Spanking Is Not Effective, Can Lead to Physical Aggression and Mental Health Problems for Kids

spanking physical punishment Sandra Graham-Bermann Child Violence and Trauma Laboratory Alan Kazdin Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic Elizabeth Gershoff Child Abuse and Neglect Corporal Punishment and Elevated Neural Response to Threat in Children Jorge Cuartas Robert Larzelere

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Aug 25, 12:40 am

Parents who get frustrated see spanking their children as the only option; however, many studies have determined the negative effects of hitting children, according to Sandra Graham-Bermann, Ph.D., a psychology professor and principal investigator for the Child Violence and Trauma Laboratory at the University of Michigan.

Alan Kazdin, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Yale University and director of the Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic, noted that spanking does not work and it's just a horrible thing an adult can do to a child.

Kazdin, former American Psychological Association (APA) president, added that you could not punish behaviors you do not want, and there's no need for corporal punishment, according to the research. Thus, the researchers, including Kazdin, have not given up on an effective technique.

According to the APA, many studies showed that physical punishment, including spanking, could only lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury due to hitting, and mental health problems for children such as depression.

Americans have accepted that physical punishment is not effective since the 1960s, but surveys revealed that approximately two-thirds of Americans still prefer parents spanking their children.

Spanking, an inappropriate form of child discipline

Elizabeth Gershoff, Ph.D., a leading researcher on Physical Punishment at the University of Texas in Austin, said that spanking and any other form of physical punishment do not work to get kids to comply. Many parents think they must constantly hit their children to get them to obey, but it is dangerous.

A study published in Child Abuse and Neglect showed that physical punishment became an intergenerational cycle of violence. The research revealed that those children who were physically punished believed that hitting solves the problem, especially with a child's behavior. On the other hand, those parents who had experienced the same physical punishment noted that hitting is acceptable as they encountered it before they built their family. Their children, in turn, believed that spanking is an appropriate disciplinary method.

The study entitled "Corporal Punishment and Elevated Neural Response to Threat in Children," published in Child Development, determined that children and even adults who have been spanked as a form of discipline by their parents are more likely to develop anxiety and depression. They also have difficulties engaging positively in both schools and skills of regulation which are essential to be victorious in educational settings.

Jorge Cuartas, one of the researchers of the study and a Ph.D., candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, told GSE Harvard Edu that the important tool in disciplining children is explaining to them their certain behaviors and labeling them as wrong and also clarifying the type of behavior to seek by using an example.

What are the negative effects of spanking on kids?

Robert Larzelere, Ph.D., associate professor of Human Development and Family Science at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, warned parents that children who have been continuously spanked might also resort to hitting when their emotions are not stable and are more likely to participate in domestic violence and spank their own kids in the future.

Kazdin said that spanking is linked to an earlier death. It is also associated with an increased risk of physical health problems, namely cancer and heart disease, per Parents.