UNC News Services
Spanking has been, and still is, a common method of child discipline used by American parents.
But mothers who report that they or their partner spanked their child in the past year are nearly three times more likely to state that they also used harsher forms of punishment than those who say their child was not spanked, according to a new study led by the Injury Prevention Research Center at the UNC.
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 less than 2 years old.
“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,†said Adam Zolotor, M.D., the study’s lead author and an assistant professor in the department of family medicine in the UNC School of Medicine.
Although some surveys show evidence of 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 years are spanked by their parents at least occasionally.
Zolotor and co-authors conducted an anonymous telephone survey on parenting of a probability sample of 1,435 mothers in North and South Carolina in 2002.
Statistical analyses of the survey data found that while any spanking was associated with increased risk of abuse, spanking with an object was strongly associated with abuse.
“This study demonstrated for the first time that parents who report spanking children with an object and parents who frequently spank children are much more likely to report other harsh punishment acts consistent with physical abuse,†Zolotor said.
The study says that efforts to reduce spanking, especially with an object, through media, educational and legislative means may reduce physical child abuse.
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that “striking a child with a object is unacceptable and may be dangerous.†Zolotor said the study supports this policy statement by underscoring that while spanking increases the likelihood of physical abuse, frequent spanking and spanking with an object are far more likely to lead to abuse.
Spanking is linked to abuse. Now that we have the facts, lets look at the abuse in North Carolina Schools. Licensed professional educators should not be in the business of child abuse, yet sadly, in about half of North Carolina districts, educators are hitting school children with wooden boards, sometimes with holes drilled in them, and even hitting children with two boards bound together in tape. When injuries and bruises occur, the educator is not charged with abuse. We need to raise the bar here in North Carolina. We many as well not spend a dime on child abuse as long as our educated sector is modeling such abuse. If the smart people are beating children, I shudder to think what the ignorant are doing. See http://www.nospank.net/bancp-nc.htm for an online petition and more about the issue of corporal punishment in North Carolina schools.
“But mothers who report that they or their partner spanked their child in the past year are nearly three times more likely to state that they also used harsher forms of punishment than those who say their child was not spanked, according to a new study led by the Injury Prevention Research Center at the UNC.”
They need research to determine that? That’s a common sense finding. If parents don’t spank children they are more than likely not going to abuse them or use harsher means. That’s obvious.
It makes sense that parents who use spanking and/or spanking with an object as their primary form of discipline would be more likely to abuse their children. I strongly believe that other forms of discipline should be used before using a spanking. It is not something that should be used lightly, but used when all other avenues have been tried. I also think it should be administered calmly and not as part of losing control. There is an interesting debate about spanking at http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/is-spanking-an-acceptable-form-of-discipline. Experts from both sides debate the issue and make some points worth considering. Really good read on the topic!