Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Elizabeth T. Dean Keeton St. Whether spanking is helpful or harmful to children continues to be the source of considerable debate among both researchers and the public. This article addresses 2 persistent issues, namely whether effect sizes for spanking are distinct from those for physical abuse, and whether effect sizes for spanking are robust to study design differences.
Meta-analyses focused specifically on spanking were conducted on a total of unique effect sizes representing , children. Thirteen of 17 mean effect sizes were significantly different from zero and all indicated a link between spanking and increased risk for detrimental child outcomes.
Effect sizes did not substantially differ between spanking and physical abuse or by study design characteristics. The question of whether parents should spank their children to correct misbehaviors sits at a nexus of arguments from ethical, religious, and human rights perspectives both in the U. What has been learned from these hundreds of studies?
These competing conclusions have left both social science researchers and the public at large confused about what outcomes can and cannot be attributed to spanking.
As this body of work on spanking and physical punishment has accumulated, several nagging questions about the quality, consistency, and generalizability of the research have persisted. The goal of the current article is to address these two concerns with a new set of meta-analyses using the most recent research studies to date.
