Spanking Corporal Punishment 1

Running Head: The Use of Spanking as a form of Punishment

Exercise # 1

The Use of Spanking as a form of Punishment in Families

Eboni S. Austin

Social Work 300

Tuskegee University

January 21, 2010

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Article 1: The Role of Parental Stress in Physically Abusive Families

Whipple, E., & Webster-Stratton, C. (1991). The Role of Parental Stress in Physically Abusive

Families. Child Abuse and Neglect, 15, 279-291. Retrieved from

http://www.son.washington.edu/centers/parentingclinic/opendocs/Role%20of%20Parenta

l%20 Stress%201991.pd

Whipple and Webster-Stratton points out how stress on parents could lead to abuse in the

home. The factors that contributed to the abuse came were in low income, less education from a

parent, a young mother or the abuse of drugs and/or alcohol. Abused children suffered from

behavior issues, abusive fathers usually spank the child and abusive mothers reported

unhappiness in their marriage and suffered isolation. The authors of this text wanted to examine

how stressors play a role with children with behavioral issues. The study involved 123 families

from various backgrounds with children that consisted of first-born and mostly males. The study

used demographics about the family; it measured the physical abuse and the stressors that the

family has to deal with in their lives. A variety of surveys were used to measure the levels of

stress in the parent(s). The results concluded that there is a positive relationship between stress

on parents and the abuse of children. Abusive mothers tend to criticize their children more than

parents who do not abuse their children.

Unemployment, low SES, or depression can play a factor in stress that parents have to

endure. These are concerns that could be handled, however, in the process, it could become too

much on the parent. Most parents take out their frustration on the child and sometimes do not

realize the damage that could or has been done. Children’s behavior could also play a role in the

stress of parents. Although all issues cannot be resolved, parents are encouraged to use other

outlets than abusing their children.

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Article 2: Non-abusive Physical Punishment and Child Behavior among African-American

Children: A Systematic Review

Horn, I. B., Joseph, J., & Cheng, T. (2004). Non-abusive Physical Punishment and Child.

Journal of the National Medical Association, 96(9), 1162-1168. Retrieved from

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2568462/pdf/jnma00178-0030.pdf

Horn, Joseph and Cheng described the physical punishment used in African American

homes. The article informs readers how the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages other

forms of punishment besides spanking. It is said that spanking could lead to future issues with

the child including antisocial behaviors. African Americans are said to have a harsh form of

punishment with their children. The purpose of this article is to review and observe published

articles of the outcomes of children whose parents used non-abusive forms of punishment. After

searching through several articles, a few were selected to be used. Among those few were

articles about longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. Three of the articles pertained to African

American populations. The longitudinal studies results displayed both positive and neutral

outcomes in the African American homes but not so much of European American homes. From

the results, the impact of non-abusive punishment in African American remains uncertain. There

are recommendations for future studies of measuring the outcome of non-abusive punishment on

African American children. Two of the recommendations are to have a more rigorous research

method with a diverse socioeconomic class of African Americans and improvement of measures

of non-abusive punishment.

African Americans are one of the cultures that are known for using physical punishment

on their children. Punishment in this nature can make a child feel embarrassed and want to

retaliate. Other forms of punishment are being set out for parents to adopt. It can reduce the risk
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of long term effects on the child. Time outs, privileges revoked or simply discussing the situation

can minimize the use of spanking in homes.

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Article 3: Changing Teacher Education Student’s Attitudes toward Using Corporal punishment

in the classroom

Griffin, M., Robinson, D., & Carpenter, H. (2000). Changing Teacher Education Student’s

Attitudes toward using Corporal Punishment in the Classroom. Research in the Schools,

7(1), 27-30. Retrieved from http://www.edb.utexas.edu/robinson/danr/2000GRC.pdf

The authors described corporal punishment as a form of discipline that causes bodily

harm for behavior that is not approved. Despite the negative notion on corporal punishment,

there are few educators who still approve of corporal punishment in the schools. It is said to

decrease the likely of the negative behavior to return. However, data has been brought froth that

argues that corporal punishment does the opposite. Instead, it worsens the behavior of the student

and may cause psychological damage to the student. Students may run away, have anxiety and

be aggressive as a result and fear or corporal punishment. The purpose of this study is to increase

the students and teachers’ awareness of corporal punishment and try to get students to change

their attitudes if the negative consequences of corporal punishment were presented. Ninety-two

undergraduate students were used in this study. They were asked to write down the pros and cons

of corporal punishment. Other students in the controlled group were requested to complete

another assignment about academic dishonesty. Students then were encouraged to discuss their

findings pertaining to the situation. The results of the study were collected and students’ support

for corporal punishment had decreased. The examiners could not find a reason for the change in

the students’ attitudes, however, the fact that the Southern students’ attitude toward corporal

punishment declined was more important.

