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| UNC study links spanking, abuse
Publish On 08-19-2008 , 17:28
Spanking a child could be a prelude to harsher forms of discipline or child abuse, according to a new study by the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In a survey of more than 1,400 mothers in North and South Carolina, mothers who said they or their partners spanked their children in the past year were nearly three times more likely to say they also doled out harsher punishments than those who said their children weren’t spanked.
Such punishments included behaviors considered physically abusive by the researchers, such as beating, burning, kicking, hitting with an object somewhere other than the buttocks or shaking a child younger than 2.
"In addition, increases in the frequency of spanking are associated with increased odds of abuse, and mothers who report spanking on the buttocks with an object – such as a belt or a switch – are nine times more likely to report abuse, compared to mothers who report no spanking with an object," Dr. Adam J. Zolotor, the study's lead author and an assistant professor in the department of family medicine in the UNC School of Medicine, said in a statement.
Although some studies show a modest decline in spanking over the last 30 years, recent surveys show that up to 90 percent of children between the ages of 3 and 5 are spanked by their parents at least occasionally.
Only 2 percent of the mothers surveyed who reported no spanking reported use of physically abusive punishment, compared with 6 percent of mothers who reported spanking and 12 percent of mothers who reported spanking with an object.
The study concluded that efforts to reduce spanking, especially with an object, through media, educational and legislative means may reduce physical child abuse.
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Comment
| | 1. | It makes sense that parents who spank are probably more likely to abuse their children. I would think this would be true for parents who use spanking as their primary form of discipline because they rely on a physical form of discipline. On the other hand, I also don't think that because one spanks that automatically makes you predisposed to abuse your children. In our house, we use spanking as a last resort. We always go to other discipline techniques first, like timeouts, removal of privileges or toys, redirection, etc. These are usually much more effective for us and seem to make more of an impact in changing behavior than spanking. There is a really interesting debate about spanking at www.opposingviews.com/questions/is-spanking-an-acceptable-form-of-discipline. Experts from both sides weigh in and make some really good points. Definitely worth a look!
- by mom3, 09-02-2008, 13:50
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