Spare the rod, spare the child

I doubt this NY Times article will have much impact, but it is worth reprinting here.

A New Look at Effects of Spanking
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


After analyzing six decades of expert research on corporal punishment, a psychologist says parents who spank their children risk long-term harm that outweighs the short-term benefit of instant obedience.

The psychologist, Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff, found links between spanking and 10 negative behaviors or experiences, including aggression, antisocial behavior and mental health problems. The one positive result of spanking that Dr. Gershoff identified was quick compliance with parental demands.

"Americans need to re-evaluate why we believe it is reasonable to hit young, vulnerable children, when it is against the law to hit other adults, prisoners and even animals," Dr. Gershoff wrote in a recent issue of The American Psychological Association journal.

Her analysis, one of the most comprehensive ever on the topic, was accompanied in the Psychological Bulletin by a critique from three other psychologists.

They defend mild to moderate spanking as a disciplinary option, especially for children 2 to 6, but advise parents with abusive tendencies to avoid spanking.

Dr. Gershoff, a researcher at Columbia University's National Center for Children in Poverty, spent five years analyzing 88 studies of corporal punishment conducted since 1938. The studies tracked both the short-term and long-term effects of spanking on children.

Dr. Gershoff did not call for a legal ban on parental corporal punishment, but she urged parents who spank to reconsider their options.

"When they're in a situation where they're considering spanking," she said in a recent interview, they should "think of something else to do — leave the room, count to 10 and come back again."

"The risk is just too great," Dr. Gershoff said.

Several national organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have taken stands against corporal punishment by parents. The psychological association has not, though it is on record opposing corporal punishment at schools and other institutions.

posted by MT at 1:05 PM |