The use of corporal punishment in classrooms was used many years ago. Parents would

give permission for this to happen and often time students would have to also get a punishment
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from their parents as well. Over time, this has decreased. Factors that did not exist in the

previous years are now presented. Students are reluctant to take a punishment from the teacher

beside suspension. Most of the disciplinary actions are now taken outside of the classrooms and

inside the home.

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Article 4: Physical Discipline and Behavior Problems in African American, European Americans

and Hispanic Children

McLoyd, V., & Smith, J. (2002). Physical Discipline and Behavior Problems in African

American, European Americans and Hispanic Children. Journal of Marriage and Family,

64(1), 40-53. Retrieved from http://www.pop.psu.edu/~gfarkas/fall2003/oct13b.pdf

The article by McLoyd and Smith brings data from a study that used 1,039 European

American children, 550 African American children and 401 Hispanic children. The study was

done over a six year time span and the children were between the ages of four and five in the first

four intervals of the study. During each interval, the mother would report their use of corporal

punishment. The examiners predicted the change in behavior of the children during this time of

each ethnic group would increase. Spanking became associated with the increase of behavior

problems in the context of low emotional support. When the results were presented, in 1988

more African American children were spanked more than once a week compared to European

American or Hispanic children. There was a 44% reported increase in spanking within the

European American mothers. Hispanics mothers increased their rate of spanking by 24%. Other

factors contributed to the increase such as a lower family income-need and lower levels of

emotional support. The effect of spanking was consistent among each ethnic group and no

difference in behavior problems were detected.

The study used three different ethnic groups to compare the effects corporal punishment

would have on the children. Over the six year time span, there were no relation in behavioral

issues and corporal punishment as it relates to race or ethnicity; despite the African American

children being spanked more than European American and Hispanic children. The findings from
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this study indicated that the effects of spanking depended on whether or not the punishment was

given in the context of high emotional support of the child.

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Article 5: A Meta-Analysis of the Published Research on the Affective, Cognitive, and

Behavioral Effects of Corporal Punishment.

Paolucci, E., & Violato, C. (2004). A Meta-Analysis of the Published Research on the Affective,

Cognitive, and Behavioral Effects of Corporal Punishment. The Journal of Psychology,

138(3), 197-221. Retrieved from

http://tulibrarydb.tuskegee.edu:2319/ContentServer.aspx?target=http%3A%2F%2Fheldr

f%2Emetapress%2Ecom%2Findex%2FY1483W18074M0508%2Epdf

There has been controversy about parents using “reasonable force” to punish children.

Although there are countries that have banned the use of corporal punishment, there have been a

reported ninety percent of parents who still use it. Many believe that with the use of spanking,

children can develop cognitive, emotional and behavior problems. Instead of decreasing the

likelihood of the behavior, instead spanking creates tension. The purpose for this article is to

provide a meta-analysis of the effects of spanking and it also focuses on the effects that corporal

punishment may have on the child. The authors stated that corporal punishment can have an

effect on cognitive development. Since parents do not talk with children about their behavior and

choose spanking reduce the neural connections in the brain of children and their cognitive

performance. With behavioral development outcomes, another author, Straus, reported that it is a

link between corporal punishment and acts of social violence. Children see view the acts of

corporal punishment and believe that it is okay to do harm to others. Straus also states that boys

who are affected by corporal punishment tend to have disruptive behavior, school truancy and

verbal and physical abuse. Also, children who come from a low socioeconomic background tend

to have higher rates of antisocial behavior and delinquency.

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In the Meta- analysis study, 70 published researches dealing with the matter was located.

After the data was collected, it was discussed that children who suffered from corporal

punishment were at a small increased risk for developing emotional and behavioral problems.

The child may act out as a result of the spanking, however, it does not link corporal punishment

to cognitive problems.