The DOI matches its Crossref record; 104 of the 106 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 4 of the 37 sources its claims cite were checked for support.
Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and new meta-analyses.
Open accessAbstract
Whether spanking is helpful or harmful to children continues to be the source of considerable debate among both researchers and the public. This article addresses 2 persistent issues, namely whether effect sizes for spanking are distinct from those for physical abuse, and whether effect sizes for spanking are robust to study design differences. Meta-analyses focused specifically on spanking were conducted on a total of 111 unique effect sizes representing 160,927 children. Thirteen of 17 mean effect sizes were significantly different from zero and all indicated a link between spanking and increased risk for detrimental child outcomes. Effect sizes did not substantially differ between spanking and physical abuse or by study design characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Claims the paper makes
28 Own result · 21 Own interpretation · 10 No full text of the sources · 7 Own method · 6 Sources not found · 4 Not checked yet · 3 No basis given · 2 Supported · 1 Partly supported
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“A series of cross-lagged studies (Berlin et al., 2009; Gershoff, Lansford, Sexton, Davis-Kean, & Sameroff, 2012; McLeod, Kruttschnitt, & Dornfeld, 1994; Sheehan & Watson, 2008) has demonstrated that spanking predicts changes in children’s behavior, over and above their initial levels and the child effect of early problem behavior on later spanking.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Limitations
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Berlin et al., 2009 source
The Results (page unavailable) describe cross-lagged models that estimated spanking-to-child-outcome paths alongside child-behavior-to-later-spanking paths. They report that spanking at age 1 predicted aggressive behavior problems at age 2, while aggressive behavior problems at age 2 did not predict spanking at age 3. The finding is specific to these low-income toddlers and these ages; other spanking-to-aggression paths were not significant. (LLM, conf=0.88)
- Supportedcites Gershoff et al., 2012 source
The Results section describes a cross-lagged model that tests whether kindergarten spanking predicts third-grade externalizing behavior while controlling for initial behavior and the reverse path from early externalizing behavior to later spanking. The Abstract reports that early spanking predicted increases in externalizing behavior, while early externalizing behavior predicted more spanking. (LLM, conf=0.93)
- Not matchedcites McLeod et al., 1994
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Supported
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The remaining four meta-analyses were not significantly different from zero.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Main Meta-Analyses
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Meta-analyses focused specifically on spanking were conducted on a total of 111 unique effect sizes representing 160,927 children.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Abstract
plainn = 160,927- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Thirteen of 17 mean effect sizes were significantly different from zero and all indicated a link between spanking and increased risk for detrimental child outcomes.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Abstract
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Only 75 studies met all four criteria and were retained for the meta-analyses.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Method > Coding of Studies for Inclusion or Exclusion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Longitudinal effect sizes of the bivariate links between spanking and later child outcomes do not rule out the potential for a child elicitation effect; however, so few studies report a coefficient that controls only for initial child behavior (and not for a range of other covariates) that we are unable to meta-analyze them.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Remaining Concerns About the Research on Spanking and Child Outcomes > Spanking Has Only Been Linked With Negative Child Outcomes in Cross-Sectional or Methodologically Weak Studies
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Effect sizes did not substantially differ between spanking and physical abuse or by study design characteristics.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Abstract
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The magnitude of the mean effect size for spanking was 65% of the magnitude of the mean effect size for physical abuse.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Moderator Analyses Comparing Spanking With Physical Abuse
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The 13 statistically significant mean effect sizes ranged in size from .15 to .64.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Main Meta-Analyses
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“None of the tests were significant, indicating that the risk of publication bias for any of our mean effect sizes is small.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Tests for Publication Bias
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- It may state two separate claims as one. 40
- Probably not a substantial claim. 8
- The quote only partly states this claim. 1
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“analysis of data from a national randomized controlled trial of the federal Head Start program for low income children found that parents in the program significantly reduced their spanking, which was in turn linked with decreases in child aggression over time (Gershoff, Ansari, Purtell, & Sexton, 2016).”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Limitations
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Gershoff, Ansari, Purtell, & Sexton, 2016 source
The Results report a significant reduction in spanking associated with Head Start participation. The Discussion states that reduced spanking predicted reduced child aggression over time. The paper also cautions that the indirect effect of Head Start on aggression through spanking was not statistically significant; the claim does not say that it was. (LLM, conf=0.92)
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Supported
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“Both behaviors involve parents intentionally hitting (and hurting) children, albeit to different degrees (Gershoff, 2013)”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Alone Is Associated With Detrimental Outcomes, but in Similar Ways to Physical Abuse
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Gershoff, 2013 source
The section “Spanking Is Linked With Numerous Adverse Side Effects” states that spanking and physical abuse both involve hitting and purposefully hurting children. It says the difference is often one of degree—such as duration or force—rather than intent. (LLM, conf=0.95)
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Supported
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The weighted mean effect size for spanking was d = .25, while for physical abuse it was d = .38. Both were significantly different from zero and both were positive in sign”
- Also stated in: § Spanking Alone Is Associated With Detrimental Outcomes, but in Similar Ways to Physical Abuse · plain
“Spanking in these studies was significantly associated with detrimental outcomes with an effect size d = .25, while the mean effect size for physical abuse for these studies was significant and d = .38”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Moderator Analyses Comparing Spanking With Physical Abuse
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Spanking Alone Is Associated With Detrimental Outcomes, but in Similar Ways to Physical Abuse · plain
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The largest effect size was for physical abuse; the more children are spanked, the greater the risk that they will be physically abused by their parents.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In childhood, parental use of spanking was associated with low moral internalization, aggression, antisocial behavior, externalizing behavior problems, internalizing behavior problems, mental health problems, negative parent–child relationships, impaired cognitive ability, low self-esteem, and risk of physical abuse from parents.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Main Meta-Analyses
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Three outcomes in childhood were not significantly associated with spanking in the meta-analyses: immediate defiance, child alcohol or substance abuse, and low-self regulation.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In adulthood, prior experiences of parental use of spanking were significantly associated with adult antisocial behavior, adult mental health problems, and with positive attitudes about spanking.”
