Spanking and externalizing problems: Examining within‐subject associations

This study examined the effects of spanking on externalizing on a within‐subject level, while excluding causally irrelevant between‐subject variance. Results from two longitudinal studies which used participants from the Child Development Project (n = 585) were reanalyzed with a random‐intercept cro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChild development Vol. 92; no. 6; pp. 2595 - 2602
Main Author Pritsker, Joshua
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2021
Subjects
Child
Child Development
Child discipline
Corporal punishment
Externalizing problems
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Punishment
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Summary:This study examined the effects of spanking on externalizing on a within‐subject level, while excluding causally irrelevant between‐subject variance. Results from two longitudinal studies which used participants from the Child Development Project (n = 585) were reanalyzed with a random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel model using yearly measurements over ages 6–8. After removing between‐subject variance, there were no significant effects of general spanking on externalizing (β = .06, .07). However, when done without objects and at a rate of about once per month or less, spanking showed beneficial effects (β = −.17, −.21). Results suggest that previous findings may be due to a failure to separate between‐subject and within‐subject variance. Additionally, results illustrate the need to examine limited spanking separately from more general forms of physical punishment.
Bibliography:J. Lansford
doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13700.
J. Pritkser
doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13577, and follow‐up rejoinder commentary by
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ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/cdev.13701