in high-income countries such as the United States and Canada. Less was known about how physical discipline relates to young children’s development in low- and middle-income countries. Spanking remains one of the most common forms of child discipline used by parents around the world, so understanding its effects across diverse national contexts is essential.
This international study drew on data collected by UNICEF through the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), using information from 62 countries and a sample of 215,885 children aged 3 and 4. The sample represents nearly one-third of the world’s countries and includes a broad range of cultural and economic settings.
Interviewers asked caregivers three simple questions to assess young children’s socioemotional functioning: whether the child gets along well with other children, whether the child hits, kicks, or bites others, and whether the child is easily distracted. Caregivers were also asked whether the child or any sibling had been physically punished—specifically spanked—within the past month.
Key findings from the analysis include:
- Overall, 43 percent of the children in the sample were either spanked themselves or lived in a household where another child had been spanked in the past month.
- Caregiver reports of spanking within the household were associated with lower scores on a three-item socioemotional development index for 3- and 4-year-old children.
- Country-level results from multilevel models showed a negative relationship between spanking and socioemotional development in 59 of the 62 countries examined (95%). Three countries showed no clear relationship. No country showed a positive association between spanking and higher socioemotional development.
Although the association observed in this cross-sectional study was relatively modest in size, the consistency of the negative relationship across a wide range of countries suggests that spanking may be harmful for young children on a broader, global scale than previously documented.
“It appears that in this sample … spanking may do more harm than good,” said Garrett Pace, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student in social work and sociology. Pace noted that efforts to reduce corporal punishment could help lower the global burden of childhood mental health problems and improve developmental outcomes.
The study’s co-authors include Shawna Lee, associate professor of social work and a faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research, and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, associate professor of social work. The authors highlight that public policies and programs that discourage physical punishment—along with parent education and alternative discipline strategies—may promote better socioemotional outcomes for children.
Policy trends already reflect growing concern about corporal punishment: at the time of the study, 54 countries had enacted bans on corporal punishment. Researchers argue that continued policy development and public education are likely to benefit children’s long-term well-being.
Source: Jared Wadley — University of Michigan
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com
Image source: NeuroscienceNews.com image in the public domain
Original research: Abstract for “Spanking and young children’s socioemotional development in low- and middle-income countries” by Garrett T. Pace, Shawna J. Lee, and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, published in Child Abuse & Neglect. Published November 15, 2019.
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.11.003
MLA: University of Michigan. “Spanking in Developing Countries Does More Harm Than Good.” NeuroscienceNews, 19 November 2019.
APA: University of Michigan (2019, November 19). Spanking in Developing Countries Does More Harm Than Good. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
Chicago: University of Michigan. “Spanking in Developing Countries Does More Harm Than Good.” November 19, 2019.
Abstract
Spanking and young children’s socioemotional development in low- and middle-income countries
Spanking is one of the most common forms of child discipline used by parents around the world. Research on children in high-income countries has shown that parental spanking is associated with adverse child outcomes, yet less is known about how spanking is related to child well-being in low- and middle-income countries. This study uses data from 215,885 children in 62 countries from the fourth and fifth rounds of UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) to examine the relationship between spanking and child well-being. In this large international sample, which includes data from nearly one-third of the world’s countries, 43% of children were spanked, or resided in a household where another child was spanked, in the past month. Results from multilevel models show that reports of spanking of children in the household were associated with lower scores on a three-item socioemotional development index among 3- and 4-year-old children. Country-level results from the multilevel model showed 59 countries (95%) had a negative relationship between spanking and socioemotional development and 3 countries (5%) had a null relationship. Spanking was not associated with higher socioemotional development for children in any country. While the cross-sectional association between spanking and socioemotional development is small, findings suggest that spanking may be harmful for children on a more global scale than was previously known.