Corporal Punishment Research Paper

The diversity in ethnicities and cultures throughout the world is extreme. These cultures come with different visions in disciplinary action whether it seems logical or not in other points of views. The world has different perspectives and different people to back up their reasons behind the actions taken. The main controversy that has been taken on for years in several parts of the world is the debate of whether or not spanking, as a disciplinary action for children when they are misbehaving. As expressed in these three articles: “Today’s Child Abuse Creates Tomorrow’s Criminals” by Chandre Gould, “The Overwhelming Evidence Against Spanking” by Meghan Leahy, and “Disciplinary Spanking is Not Child Abuse” by Okey, Chigbo; there are severa pros and cons to an action such as spanking. This specific disciplinary action can affect the life of a human being for either a short term and long term effect.

Robert Larzelere a professor at Oklahoma State University who studies parental discipline. He disagreed with the scientific basis of the task force recommendations. While he agrees that parents should reduce their use of physical punishment, he says most of the cited studies are correlational and don’t show a causal link between physical punishment and long-term negative effects for children. “The studies do not discriminate well between non-abusive and overly severe types of corporal punishment,” Larzelere says. “You get worse outcomes from corporal punishment than from alternative disciplinary techniques only when it is used more severely or as the primary discipline tactic.” In a meta-analysis of 26 studies, Larzelere and a colleague found that an approach they described as “conditional spanking” led to greater reductions in child defiance or anti-social behavior than 10 of 13 alternative discipline techniques, including reasoning, removal of privileges and time out. Larzelere defines conditional spanking as a disciplinary technique for 2- to 6-year-old children in which parents use two open-handed swats on the buttocks only after the child has defied milder discipline such as time

Markham believes that “corporal punishment was linked with . . . increased rates of aggression, delinquency, mental health problems, and problems in relationships with their parents. . . .As adults, they are more likely to hit their spouses.” Markham’s statements, however, can easily be disproven. Markham based her facts on an “analysis of 88 corporal punishment studies over six decades. . . .” While initially these studies may seem trustworthy, it is impossible for them to be believable. Six decades ago, if a child was receiving a punishment, he was told to grab a switch from outside and bring it to his parent so the child could be spanked with it. When that child became a parent a couple decades later, he used the same form of punishment on his children because it worked on him when he was a child and the cycle then repeats. These studies cannot accurately show that spanking in childhood has caused issues in adulthood because throughout generations parents continue to use the same punishment on their children even if the parents did not agree with the punishment when they were

When it comes to disciplining a child, some parents will resort to spanking, or better known in the South as a “whupping”. “The origins of the anti-spanking prohibition have a lot to do with two social phenomena of postwar America: the rise of popular psychology and the breakup of the extended family (4). Those who were spanking as children argue that they “turned out just fine”, and these parents believe that spanking is the most effective form of punishment, while there have been studies conducted that have interesting results that may come as a shock to those parents. Their studies have concluded that spanking could lead to many negative effects throughout the child’s life and on into adulthood. The scholars who

     The American Academy of Pediatrics determined in a 1996 conference on corporal punishment that spanking could prove useful if used as reinforcement of other disciplines (Rosellini 52). S. Kenneth Schonberg, a pediatrics professor who co-chaired the AAP

They claim that spanking only teaches the child to fear their parents instead of respecting them. It can be dangerous because children will grow up thinking it's okay to hit other people to get their way, which is what parents do. Spanking can lead to violent behaviors later in their lives. "Corporal punishment is of limited effectiveness and has potentially deleterious side effects," American Academy of Pediatrics has said in a policy statement. In a 2002 study, published in the Psychology Bulletin, said that even though corporal punishment can make a child obey their parents in the short run, it can also be the link to long-term problems such as mental disorders and behavioral

The general acceptance, and sometimes support, of corporal punishment as a method of discipline is an aspect of the American culture (Barnett, Miller-Perrin, Perrin 61).

