Posted on 06/26/2002 11:02:00 AM PDT by Sweet_Sunflower29
June 26 — After analyzing six decades of expert research on corporal punishment, a psychologist says parents who spank their children risk causing long-term harm that outweighs the short-term benefit of instant obedience.
THE PSYCHOLOGIST, Elizabeth Gershoff, found links between spanking and 10 negative behaviors or experiences, including aggression, anti-social behavior and abuse of children and spouses in adulthood. The one positive result of spanking that she identified was quick compliance with parental demands. “Americans need to re-evaluate why we believe it is reasonable to hit young, vulnerable children, when it is against the law to hit other adults, prisoners, and even animals,” Gershoff writes in the new edition of the American Psychological Association’s bimonthly journal. Spanking has become controversial in recent years, but in the United States, especially, remains widely used. Many studies have been done but the findings vary. The new analysis, one of the most comprehensive ever on the topic of spanking in America, was accompanied in the Psychological Bulletin by a critique from three other psychologists. They defend mild to moderate spanking as a viable disciplinary option, especially for children 2 to 6, but advise parents with abusive tendencies to avoid spanking altogether. Gershoff, a researcher at Columbia University’s National Center for Children in Poverty, spent five years on her project, analyzing 88 studies of corporal punishment conducted since 1938. The studies tracked both the short- and long-term effects of spanking on children.
ALTERNATIVES TO SPANKING But she said physical punishment does not automatically mean a child will grow up to be hostile or violent. “The act of corporal punishment itself is different across (the spectrum of) parents — parents vary in how frequently they use it, how forcefully they administer it, how emotionally aroused they are when they do it, and whether they combine it with other techniques,” she said. Gershoff also stopped short of endorsing a legal ban on parental corporal punishment, saying the United States was unlikely to emulate a group of European countries in taking that step. However, she urged parents who spank to reconsider their options.
When they’re in a situation where they’re considering spanking, think of something else to do — leave the room, count to 10, and come back again,” Gershoff said in an interview Tuesday. “The risk is just too great.” Several major national organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have taken an official stand against corporal punishment by parents. The psychological association has not taken a stance, though it is on record opposing corporal punishment at schools and other institutions.
SOME EXPERTS DISAGREE Robert Larzelere, a psychology professor at the Nebraska Medical Center, was one of the three experts critiquing Gershoff’s findings. He noted that while she found links between spanking and negative behaviors, she did not assert categorically that spanking caused those behaviors. Larzelere, in an interview, said he remains convinced that mild, non-abusive spanking can be an effective reinforcement of nonphysical disciplinary methods, particularly in dealing with defiant 2- to 6-year-olds. He shared concerns about spanking that is too severe or too frequent. Gershoff cautioned that her findings do not imply that all children who are spanked turn out to be aggressive or delinquent. But she contended that corporal punishment, on its own, does not teach children right from wrong and may not deter them from misbehaving when their parents are absent.
“Until researchers, clinicians, and parents can definitively demonstrate the presence of positive effects of corporal punishment, including effectiveness in halting future misbehavior, not just the absence of negative effects, we as psychologists can not responsibly recommend its use,” Gershoff wrote.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Some adults shouldn't be spanked though.....they might like it too much.
I'll take the following advise over this individual's Physological Wall Pedigree ...
"Spare the rod, spoil the child"
Having said that, I think a child who is beaten may well grow up to have problems with violent behavior.
That pretty much sums it up....yet the headline leads you to believe that spanking is the cause of all evil in the world!
Yeah, if you do it right.
On the contrary. Not spanking can cause long term harm
Now beating is another story of course
Horse puckey.
This shrink thinks that spanking and beating are one in the same.
Which gives the kid a good 10 seconds to stick his finger in the light socket again. Good plan.
I've never had children myself (sad to say) but I have no doubt in the world that the spankings my parents gave me really were for my good. I'll take centuries of practical experience over all of the degrees from all of the ivory towers.
Social science is a giant con game.
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