- Also stated in: § Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes · plain
“Three of the four adult outcomes were significantly associated with a history of spanking from parents: adult antisocial behavior, adult mental health problems, and adult support for physical punishment.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Main Meta-Analyses
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes · plain
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“All of the comparisons were nonsignificant, indicating that the effect sizes did not vary by study characteristic.”
- Also stated in: § Moderator Analyses by Study Characteristics · plain
“Average effect sizes also did not significantly vary based on how spanking was measured, how it was indexed, whether the raters of spanking and outcome were independent, the time period over which spanking was measured, the country of the study, or the age group of the children studied.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Moderator Analyses by Study Characteristics
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Moderator Analyses by Study Characteristics · plain
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“An important observation about the meta-analyses is that the individual studies are highly consistent: 71% of all of the effect sizes, and 99% of the significant effect sizes, indicated a significant association between parental spanking and detrimental child outcomes.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Of the 111 individual effect sizes, 102 were in the direction of a detrimental outcome with 78 of these statistically significant. In contrast, nine of the effect sizes were in the direction of a beneficial outcome but only one (Tennant, Detels, & Clark, 1975) was statistically different from zero.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Main Meta-Analyses
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Tennant, Detels, & Clark, 1975 source
plaincorrelationaln = 111- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The overall mean weighted effect size across all of the 111 study-level effect sizes was d = .33, with a 95% confidence interval of .29 to .38; this mean effect was statistically different from zero, Z = 14.84, p < .001.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Main Meta-Analyses
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Spanking was significantly associated with 13 of the 17 outcomes examined. In each case, spanking was associated with a greater likelihood of detrimental child outcomes.”
- Also stated in: § Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes · plain
“Thirteen of the 17 child outcomes examined were found to be significantly associated with parents’ use of spanking.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Main Meta-Analyses
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Also stated in: § Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes · plain
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“A total of 111 unique effect sizes were derived from data representing 204,410 child measurement occasions; these studies included data from a total of 160,927 unique children.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Main Meta-Analyses
plainn = 160,927- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Two of the studies contributed more than one effect size, yielding a total of 10 pairs of effect sizes for spanking and physical abuse.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Results > Moderator Analyses Comparing Spanking With Physical Abuse
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Thirteen of 17 mean effect sizes were significantly different from zero and all indicated a link between spanking and increased risk for detrimental child outcomes.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Abstract
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
The quote only partly states this claim.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These analyses did not find any support for the contentions that spanking is only associated with detrimental outcomes when it is combined with abusive methods or that spanking is only associated with such outcomes in methodologically weak studies.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Conclusion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“While it was indeed true that the majority of studies (70%) were cross-sectional or retrospective in nature, the effect sizes for the longitudinal and experimental studies were not significantly different from the effect sizes for the cross-sectional studies (see Table 4).”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Effect Sizes Are Similar Across Study Characteristics
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The mean effect size across all studies, d = .33, was smaller than the overall mean effect size reported by Gershoff (2002), d = .40, but still statistically significant.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Alone Is Associated With Detrimental Outcomes, but in Similar Ways to Physical Abuse
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Gershoff (2002) source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The meta-analyses presented here found no evidence that spanking is associated with improved child behavior and rather found spanking to be associated with increased risk of 13 detrimental outcomes.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Conclusion
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“However, both effect sizes are significant and positive, indicating that both are associated with more undesirable child outcomes.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Remaining Concerns About the Research on Spanking and Child Outcomes > Spanking Has Been Confounded With Harsher Forms of Physical Punishment
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Thus, while not a perfect solution, longitudinal bivariate coefficients are decidedly stronger methodologically than within-time coefficients.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Remaining Concerns About the Research on Spanking and Child Outcomes > Spanking Has Only Been Linked With Negative Child Outcomes in Cross-Sectional or Methodologically Weak Studies
boosted- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“All study-level effect sizes were calculated independently by each of the authors; for all effect sizes, agreement was achieved to at least the third decimal place.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Method > Coding of Effect Sizes
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The failure to reach significance for immediate defiance appears to result from the small n (150), while for child alcohol or substance abuse and low self-regulation the cause appears to be heterogeneity in effect sizes.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Each of these four meta-analyses included a different set of articles and came to varied conclusions, namely that physical punishment is largely ineffective and harmful (Gershoff, 2002), that physical punishment is effective under certain circumstances (Larzelere & Kuhn, 2005), and that physical punishment is linked with children’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems but only modestly (F”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Abstract
What the sources say
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In the second step of coding, each of these 558 potential studies was coded independently by each of the authors. Any disagreements in coding were resolved through follow-up discussion.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Method > Coding of Studies for Inclusion or Exclusion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The finding that spanking was not linked with immediate defiance was unexpected given the opposite findings in the Gershoff (2002) meta-analyses.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Gershoff (2002) source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“When discrepancies occurred in effect size calculations, the discrepancy was discussed, and then each author independently recalculated the effect size. This process was repeated, if necessary, until consensus was achieved.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Method > Coding of Effect Sizes
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“While this is clearly a beneficial outcome, the uniqueness of the sample limits the generalizability of this finding and may explain why this study is an outlier”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A claim is checked only against the cited paper’s full text, never its abstract, and none is available for its sources.