Dr. Perri Klass, a pediatrician, tells her story about seeing firsthand how parent’s frustrations about spanking their children and her reasoning on why she is against it. Klass talks about how as a pediatrician, she is encouraged to say that spanking is bad for not only the children but for the parents too. The aggressive behavior that it invokes is frightening and is strongly discouraged. According to a study published last year, “ Children who were spanked we're most likely to show disruptive, aggressive behaviors later on. Those behaviors, in turn, add it more likely that these children would be spanked more in the future”( Klass p.6). She fishes off the article by saying that the cycle of spanking is horrible for everyone present—no one is benefiting in this in a positive

Much controversy surrounds the topic of corporal punishment with children. Arguments against the use of physical punishment usually revolve around the perception that it is abuse and that healthier methods of disciplining children effectively accomplish adjusting behavior. Those who support spanking usually employ religious arguments, citing religious values, or cultural arguments, citing social context and how parents themselves were raised. Religious beliefs, culture, and perceptions of abuse produce different approaches to parenting. Diana Baumrind identified three styles of parenting, authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative (Berger, 2014, pp. 287-288). These methods of parenting will support or oppose corporal punishment to varying

Despite there being support for some of the short and long-term benefits of corporal punishment, there is plenty of opposition to corporal punishment for a variety of reasons. Starting as early as the 1960s, corporal punishment has been said to be “unacceptably degrading punishment” (Lenta 2012: 692), “harsh discipline” (Mayer and Blome, 2013: 145) and psychologically distressing (McLloyd et. al 2007:166).

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Children don’t come home from the hospital with an instruction manual and only so much information can be acquired from parenting books at the local bookstore. Discipline can especially be a hard subject for new parents, considering that there is no real “right” way to punish your children for bad behaviors. Spanking is a commonly used strategy to combat childhood wrongdoing. Spanking has been used as a disciplinary tool in reportedly 90% of American families (Wolraich et al.). Spanking and corporal punishment has a high prevalence in American society. Although spanking is seen as acceptable by the majority, this does not mean that spanking is good for the child. Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff, a developmental psychologist, asserts, “There is little research evidence that physical punishment improves in the long term. In contrast, there is substantial research evidence that physical punishment puts children at risk for negative

Spanking, also known as corporal punishment is a highly controversial method of discipline that parents currently use in an attempt to modify their children’s misbehavior. This type of punishment is not known to uplift the essence of education in children, and many parents and researchers feel that spanking leads to developmental problems. Research studies show how spanking produces a negative effect in children, and parents and caregivers should reconsider the use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline for their children because of its harmful effects. In addition, there are other, better alternatives that can be used to discipline children.

Brendan Smith (2012), focused on the harm and the negative impacts of parents spanking their children. Internationally it is viewed as a violation of children’s rights, and has even been banned in 30 different countries (Smith, 2012). Elizabeth Gershoff, a researcher on physical punishment suggests that physical punishment does not work because you have to make it stronger and harder every time in order to have the kids comply (Smith, 2012). It has been found that children who were physically punished are more likely to believe

This study was conducted in Canada and its participants consisted of 818 individuals that were chosen from various organizations and from undergrad psychology courses at the University of Baylor. Participants provided information about their age, sex, ethnicity, and personal lives (living situation, marital status, political affiliation, & religion) followed by an online survey. On the survey the participants were presented two statements on Section 43 on Canadian Criminal Code which states condones corporal punishment. The first statement was, “Section 43 should be ended so that parents no longer have the right to use reasonable force (physical punishment) to discipline children,” and the second statement was, “Section 43 should be ended but

The stresses of parenting are often times hard and relentless. With this in mind, many parents try their best to deal with those stresses and make the best of raising their children. This often-times requires disciplining, in order to end and/or curb bad behavior. Corporal punishment is one of these forms of discipline. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, corporal punishment is “punishment inflicted on a person's body” ("Corporal Punishment"). The most common form of corporal punishment is spanking which is often used to deal with child rearing or bad behavior (Knox and Brouwer 341-342). According to American Academy of Pediatrics, upwards of 90% of Americans spank their children infrequently (American Academy of Pediatrics 725). Furthermore,