Spanking and children's social competence: Evidence from a US kindergarten cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundSpanking is a risk factor for children's social competency. However, establishing causality is a challenge, given selection bias in samples and the possibility of confounding the harms of excessive spanking with the effects of infrequent spanking. ObjectiveThis study addressed these causality issues to strengthen the causal estimates of the links between spanking and children's social competency. Participants and settingThe study used longitudinal US kindergarten cohort data from children aged 5 to 7. MethodsThe study used matching and lagged dependent variables to mitigate selection bias associated with lifetime (Ns = 17,171–17,537) and recent (Ns = 10,393–10,724) incidence of spanking. Cases in which spanking frequency exceeded two times a week were excluded. Sample sizes are provided in ranges due to the variations across multiple imputed samples. ResultsLifetime experience of spanking by age 5 was associated with higher externalizing behaviors at ages 6 and 7, and with lower self-control and interpersonal skills at age 6. A recent incidence of spanking at age 5 was associated with higher externalizing behaviors, lower self-control, and lower interpersonal skills at ages 6 and 7. These results remain significant after cases of frequent spanking were excluded. ConclusionThe results support the argument that spanking harms children's social development.