In the paper
“Taken together, these meta-analyses provide evidence that physical punishment is associated with negative child outcomes, particularly when the outcomes are divided into finer-grained categories (Ferguson, 2013; Gershoff, 2002) rather than when they are grouped into broad categories (Paolucci & Violato, 2004), and that harsher methods of physical punishment are more strongly associated with”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Previous Meta-Analyses of Physical Punishment and Spanking
What the sources say
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The only study that found a significant association with a beneficial outcome, Tennant, Detels, and Clark (1975), had a unique sample (U.S. Army soldiers stationed in West Germany in 1971 and 1972, most of whom were White [77%]), and found that soldiers who recalled being spanked were less likely to report using amphetamines or opiates.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Tennant, Detels, & Clark (1975) source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The circumstances of experimentally manipulated spanking thus are likely to be unusual, leading to concern that experiments with parental spanking may suffer from a lack of external validity.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Remaining Concerns About the Research on Spanking and Child Outcomes > Spanking Has Only Been Linked With Negative Child Outcomes in Cross-Sectional or Methodologically Weak Studies
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“However, parents’ use of spanking is not easily or ethically studied through an experimental design, as children cannot be randomly assigned to parents with varying predispositions to spank, nor can parents typically be randomly assigned to spank or not spank.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Remaining Concerns About the Research on Spanking and Child Outcomes > Spanking Has Only Been Linked With Negative Child Outcomes in Cross-Sectional or Methodologically Weak Studies
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Two primary concerns that have been raised about past meta-analyses are that spanking has been confounded with potentially abusive parenting behaviors in some studies and that spanking has only been linked with detrimental outcomes in methodologically weak studies (Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002; Ferguson, 2013; Larzelere & Kuhn, 2005).”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Abstract
What the sources say
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“None of these studies using advanced statistical methods found evidence that the pathway is entirely one of selection or child elicitation, or that spanking predicts improvements in children’s behavior over time”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Limitations
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“the association only indicates that milder and more severe corporal punishment are linked, and that the former may increase the risk that children will also be physically abused.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Alone Is Associated With Detrimental Outcomes, but in Similar Ways to Physical Abuse
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“This finding indicates that methodologically stronger studies did not find significantly smaller effect sizes than methodologically weaker studies, lending more confidence to the findings from the main meta-analyses that include both.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Effect Sizes Are Similar Across Study Characteristics
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“given that a correlational association is a necessary condition for a causal relationship (Shadish et al., 2001), we can conclude that the data are consistent with a conclusion that spanking is associated with undesirable outcomes.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Shadish et al., 2001
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“many researchers have argued that spanking and physical abuse are on a continuum of violence against children, and that spanking can escalate into physical abuse (Straus, 2001)”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Alone Is Associated With Detrimental Outcomes, but in Similar Ways to Physical Abuse
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Straus, 2001
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plainconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“randomized experiments of spanking are difficult if not ethically impossible to conduct, and thus this shortcoming of the literature will be difficult to correct through future studies.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Limitations
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Randomized experiments of spanking are ethically impossible or difficult to conduct.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As most of the included studies were correlational or retrospective (72%), causal links between spanking and child outcomes cannot be established by these meta-analyses.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Is Associated With Higher Risk for Detrimental Outcomes
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Across study designs, countries, and age groups, spanking has been linked with detrimental outcomes for children, a fact supported by several key methodologically strong studies that isolate the ability of spanking to predict child outcomes over time.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Conclusion
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“A major concern raised about the spanking literature in general and previous meta-analyses in particular is that their reliance on cross-sectional designs may mask what are truly child-elicitation effects (Baumrind et al., 2002; Ferguson, 2013; Larzelere et al., 2004). In other words, associations between spanking and problematic behavior may reflect the fact that difficult children elicit more sp”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Effect Sizes Are Similar Across Study Characteristics
What the sources say
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
In the paper
“most instances of substantiated physical abuse (75%), like all instances of spanking, begin as responses to children’s misbehavior (Durrant et al., 2006).”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Alone Is Associated With Detrimental Outcomes, but in Similar Ways to Physical Abuse
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Durrant et al., 2006
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Across all categories, methodologically stronger study designs identified the same risk for negative outcomes as did weaker study designs, suggesting that the associations between spanking and child outcomes are robust to study design.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Effect Sizes Are Similar Across Study Characteristics
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“However, the mean effect size for all studies from Table 2, d = .33, is closer to the mean effect size for physical abuse in Table 3 than it is to the mean effect size for spanking from these 10 select effect sizes, indicating that spanking and physical abuse have relations with child outcomes that are similar in magnitude and identical in direction.”
§ Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses > Discussion > Spanking Alone Is Associated With Detrimental Outcomes, but in Similar Ways to Physical Abuse
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper relies on this without support.
Approximately 80% of children are spanked.
“when extrapolated to the population in which 80% of children are being spanked”
The paper relies on this without support.
Randomized experiments of spanking are ethically impossible or difficult to conduct.
“randomized experiments of spanking are difficult if not ethically impossible to conduct”
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“The meta-analysis of Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor (2016) found no effect size difference between spanking and physical abuse, demonstrating that both share similar associations with detrimental child outcomes.”
From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor (2016)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Over a span of five decades, numerous cross-cultural studies, longitudinal investigations (Berlin et al., 2009; Gershoff et al., 2012), and large meta-analyses (Gershoff, 2002; Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor, 2016) provide converging evidence regarding the harmful outcomes, which include depression or depressed mood (Fergusson et al., 2008), antisocial behavior (Straus et al., 1997), substance use, Su”
From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor (2016)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Statistics recomputed
Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.
- Consistentz = 14.84reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001
“Z = 14.84, p < .001”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Self-check results appear here once an independent check has confirmed them.
Citations
Cites
Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences
Cohen, J. (1990) · Computers Environment and Urban Systems · doi:10.1016/0198-9715(90)90050-4 · Cited by 65,417
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Meta-analysis in clinical trials
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“Ferguson (2013) analyzed 45 studies; of these, 11 were included in the current meta-analyses.”
BackgroundMethod(2002) · Cited by 13,211
Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P. T., & Rothstein, H. R. (2021) · doi:10.1002/9781119558378 · Cited by 9,799
Gershoff, E. T. (2002) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.4.539 · Cited by 2,165 · cited 15×
“The first and most widely cited of the meta-analyses was by Gershoff (2002).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialExposure to childhood sexual and physical abuse and adjustment in early adulthood
Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2008) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.12.018 · Cited by 910 · cited 5×
“…outcomes 2.00 1.00 .00 1.00 2.00 Adult alcohol or substance abuse 2,596 4,796 .13 .08 .35 Baer and Corrado (1974) 93 107 .41 .13 .69 Fergusson, Boden, and Horwood (2008) 341 2,504 .29 .18 .40 Lynch et al. (2006) 576 1,640 .05 .05 .14 Tennant, Detels, and Clark (1975) 1,586 545 .13…”
BackgroundInfluentialHarbord, R. M., & Higgins, J. P. T. (2008) · The Stata Journal: Promoting communications on statistics and Stata · doi:10.1177/1536867x0800800403 · Cited by 897
Poverty, Parenting, and Children's Mental Health.
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“….12 .04 Lau et al. (2010) 924 2,400 .28 .15 .41 Maguire-Jack, Gromoske, and Berger (2012) 3,870 .11 .05 .18 McKee et al. (2007) 2,582 .19 .11 .27 McLeod and Shanahan (1993) 1,733 .32 .23 .42 Child mental health problems 5,122 1,313 .53 .42 .64 Buehler and Gerard (2002) 1,401 .53 .42…”
InfluentialCommittee on the rights of the child
Vincent, G. (2009) · Docs.school Publications · Cited by 733
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 501–600 of 924
Children's rights violations: Parental corporal punishment under the microscope
Greeff, L. (2023) · Australian Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1002/ajs4.282 · Cited by 3
Larzelere, R. E., Knowles, S. J., Adkison‐Johnson, C., Cox, R. B., Lin, H., & Mandara, J. (2023) · Marriage & Family Review · doi:10.1080/01494929.2023.2199732 · Cited by 4
“Both relied primarily on a meta-analysis dominated by unadjusted correlations (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016) showing that physical discipline had detrimental associations with 11 of 15 child outcomes.”
MethodDănilă, I., Balázsi, R., Tăut, D., Băban, A., Foran, H. M., Heinrich, N., Lachman, J. M., & Hutchings, J. (2024) · Family Process · doi:10.1111/famp.13011 · Cited by 5
Mattonet, K., Kabelege, E., Mkinga, G., Kolwey, L., Nkuba, M. G., Masath, F. B., Hermenau, K., Schupp, C., Steinert, J., & Hecker, T. (2024) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-024-19888-7 · Cited by 3
Onovbiona, H., Chavez, F. T., Quetsch, L. B., & Scudder, A. T. (2025) · Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/frcha.2025.1517169 · Cited by 3
“Although concerns regarding the language used in PCIT surrounding discipline with Black families has yet to be raised in the literature, there seems to be a general agreement among researchers and clinicians that spanking is not recommended (65).”
