Where there’s family aggression, children get spanked
Domestic partners who treat each other with aggression are more likely to spank their children, according to a study released Sunday that is one of the first to analyze whether interpersonal violence or aggression between partners influences whether children in the household are smacked around too.
Many American parents say they spank their kids and feel it is a justified and appropriate form of discipline. This is despite many studies that show spanking is ineffective as a way to discipline children. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to avoid spanking.
However, the study, released online Sunday in the journal Pediatrics, analyzed data from a large, national study of almost 2,000 families who are part of the national Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The study focuses on children born in large U.S. cities between 1998 and 2000 to unmarried parents. Families with unmarried parents are at greater risk of breaking up and living in poverty than more traditional families. The parents were interviewed about domestic violence, including physical violence or verbal or psychological abuse, as well as any history of spanking children at age 3.
The researchers, from Tulane University, found that the odds of both parents spanking a child were almost double when either parent was a victim of interpersonal violence or aggression. When both parents were victims of violence, the odds that the child was spanked were more than double.
Overall in the study, 65% of the children were spanked by one or both parents in the previous month (12.7% by the father, 23.5% by the mother and 29.1% by both).
It’s likely that any violence in a family starts small and spirals, the authors suggest.
“The presence of even minor forms of aggression between parents, such as criticism and controlling behaviors, were linked with increased odds of using corporal punishment with young children,” they wrote.
-- Shari Roan / Los Angeles Times
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