David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Spanking Toddlers Makes for More Aggressive 5-Year-Olds
by Caroline Cassels, Medscape Medical News
April 20, 2010
Children who are spanked frequently at the age of 3 years are more likely to be aggressive at the age of 5 years, new research suggests.
Investigators at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine found frequent spanking at the age of 3 years, defined as more than twice within the previous month, was associated with a 50% increased risk of aggression at the age of 5 years.
"The current findings suggest that even minor forms of corporal punishment, such as spanking, increase risk for increased child aggressive behavior," the study authors, led by Janet C. Rick, PhD, write.
The study was published online April 12 in Pediatrics.
Despite controversy surrounding its use and recommendations from American Academy of Pediatrics and other professional organizations, many parents in the United States used corporal punishment (CP) as a method of discipline. Estimates range from 35% to 90%, and results of a 2005 US poll showed 72% of adults believed it was "OK to spank a child."
Although a number of previous studies have demonstrated a link between the use of CP and subsequent aggression in children, investigators say this is the first study to simultaneously control for factors such as baseline aggression, demographics, and a large number of potential parental risk confounders.
To determine whether use of CP at the age of 3 years was associated with an increased risk of aggression at the age of 5 years after controlling for other potential risk factors, the researchers obtained a sample of children from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, a population-based, cohort study of families from 20 large cities in the United States.
Two interviews were conducted with 2461 mothers when their children were 3 and 5 years of age. The investigators assessed maternal reports of CP, children's aggressive behaviors at 3 and 5 years of age, and a host of key demographic features and potential confounding factors, including maternal child physical maltreatment, psychological maltreatment and neglect, intimate partner aggression and violence, stress, depression, alcohol and drug use, and consideration of abortion were all assessed.
A total of 45.6% of the mothers reported no use of spanking in the previous month, 27.9% reported spanking 1 or 2 times, and 26.5% reported spanking more than twice.
All 8 of the maternal parenting risk factors for child aggression were significantly associated with CP use and child aggression. However, the investigators note that even after controlling for all of these maternal parenting risks, more frequent use of CP in 3-year-olds increased the odds of these children being more aggressive at the age of 5 years.
"This study adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that parental use of CP may lead to increased child aggression. This evidence base suggests that primary prevention of violence can start with efforts to prevent the use of CP against children," the investigators write.
by Caroline Cassels, Medscape Medical News
April 20, 2010
Children who are spanked frequently at the age of 3 years are more likely to be aggressive at the age of 5 years, new research suggests.
Investigators at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine found frequent spanking at the age of 3 years, defined as more than twice within the previous month, was associated with a 50% increased risk of aggression at the age of 5 years.
"The current findings suggest that even minor forms of corporal punishment, such as spanking, increase risk for increased child aggressive behavior," the study authors, led by Janet C. Rick, PhD, write.
The study was published online April 12 in Pediatrics.
Despite controversy surrounding its use and recommendations from American Academy of Pediatrics and other professional organizations, many parents in the United States used corporal punishment (CP) as a method of discipline. Estimates range from 35% to 90%, and results of a 2005 US poll showed 72% of adults believed it was "OK to spank a child."
Although a number of previous studies have demonstrated a link between the use of CP and subsequent aggression in children, investigators say this is the first study to simultaneously control for factors such as baseline aggression, demographics, and a large number of potential parental risk confounders.
To determine whether use of CP at the age of 3 years was associated with an increased risk of aggression at the age of 5 years after controlling for other potential risk factors, the researchers obtained a sample of children from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, a population-based, cohort study of families from 20 large cities in the United States.
Two interviews were conducted with 2461 mothers when their children were 3 and 5 years of age. The investigators assessed maternal reports of CP, children's aggressive behaviors at 3 and 5 years of age, and a host of key demographic features and potential confounding factors, including maternal child physical maltreatment, psychological maltreatment and neglect, intimate partner aggression and violence, stress, depression, alcohol and drug use, and consideration of abortion were all assessed.
A total of 45.6% of the mothers reported no use of spanking in the previous month, 27.9% reported spanking 1 or 2 times, and 26.5% reported spanking more than twice.
All 8 of the maternal parenting risk factors for child aggression were significantly associated with CP use and child aggression. However, the investigators note that even after controlling for all of these maternal parenting risks, more frequent use of CP in 3-year-olds increased the odds of these children being more aggressive at the age of 5 years.
"This study adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that parental use of CP may lead to increased child aggression. This evidence base suggests that primary prevention of violence can start with efforts to prevent the use of CP against children," the investigators write.