IX. DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES OF CHILDREN’S SOMATIC COMPLAINTS AFTER THE BIRTH OF A SIBLING
Beyers-Carlson, E. E. A., Stevenson, M. M., Gonzalez, R., Oh, W., Volling, B. L., & Yu, T. (2017) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/mono.12315 · Cited by 4
Corporal Punishment in Schools: A Narrative Analysis of Contemporary Situation
Abbas, N. (2022) · Review of Education Administration and Law · doi:10.47067/real.v5i2.227 · Cited by 3
VI. DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES OF CHILDREN’S ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AFTER THE BIRTH OF A SIBLING
Thomason, E., Oh, W., Volling, B. L., Gonzalez, R., & Yu, T. (2017) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/mono.12312 · Cited by 4
Dari, N. K. W., Mawodza, O., Mingo, E. D., & Olson, B. D. (2018) · Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy · doi:10.1002/anzf.1321 · Cited by 3
Kesner, J. E., & Stenhouse, V. L. (2018) · The Australian journal of teacher education · doi:10.14221/ajte.2018v43n11.4 · Cited by 3
Wetzels, P., Brettfeld, K., & Farren, D. (2018) · Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform · doi:10.1515/mks-2018-1010202 · Cited by 3
Barriers to No Hit Zone implementation
Mastrangelo, M., & Lansford, J. E. (2020) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105183 · Cited by 3
Mullola, S., Jeanne Brooks-gunn, B., Elovainio, M. J., Hakulinen, C. A., Schneper, L. M., & Notterman, D. A. (2020) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.026 · Cited by 3
Parenting Styles and Discipline Strategies of Immigrants: A Qualitative Study
Reza, F. (2020) · Universal Journal of Educational Research · doi:10.13189/ujer.2020.082646 · Cited by 3
Child Well-being in Post-Soviet Countries: Discipline Practices in Families in Azerbaijan
Huseynli, A., & Jonson‐Reid, M. (2022) · Child Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s12187-022-09976-8 · Cited by 4
“Physically aggressive discipline can also result in severe physical injury (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016) and fatalities (Centers for Diseases Control, 2020).”
BackgroundHuang, W., Chen, X., & Wu, Y. (2023) · Victims & Offenders · doi:10.1080/15564886.2022.2084194 · Cited by 3
“Being corporally punished by parents has been consistently proved to damage child development and prelude children’s delinquent behaviors (e.g., Ferguson, 2013; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016).”
BackgroundMkhize, M. V., Mtshali, M. A., & Sithebe, K. (2022) · Perspectives in Education · doi:10.38140/pie.v40i4.6191 · Cited by 3
Padilla, C. M. (2019) · DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) · Cited by 3
Woodberry, R. D., Smith, C. S., & Scheitle, C. P. (2019) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119429333.ch14 · Cited by 3
Socialization in Infancy and Early Childhood
Hastings, P. D., & Grady, J. S. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-809324-5.21839-7 · Cited by 7
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“In contrast, the United States and a number of other Western countries consider physical punishment abusive due to its long-term potential for psychological harm [4-5].”
InfluentialSchool Corporal Punishment Effects on Children
Gershoff, E. T., Purtell, K. M., & Holas, I. (2015) · SpringerBriefs in psychology · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-14818-2_4 · Cited by 2
Self-citationCortina, H., & Holt, A. (2024) · Child & Family Social Work · doi:10.1111/cfs.13133 · Cited by 2
Heng, J. A., & Olson, S. L. (2024) · Family Relations · doi:10.1111/fare.13050 · Cited by 2
Rehashing the moral-conventional distinction: perceived harm marks the border
Sadek, F. (2024) · Philosophical Psychology · doi:10.1080/09515089.2024.2438796 · Cited by 2
“Whether spanking can be used as a tool for disciplining children or not remains a matter of debate to this day (e.g., Fuller, 2009; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016), and so it’s best to first test whether participants see the act itself as harmful.”
Intergenerational Transmission of Corporal Punishment: A Scoping Review
Xu, Y., Wang, X., & Silverstein, M. D. (2025) · Trauma Violence & Abuse · doi:10.1177/15248380251336170 · Cited by 2
“…who experience CP may exhibit internalizing problems like low self-esteem, cognitive ability, and moral internalization, and externalizing problems like aggression and distraction (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Grogan-Kaylor et al., 2021; Lansford et al., 2014; Ma et al., 2022; Wang & Liu, 2018).”
