Woof. Come for football, get really bad "study" that is actually just a review of other studies ("meta-analysis"). I started reading it, but since it's a compilation, it would literally take weeks and I'd rather give a prompt response.Duck07 wrote:The scientific evidence from these studies has consistently shown that spanking is related to harmful outcomes for children.
This has been best demonstrated in two landmark meta-analyses led by Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff. The first paper, published in 2002, reviewed and analyzed 88 studies published in the 62 years prior and found that physical punishment was associated with physical abuse, delinquency and antisocial behaviour .
An updated meta-analysis was most recently published in 2016. This reviewed and analyzed 75 studies from the previous 13 years, concluding that there was no evidence that spanking improved child behaviour and that spanking was associated with an increased risk of 13 detrimental outcomes . These include aggression, antisocial behaviour, mental health problems and negative relationships with parents.
So here's what a good study would do: about 11 groups that control for socioeconomics, gender, race, IQ, religion, mental health (at young ages, primarily ADHD), and prior behavior (as Larzelere has studied, this is almost uniformly left out). Two groups would be exposed to each of the following forms of discipline (except "none") and families wouldn't be able to pick their form of discipline: verbal only, psychological, physical, verbal and psychological, verbal and physical, and none. Of each of the two sets assigned to those groups, one group receives aggressive feedback while the other receives non-aggressive feedback. Outcomes would be measured by traditional measures such as educational attainment, teen pregnancy rates, lifetime earnings, imprisonment, and relationship status. Specific to the issue, classroom performance and classroom interruptions would be paramount.
That study, or anything like it, doesn't exist. What does that lead me to think? That you leave it all in the toolbox and see what configuration works for you, your family, and your kid.
How those studies are conducted are worse than just my anecdotal natural experiment.
Controlling for race, socioeconomics, religion, and mental health, my oldest brother and I were quite different and received differing punishments. I was spanked only a few times as a kid. Typically, a stern talking to or putting my child-self in the corner did the trick. I grew up to get a degree and make management in the financial sector by 27. My oldest brother wasn't the same. He misbehaved and stepped out of line whenever you gave him space, and a trip to the corner meant constant monitoring or he'd evade punishment. Physical punishment was about the only thing he responded to, and thus he was spanked much more than I was. He grew up to be a non-violent, married union man out in eastern Washington who just bought his second home. Anecdotal but informative, because if he was subject to the studies you linked, it would say that spanking would result in more behavior issues and result in negative lifetime earnings since he makes less. But since they don't account for the other factors, specifically prior behavior and IQ, they're useless. I'm left saying, when looking at how he's turned out, my parents generally did the right thing. Different strokes for different folks. I'm yet to find a study, including what I was able to cover in what you sent over, to say any different.
To give even more anecdotal narrative here, even between my parents it was divided. When my dad spanked us, you were told what you did wrong and were forced to internalize the pairing of misdeed and negative outcome. You also got a lesson of how your actions affected others so that you got a moral lesson out of it, paired with the repercussion. Conversely, my mom would often get pissed and fly off the handle and take knuckles to the top of your head. There wasn't a lesson, just tears, usually. To folks like Duck07 and the researchers who advise against physical punishment, this reprimand and the former are apparently the same thing. To anybody else reading, you can very obviously see the difference.