Parents Likely to Spank Less If They Know Spanking Is Linked to Short and Long Term Behavioral Problems Among Children

Parents who think spanking will discipline their kids need to rethink. Decades of research has found that spanking can give rise to short as well as long term behavioral problems among kids. 

Child psychologist George Holden favors humane alternatives to corporal punishment. He wanted to see if parents' positive views toward spanking could be reversed if they were made aware of the research. So Holden along with three colleagues at Southern Methodist University, Dallas designed a test for parents in which they were exposed to short research summaries detailing negative impact of spanking. The researchers claim that it is the first study to demonstrate that brief exposure to spanking research can alter people's views toward spanking. 

In addition, this study in contrast to the previous studies is efficient, less costly and less time consuming."Given the brevity of our intervention, the results are notable," said the authors. "Our Web-based approach is less expensive, potentially quicker, and more easily scaled up to use at a community level." The study is published online in the international journal of Child Abuse & Neglect.  

The researchers carried out two studies, one with parents and the other with non-parents and found that attitudes were significantly altered. 

"Parents spank with good intentions — they believe it will promote good behavior, and they don't intend to harm the child. But research increasingly indicates that spanking is actually a harmful practice," said Holden, lead author on the study. "These studies demonstrate that a brief exposure to research findings can reduce positive corporal punishment attitudes in parents and non-parents."

"If we can educate people about this issue of corporal punishment, these studies show that we can in a very quick way begin changing attitudes," said Holden, a professor in the SMU Department of Psychology who has carried out extensive research on spanking.

With spanking a public health concern, this approach offers a simple way to reach a large audience to change attitudes and reduce parents' reliance on corporal punishment, said Holden, who was recently elected president of Dallas' oldest child abuse prevention agency, Family Compass.