Masath, F. B., & Hecker, T. (2025) · Child Protection and Practice · doi:10.1016/j.chipro.2025.100209 · Cited by 2
How to prevent physical punishment that harms children
Cuartas, J. A., & Gershoff, E. T. (2025) · Nature Mental Health · doi:10.1038/s44220-025-00485-5 · Cited by 2
Self-citationEffects of a positive discipline program on parenting outcomes
Romano, E., & Yilmaz, E. (2025) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107652 · Cited by 2
Richardson, H. L., Dukes, C., & Damashek, A. L. (2025) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605251372591 · Cited by 2
Poverty and parental discipline
Alloush, M., Conover, E., & Godlonton, S. (2025) · Journal of Development Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103694 · Cited by 2
Physical punishment: The only legal form of family violence
Gershoff, E. T., & Cuartas, J. A. (2026) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2026.102271 · Cited by 2
Self-citationThe competency–control paradox in parenting adolescents: Evidence from an Indian mixed-methods study
Sharma, E., Jacob, P., S, B. V., et al. (2026) · Asian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2026.104965 · Cited by 2
Volling, B. L., Oh, W., & Gonzalez, R. (2017) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/mono.12309 · Cited by 2
Towards an Understanding of Children’s Perceptions of Physical Punishment in the Family Context
Walton, B., & Saunders, B. J. (2020) · The International Journal of Children s Rights · doi:10.1163/15718182-02802007 · Cited by 2
The Need to Protect Children: Increasing Evidence of the Problem of Corporal Punishment in Pakistan
Ashraf, R., & Holden, G. W. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-16-9820-0_5 · Cited by 2
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“Corporal punishment involves physical acts, such as kicking, hitting, slapping, pushing, shaking, and punching (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016).”
Atreya, A., Chhetri, U. D., Shrestha, S., et al. (2023) · Medico-Legal Journal · doi:10.1177/00258172231163435 · Cited by 2
Corporal punishment: Why the intentional use of violence against children is still acceptable
Savage, L. (2023) · Australian Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1002/ajs4.274 · Cited by 2
Dallaston, E. (2023) · Australian Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1002/ajs4.299 · Cited by 2
Parenting strategies and quality of family interaction in the children's perception
Ferreira, C. R. F. D. A., Rivera, G. A., & da Silva, J. A. (2023) · Journal of Psychological Perspective · doi:10.47679/jopp.525762023 · Cited by 5
“Although corporal punishment has been widely criticized (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016), it was not found to be a significant factor in our study.”
BackgroundRueda, H. A., Ward, K. P., & Hoffman, S. (2023) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605231218224 · Cited by 2
“Our findings also support work that establishes associations between parental aggression and child behavior problems (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016) and studies that call for the elimination of psychological and physical aggression in the home (Ma et al., 2022a; Ward et al., 2022).”
BackgroundResultGonzález, C., Morawska, A., Higgins, D. J., et al. (2024) · Australian Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1002/ajs4.340 · Cited by 2
“Thus, there is evidence of the intergenerational transmission of violence against children contributing to the normalisation of the use of corporal punishment as an acceptable discipline measure (Afifi et al., 2022; Deater-Deckard et al., 2003; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialZhu, Y., Zhang, G., Zhan, S., Jiao, D., & Anme, T. (2024) · European Journal of Psychotraumatology · doi:10.1080/20008066.2024.2355757 · Cited by 3
“…experiences that involve harm or the threat of harm to a child, such as corporal punishment, can influence the development of that child’s neural systems that underpin emotional regulation and threat detection abilities, potentially leading to behavioural problems (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016).”
BackgroundMissed opportunities to support parents' use of healthy discipline
Wee, S. E., Dietrich, M. S., Adkins, A. H., Masciale, M., Carr, V. L., Gigante, C. I., Holden, G. W., & Scholer, S. J. (2025) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107257 · Cited by 3
Orphan discipline and child neglect: An analysis from 48 countries
Bolgrien, A., Boyle, E. H., Munir, M., et al. (2025) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107353 · Cited by 2
Self-citationQualitative Research on Infant and Child Development in Majority World Countries
Draper, C. E. (2025) · Infant and Child Development · doi:10.1002/icd.70039 · Cited by 2
II. METHODS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE FAMILY TRANSITIONS STUDY
Oh, W., Volling, B. L., Gonzalez, R., Rosenberg, L., & Song, J. (2017) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/mono.12308 · Cited by 3
Österman, K., Björkqvist, K., & Wahlbeck, K. (2018) · Eurasian Journal of Medicine and Oncology · doi:10.14744/ejmo.2018.0027 · Cited by 2
“A meta-analysis conducted by Gershoff and GroganKaylor (2016)[38] of effect sizes from 111 studies, representing over 160.”
