Is Spanking Child Abuse - Research Paper Example

Is Spanking Child Abuse? Adults especially parents are responsible for the social and psychological development in children. They not only play important functions in providing environments for them where they can grow and thrive in order to become responsible adults themselves. Research has shown that early involvement in a child’s social and mental development can have long lasting effects in how they conduct themselves in life and society. According to research the most common means by which children are disciplined to avoid antisocial behavior is by corporal punishment. Corporal punishment has been defined as applying deliberate and unnecessary pain to the child in order to change his or her behavior. Spanking is the most commonly used form of this technique and can be defined as striking the child’s buttocks with an open hand with sufficient force as to cause pain but not leave any injurious marks or long term harm. This paper will consider the corporal punishment known as spanking and answer whether such punishment is tantamount to child abuse (Brouwer and Knox). The first question to ask in order to establish whether or not there is any link between physical abuse and spanking to begin with is; what exactly is child abuse? Child abuse unfortunately does not have clear criteria which defines and differentiates it from forms of child maltreatment. Often researchers employ the use of surveillance and reporting in order to ascertain whether a child have been abused though there is no clear consensus as to which level of maltreatment constitutes abuse among researchers. Child abuse given its nature may be defined by how differently children may perceive the act according to the age they are at the time. Given the definition just given it can be seen how spanking may be perceived to be child abuse (Whitley, Tajima and Herrenkohl). Child specialists have actually defined the connection between the two to a point where spanking is actually found to be the first step in the road to child abuse (Brouwer and Knox). It must be said that from a humanitarian and moral standpoint children must always be protected from abuse of all types. As an adult it is the duty of both parental authorities and Guardians to establish and maintain the protection of the child from such harmful circumstances. Though the question is asked that even if children must be kept away from abusive practices that may ham their development it must be asked what if there is a need for the use of sub abusive violence. When we define sub abusive violence it can be said that they are acts which do not fall under the realms of abuse but rather are the some of the lower echelons of violence used by parents to provide disciplinary procedures for their children. One of these procedures is of course spanking (Graziano). Given that the application of spanking does not leave a physical mark on children it may be suggested that this action has no negative effects on children. Surveys have shown that 90% of parents have given their children some form of punishment which may be characterized by physical characteristics. The maintenance of this action is not a matter of effectiveness or attitude but rather more of cultural practice which is not predicated upon the advantages of such an option (Graziano). It should be note that despite the effects the application of such punishment has on the child. The phenomenon that is known as spanking has such widespread acceptance and popularity that goes beyond normal convention. In fact it is considered to be the staple method for establishing culture, behavior, beliefs and social graces in children (Graziano). It must be said however that such feelings and beliefs are misguided at best despite their intentions. Given such information it can be said that there are three established viewpoints which can be expressed when it comes to spanking children. The first viewpoint is known as the pro corporal punishment viewpoint and is not frequently defended or brought to the forefront in many academic writings but is the basis of an everyday life myth that the employment of this technique can have desirable consequences on a child. This viewpoint suggests that spanking is a normal part of parenthood and is essential to establishing good graces within children and preventing antisocial behaviors (Kazdin and Benjet). The second viewpoint which may be established is known as the anti-corporal punishment viewpoint. This viewpoint says that the application of corporal punishment can have long and short term detrimental consequences. Such consequences may be seen as a violence causing further violence paradigm. In such a situation children may see application of pain on other as their right since pain has been inflicted on them. There is also a link which is made through the establishment of this punishment which follows them from one generation to the next (Kazdin and Benjet). The final viewpoint is known as the conditional corporal punishment viewpoint. This viewpoint contends that the effects of corporal punishment can be seen as neither being negative or positive rather it can exist in multiple forms due to the prevailing conditions at the time. Given that such forms of spanking are not taken as singular events put in context of where and when they occurred they each have a different impact. Each of which may not constitute the scientifically supported explanation of it causing harm (Kazdin and Benjet). Research on corporal punishment techniques such as spanking have found that despite the effects it may have on curbing antisocial behavior in children it can also have detrimental effects. Although there have been no direct studies which have shown how corporal punishment would affect children given that any experimental designs would have unethical implications. There have been studies which have shown an established timeline between the application of such punishment and negative consequences within children. There is a clear association between the application