Parental spanking and childhood aggression

Purpose: To examine the association between parental spanking and externalizing behaviors among 3-year old children. Methods: Data were drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a population-based longitudinal birth cohort study of families with young children. The study, which began in 1998, includes data from 20 large U.S. cities. Maternal reports (n=3,312) of parental spanking, child abuse and neglect (CAN) (including psychological abuse, physical abuse, and neglect), and children's externalizing behaviors were examined. CAN questions were drawn from the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (Straus, et al., 1998) and externalizing behaviors from the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000). Adjusted beta coefficients and confidence intervals are reported from multiple linear regression models. Results: Frequent maternal spanking (at least a few times in the past month) and also less frequent maternal spanking (once or twice in the past month) were each associated with increased childhood aggression (B= .83; CI=0.22, 1.4 and B= .64; CI=0.099, 1.17, respectively). These associations were independent of the well-documented associations between CAN and childhood aggression. Conclusions: Most parents in the U.S. view spanking as an effective and necessary form of child discipline, and it is a common disciplinary practice. However, the current findings suggest that even minor forms of corporal punishment, such as spanking, are associated with aggressive behaviors in children and that these findings are not explained away by the links between spanking and CAN. Efforts to reduce the use of spanking are warranted.