MethodCorporal Punishment: From Ancient History to Global Progress
Durrant, J. E. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_13-1 · Cited by 2
X. DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES OF CHILDREN’S SLEEP PROBLEMS AFTER THE BIRTH OF A SIBLING
Safyer, P., Stevenson, M. M., Gonzalez, R., Volling, B. L., Oh, W., & Yu, T. (2017) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/mono.12316 · Cited by 2
Irons, L. B., Flatin, H., Harrington, M. T., Vazifedan, T., & Harrington, J. W. (2018) · Clinical Pediatrics · doi:10.1177/0009922818764926 · Cited by 2
“generational influence appears to normalize the behavior of spanking to the younger parent and continues to be pervasive even in the most recent research from Gershoff et al that found 87% of adults in the United States had been spanked as a child with 67% of adults reporting that they have spanked their child previou…”
BackgroundGrogan‐Kaylor, A. C., Howell, K. H., Miller‐Graff, L. E., Galano, M. M., & Graham‐Bermann, S. A. (2018) · Violence and Victims · doi:10.1891/0886-6708.v33.i3.504 · Cited by 3
Self-citationDeveloping Gratitude and Filial Piety: The Role of Chores
Li, S., & Sims, M. (2018) · Education Quarterly Reviews · doi:10.31014/aior.1993.01.01.17 · Cited by 2
Playground Politics at Home: Child Maltreatment and Sibling Violence
Smokowski, P. R., & Evans, C. B. R. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-20293-4_6 · Cited by 2
Behavioral Problems in Children
Bennett, N. M., & Blankenship, A. (2020) · Handbook of Cultural Factors in Behavioral Health · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-32229-8_29
Psychoanalysis and public health: Potential for integration?
Holinger, P. C., Spira, N., Barrett, D. G., & Barrett, T. F. (2020) · International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies · doi:10.1002/aps.1639 · Cited by 2
“For example, Gershoff (2002, 2008) and Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor (2016) conducted comprehensive meta-analyses of studies examining the association between parental physical punishment and child and adult outcomes.”
BackgroundJarosz, E. (2019) · Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji · doi:10.26881/pwe.2019.47.01 · Cited by 2
Dutton, E., & Madison, G. (2020) · Medical Hypotheses · doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110334 · Cited by 2
Pantelewicz, A., Krasuski, T., & Olczak‐Kowalczyk, D. (2021) · Family Medicine & Primary Care Review · doi:10.5114/fmpcr.2021.103156 · Cited by 2
“A meta-analysis carried out by Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor [15] identified negative consequences of experiencing violence in childhood, such as: aggression, antisocial Table 5.”
MethodFuchs, S. (2021) · Kindesmisshandlung und -vernachlässigung · doi:10.13109/kind.2021.24.1.80 · Cited by 2
Family Violence and Delinquency
Ireland, T. O., Smith, C. A., & Loveland, C. (2019) · Handbooks of sociology and social research · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-20779-3_28 · Cited by 2
Coriolano-Marinus, M. W. D. L., de Santana, L. A., de Santana, J. C., et al. (2022) · New Trends in Qualitative Research · doi:10.36367/ntqr.13.2022.e640 · Cited by 2
Perrin, R. D., Miller‐Perrin, C., Bayston, L., et al. (2022) · International Journal on Child Maltreatment Research Policy and Practice · doi:10.1007/s42448-022-00140-x · Cited by 2
“Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor (2016).”
BackgroundStosunek studentów do stosowania kar cielesnych wobec dzieci
Frankowiak, J. K. (2021) · Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji · doi:10.26881/pwe.2021.53.10 · Cited by 2
Gunnoe, M. L., & Helder, E. J. (2022) · Adoption Quarterly · doi:10.1080/10926755.2022.2156013 · Cited by 2
“In making these recommendations, the Task Force emphasized that “Decades of correlational research have linked more physical punishment with more problematic behavior in children (Gershoff, 2002; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; p. 628).”
BackgroundParenting Programs for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment: Analysis of Systematic Reviews
Heinen, M., Penna, M. N., & Falcke, D. (2023) · Psicologia - Teoria e Prática · doi:10.5935/1980-6906/eptpcp14238.en · Cited by 2
“…consequences, such as the presence of psychiatric symptoms, increased risk for substance use and suicide, in addition to brain and cognitive alterations that may increase vulnerability to the emergence of psychopathologies (Coelho et al., 2016; Pinquart, 2016; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016).”
