Parents still spank their kids for trivial reasons
even when researchers are listening in
SMU Psychology Professor George Holden says in a new study on spanking published in the American Psychological Association Journal of Family Psychology that a majority of the incidents involved breaking social conventions rather than major infractions and that in 73 percent of the cases the child misbehaved again within 10 minutes.
By Abby Phillip
The Washington Post
With the culture war over spanking still well underway, you might expect that parents who adhere to the practice are starting to feel the stigma.
If they are, it’s not stopping some of them from doling out discipline with the palm of their hands even when researchers are listening in.
A new study in the American Psychological Association Journal of Family Psychology conducted by researches at Southern Methodist University used audio recording devices to track the behavior of parents with their kids. . .
Southern Methodist University Professor George Holden, the lead on this project, explained that they solicited parents for a study that was specifically focused on recording yelling behavior as it occurred naturally in the home.
They found 56 people willing to participate, and of those, they studied 33. By the time these mothers returned from work and began dealing with their children, worrying about the recorder strapped to their arm was the least of their worries.
“A lot of parents, particularly in the south, think of it as a good technique to use. They were reared that way so they’ve developed this fundamental belief that spanking is the way to teach people right or wrong,” Holden said. “My guess is they weren’t bashful about using it.”
Despite the small sample size in this pilot study, there are some other interesting observations:
- A majority of the incidents involved breaking social conventions (such as sucking fingers or getting out of a chair) rather than major infractions, like playing with a stove
- 73 percent of the cases where there was corporal punishment, the child misbehaved again within 10 minutes
Related Links:
- SMU Research Blog: Parents still spank their kids for trivial reasons
- The Dallas Morning News: Parents Hit Children For Trivial Reasons
- Decoded Science: We Hit More – and It's Less Effective – Than You Think
- MinnPost: Parents often spank out of anger and for trivial reasons, real-time study finds
- WFAA: Parents spank kids more often than they admit