of this form of corporal punishment and the initiation of antisocial behaviors and psychological problems. Relying on spanking as a means of child rearing and discipline can actually turn against the parent and cause the child to become even more unruly. In fact it may also be said that the child may inflict pain on others in regards to the pain which has been inflicted on him (Brouwer and Knox). Such antisocial behaviors which may occur as a result of the application of a punishment such as spanking include increased aggression towards family members, educational authorities as well as indulgence in illegal or inappropriate activities. Other factors are also affected such as their mental wellbeing, their relationships with their parents and the increased risk of inflicting the same form of punishment on their own children or spouses (Brouwer and Knox). A study by Whipple and Richly conducted on children to differentiate the amount of spanking they received from abusive and non-abusive parents. Abusive parents in the study were characterized according to the incidence of violent behavior within the family structure. The study found that abusive parents spanked their children far more than non-abusive parents. Non abusive parents spanked their children on an average of two and half times in twenty four hours. The study did conclude however that despite that comparatively low number of spankings they did serve as a risk factor for child abuse (Richly and Whipple). Other researchers however have found that there is a concurrence of evidence which shows that children who received spanking as a form of corporal punishment have shown immediate conformity to socially acceptable norms with relatively little or no negative effects. There have been studies which like the studies mentioned above have shown positive effects in children who have received this form of punishment. According to a study published by Gunnoe and Mariner the effects of application of corporal punishment can be different among families and cultures. In one family the use of spanking may be because an adult wishes to exert their parental authority over the child while in other families it may be taken as an act of violence. The authors found that there were less of the numbers of fights which took place in the schoolyard among children in groups who are spanked in comparison to those who were not spanked. It must be said that despite the authors contention that the application of such corporal punishment does not always cause detrimental effects or lead to criminal behavior in children. They have made it clear that despite any beneficial outcomes it may have, the outcomes are contingent upon the method being used in such a way that it does not cause harm and in turn abuse to the child (Pass). There have of course been several literature reviews over the years which have encompassed this subject. The most recent of these reviews has been by Gershoff in 2002 which encompassed a met analysis of a total of 88 studies. A literature review may be defined as a collection of the complete relevant studies which are related to a particular research thesis. In his research thesis Gershoff observed any connection which may have existed between corporal punishment and other factors which can affect the child’s development. These factors can include the child’s moral outlook, violent tendencies, illegal and antisocial behavior, relationship with parents, intelligence, mental wellbeing and maltreatment (Kazdin and Benjet). The only positive factor which supported the application of such a punishment found by Gershoff was that spanking was associated with instantaneous discipline on the part of the child. The negative effects however found the action to give the child more of an immoral outlook, lessen the quality of the relationship between the parent and the child, increased tendencies which border on illegality and antisocial behavior, spanking also resulted in the diminishing level of mental health for such individuals. There is also congruence between spanking and being identified as a victim of abuse and in turn abusing their children or their spouses. In deference to the studies which have been cited by Gershoff, another study by Larzelere has found that if mild spanking is used in combination with other disciplinary technique as a backup then there is an improvement seen in the obedience and submission level of children (Kazdin and Benjet). Links however can be made among researches which show how corporal punishment affects children. It can be clearly seen from such studies that the untoward effects of corporal punishment are predicated upon the harshness and incidence of the act in question. The severe nature of the application of such punishments can actually result in the formation of life altering diseases which are both physical and psychotically in nature. The second factor which can be seen from the research provided is that though continuous employment of spanking can have detrimental effects, the use of occasional spanking as a form of discipline is not completely clear since scientific research has not been able to quantify the exact effect of such an action (Kazdin and Benjet). Due to this research which finds harmful effects can occur in children in regards to corporal punishment, there are many professional organizations in the world today which have legislations in place to prevent children being spanked and encourage other disciplinary methods. In fact 23 countries around the world have actually seen fit to make this form of discipline illegal. Despite this ban there is also much support from pediatricians and other child care specialists for its use in specific cases (Brouwer and Knox). A study conducted to find the link between known spankings, spanking rates or even spanking with the use of an object and the probabilities that such an action amounted to physical abuse found that children who were spanked at a lower or higher rate were nearly thrice as likely to report abuse. Additionally, those children who were spanked