Parental disciplinary practices and internet addiction in adolescents
Rodrigues, D. A., Relva, I. C., & Fernandes, O. M. (2022) · Revista de Psicología · doi:10.18800/psico.202301.012 · Cited by 2
(DES) Conhecimento de Psicólogas/os Brasileiras/os sobre Leis que Protegem Crianças
Hohendorff, J. V., França, T., da Silva, A. C. P., & Costa, C. (2024) · Revista Subjetividades · doi:10.5020/23590777.rs.v24i1.e14117 · Cited by 2
Corporal punishment associated with dating violence
Gershoff, E. T. (2018) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.04.056 · Cited by 2
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Recognizing and Responding to the Spiritual Impact of Child Abuse
Vieth, V. I., & Singer, P. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-89999-2_275 · Cited by 2
Parent Discipline and Socialization in Middle Childhood
Hawes, D. J., & Tully, L. A. (2020) · The Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development · doi:10.1002/9781119171492.wecad236 · Cited by 2
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Commentary: Spanking and Externalizing Problems: Examining Within-Subject Associations
Lansford, J. E., & Rothenberg, W. A. (2021) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.13577 · Cited by 2
Corporal Punishment in Eastern Nigeria
Nwafor, G. N. (2021) · doi:10.31979/etd.usbn-f6sr · Cited by 2
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Corporal Punishment of Children
Lenta, P. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6519-1_1018 · Cited by 2
Global Levels and Trends in Child Discipline: Evidence from 88 Countries, 2005–2023Preprint
Egyir, J., Cao, E. D., Thomas, K., & Aurino, E. (2026) · medRxiv · doi:10.64898/2026.02.13.26346262 · Cited by 2
Tracing Effects of Parental Discipline on Child Psychopathology: The Devil’s in the Detail
Wertz, J. (2018) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2018.07.894 · Cited by 1
Rodriguez, C. M. (2021) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.03.003 · Cited by 1
Rodriguez-JenKins, J., & Uretsky, M. C. (2022) · Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal · doi:10.1007/s10560-021-00813-5 · Cited by 1
“…United States, violent discipline can cause increased child externalizing behaviors (Gershoff, 2002), higher likelihood of perpetuating child abuse (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Lee et al., 2014), interruption of the parent–child relationship (Ger-shoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016), and is associated…”
BackgroundConhecimento sobre Direitos das Crianças e dos Adolescentes de Mães do Rio Grande do Sul
Colomé, C. S., dos Santos, J. V. Á., Porta, D. D., & Siqueira, A. C. (2022) · Estudos e Pesquisas em Psicologia · doi:10.12957/epp.2022.66492 · Cited by 1
“A garantia desses direitos deve ser considerada fundamental, tendo em vista que a violação dos direitos pode levar a riscos ao desenvolvimento saudável das crianças e adolescentes, acarretando graves prejuízos (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Kim, Mennen, & Tricket, 2016).”
BackgroundThe Use of Physical Punishment Among Parents of Children With ADHD and Normal Development
AlTourah, A. J., Al-Ansari, A. M., Suleiman, N. A., Jahrami, H., & Mahoud, F. K. A. (2021) · Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research · doi:10.51758/agjsr-01-2021-0004 · Cited by 1
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van Turnhout, J. (2023) · Canadian Journal of Children s Rights / Revue canadienne des droits des enfants · doi:10.22215/cjcr.v10i1.4278 · Cited by 1
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Kurt, Ş. H., & Yaşar, M. (2024) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-023-02728-4 · Cited by 1
“It has been shown in previous studies that corporal punishment is used by parents to discipline children (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Oas, 2010).”
Gallitto, E., & Romano, E. (2024) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-024-02818-x · Cited by 2
“…indicated associations between spanking and adverse child outcomes, including aggression, antisocial behaviour, externalising and inter-nalising behaviour problems, negative relationships with parents, lower moral internalisation, and slower cognitive development (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016).”
A consilient, multi-level model of corporal punishment
Michalski, J. H. (2024) · Theory and Society · doi:10.1007/s11186-024-09562-7 · Cited by 1
D’Urso, G., Symonds, J. E., Sloan, S., Capistrano, D., Samonova, E., Devine, D., & Sugrue, C. (2024) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs14111106 · Cited by 1
“Corporal punishment at school is still very com-Behav mon in different parts of the world [17,18].”
Serrano-Flores, A., Cevallos, M. M., Terán, P. P., & Crespo, G. L. (2024) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605241308293 · Cited by 1
“…against children globally (UNICEF, 2014), and its practice is widespread across various cultures and societies, despite substantial evidence highlighting its negative short-and long-term effects and its inefficacy as a disciplinary method (Gershoff, 2010, 2013; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016).”
Morgan, C. H., Rodriguez, C. M., Pu, D. F., & Elkins, Z. O. (2025) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-024-00799-5 · Cited by 1
“Cultural traditions of PCA use may play a role as well (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016a), reflecting the potentially greater relevance of personal history of experiencing PCA in Black families.”
Perspectives of Children on Corporal Punishment in Domestic Settings in Ghana
Kyei‐Gyamfi, S., & Kyei‐Arthur, F. (2025) · Child & Family Social Work · doi:10.1111/cfs.13284 · Cited by 1
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Heinen, M., Alvares, J., Dalpaz, E., Penna, M. N., & Falcke, D. (2025) · Revista Psicologia e Saúde · doi:10.20435/pssa.v1i1.2028 · Cited by 2
Metadata
- Authors
- Gershoff, E. T., & Grogan-Kaylor, A.
- Affiliations
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Family Psychology
- Published
- 2016
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 453-469
- ISSN
- 0893-3200 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1293
- PMC
- PMC7992110
- OpenAlex
- W2325391559
- Semantic Scholar
- 0d03a2e9f085f0a268b4c0a52f5ac31c17a3e5f3
- Cited by
- 931
- References
- 106
- Citations by year
- 2026: 97 · 2025: 105 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 79 · 2022: 86 · 2021: 112 · 2020: 107 · 2019: 98 · 2018: 85 · 2017: 80 · 2016: 18
- FWCI
- 125.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Family Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD042849)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Keywords
- spanking, corporal punishment, child outcomes, physical abuse, effect size, child development
- MeSH terms
- Aggression, Child, Child Abuse, Child Behavior, Child, Preschool, Humans, Male, Parent-Child Relations, Punishment, Research Design, Parenting
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