Catherine A. Taylor, an assistant professor of
community health sciences, says parents who spank
their children may be afraid to ask for help in identifying
other methods of discipline. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano) | Parents who spank their children risk the children having increased aggression levels and other mental health problems, says Tulane researcher Catherine A. Taylor. While most parents are aware that there are other effective ways to approach discipline besides use of corporal punishment, many are reluctant to ask for help with this issue, Taylor’s research shows.
Fear of blame, judgment or other negative consequences prevent parents from seeking professional advice about how to discipline their children effectively, says Taylor, an assistant professor of community health sciences in the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
“It’s a problem, for child-abuse prevention, if parents feel like they need help but are afraid to ask for it,” she observes.
Taylor’s research has shown that three-year-old children who were spanked frequently (a few times a month) were 50 percent more likely than their peers who were not spanked to be aggressive two years later. This research controlled for other factors that could explain the increased aggression in children, including the child’s level of aggression at age 3.
Use of corporal punishment peaks when the child is around age 3, notes Taylor, who presented the research at the American Public Health Association annual conference in San Diego in October 2008. Her research presentation is entitled, "Parental Spanking and Childhood Aggression."
In addition to increased aggression, children who experience corporal punishment are at risk for poorer mental health, decreased moral internalization and increased delinquency, says Taylor, adding that use of corporal punishment also can lead to child abuse.
“Many people don’t make the connection between corporal punishment, child abuse and other health risks because they figure if they were spanked and turned out okay, then spanking must be okay,” she says. “The problem is that we know from epidemiological, as opposed to anecdotal, evidence that the risks associated with it are substantial and long-lasting.”
Taylor has turned her attention to parents’ beliefs, attitudes and perceived norms about corporal punishment. She is currently analyzing data from 520 interviews with New Orleans parents in a study funded by the Tulane Research Enhancement Fund and the Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund.
She found that 30 percent of parents with children of all ages reported using some form of spanking or other corporal punishment to correct misbehavior. However, half of parents of three-year-olds (peak age for using corporal punishment) reported using some form of spanking or other corporal punishment to correct misbehavior.
An early analysis of this data suggests that close to four out of five parents believe most parents could use professional advice about how to discipline their children, but a majority of respondents said concerns about the negative consequences of asking for help prevent parents from making that call.
“There is a need to educate parents about the real risks that using corporal punishment pose for children,” says Taylor, who notes that parents who believe spanking leads to positive results are more likely to use that approach. “Many parents just aren’t aware of the longer-term consequences.”
For more information about this research, e-mail Taylor. Advice about child discipline is available from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Madeline Vann
February 27, 2009 |