with an object were seen to report their abuse at significantly higher levels (Zolotor, Theodore and Chang). According to another study conducted by Knox and Brouwer on child professionals who actually recommended to parents that they should spank their children found that 6.5% of them recommended that parents spank their children at least once during the year before the research was published. While 22.6% of the professionals recommended a spanking for parents of 1-3 year old children and 24% made the recommendation for 4-5 year old children. While 4.2% gave the recommendation that the child should be struck with an object. Their research shows that despite the reaction and recommendations of the international scientific community. Researchers in the United States continued to recommend the practice of spanking for children (Brouwer and Knox). Given the implication of research on the validity of spanking as a useful tool to enforce discipline, there are also questions raised regarding the goals behind application of such a punishment. There have also been questions as to why it is employed in favor of other methods which have shown them to be just as effective. One of these methods is known as positive reinforcement and has a primary focus on rewarding good behavior in children without resorting to punishment. There are also other methods of non-corporal punishment which have shown them to be just as effective. One of the notable methods includes the concept of a time out. The use of spanking raises question regarding the effectiveness of the use of such a method and goals which are kept in mind which prevent the person from considering non corporal punishments as a substitute. It must be said however that the research provided shows a clear correlations of children who have been spanked having psychological problems and being unable to acclimate to their surroundings and thus wishing to escape from them. There are questions of course raised as to what point the brain makes the differentiation between child abuse and spanking. Although we can argue that pursuance of this knowledge is critical to our understanding of whether or not spanking is child abuse. It must be said that there will always be circumstances where the distinction between the two cannot always be known. It must be made clear that if the child is experiencing neurological and psychological symptoms it is not necessary that he has undergone a harsh punishment. It is just as possible that a milder form of spanking was implemented which resulted in such an effect on the child. As mentioned before such effects can also be predicated on the context of the action taken. It must also be said though that scientists and researchers have also not managed to corroborate and agree on what constitutes mild, moderate or a harsh level of spanking among individuals. Thus it is difficult to delineate a proper definition of the word (Kazdin and Benjet). With the majority of parents still spanking their children and child health professional condoning the use of such practices the question of whether or not spanking amounts to child abuse is a difficult one. Even if it can be said that the severity and frequency of such an action is important in the determination of a child who has been abused and that since we cannot adequately judge the difference between the two to a scientific certainty, it may be better to leave behind spanking as a form of discipline towards children. Though there is a research which shows how the use of spanking can have positive effects on children and professionals have concluded that the use of such methods can have little or no side effects. It is still clear that it is unknown at what point the brain will perceive spanking as a form of discipline and at what point it will start feeling it as detrimental and abusive. Given that it is known that spanking at a certain level and intensity can constitute child abuse and children who are spanked are far more likely to consider it child abuse especially if it is done with an object, it may be better to leave such a method behind when trying to discipline a child in the future. Given the various physical and psychological side effects it can have it can clearly be seen how the application of such a punishment can be dangerous to a child. This danger is further compounded when there isn’t even a well-defined goal set in mind by parents or teachers when they implement such a punishment. Too often they end up doing more harm to the child and good. Given future research on both humans and animals it may be possible to chart at what point spanking stops being a disciplinary tools and starts being an abusive action. It may also be possible to find a way to separate both its wanted and unwanted outcomes. Works Cited Brouwer, Jason and Michele Knox. "Early Childhood Professionals Recommendations for Spanking Young Children." Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2008): 341-348. Graziano, Anthony M. "Rethinking spanking." Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, Vol. 10 No. 10 (1994): 8-10. Kazdin, Alan E. and Corina Benjet. "Spanking children: evidence and issues." Current Directions in Psychological Science Vol. 12, No. 3 (2003): 99-103. Pass, Stephanie Hick. "Corporal Punshiment in American Today: Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child? A Systematic Review of the Literature." Best Practices in Mental Health Vol. 5, No. 2 (2009): 71-88. Richly, Cheryl and Ellen Whipple. "Crossing the line from physical discipline to child abuse: How much is too much?" Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol. 21, No. 5 (1997): 431-444. Whitley, Stephen, et al. "Defining child abuse: Exploring variations in ratings of discipline severity among child welfare practitioners." Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, Vol. 23, No. 3 (2006): 316-342. Zolotor, Adam, et al. "Speak Softly—and Forget the Stick: Corporal Punishment and Child Physical Abuse." American Journal of Preventive Medicine Vol. 35, No. 4 (2008): 364-369. Read More