Spanking is associated with lower levels of executive functioning, such as inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, in children, according to a new study that analyzed longitudinal data from more than 12,000 children. The findings, published in Child Abuse & Neglect, suggests that even infrequent spanking can have adverse effects on a child’s cognitive development.
Spanking, a common form of discipline in many households, has long been a subject of debate. Researchers embarked on this study to understand its impact on children’s cognitive development, particularly on executive functions like attention, decision-making, and behavior control.
Previous studies had established links between spanking and behavioral issues, but its effect on cognitive skills, especially in early childhood, remained unclear. This study aimed to fill this gap in research, considering the widespread prevalence of spanking and its potential long-term effects on child development.
“As a sociologist, I have always been interested in the sources of inequalities. When I began teaching a course called Sociology of Child Welfare, I started to see how experiencing violence in childhood can impact individuals even in later life and how condoning violence as a form of discipline may contribute to a variety of social issues,” said study author Jeehye Kang, an associate professor at Old Dominion University.
“I also began to see how my experience of violence at home and school in childhood has influenced me, so this topic feels important to me. For this study, I was happy to learn more about the links between spanking and children’s cognitive development, in collaboration with the clinical psychologist Dr. Rodriguez.”
The study analyzed data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, which tracked around 18,170 children from kindergarten through elementary school. Focusing on a subset of approximately 12,800 children aged 5-6, researchers examined the impact of spanking on three key areas of executive functioning: inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory.
Inhibitory control was assessed through teacher reports using the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire. Cognitive flexibility was measured directly through the Dimensional Change Card Sort task, where children sorted cards by different rules. Working memory was evaluated using the Numbers Reversed subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities, which required children to repeat number sequences in reverse order.
The independent variable, spanking, was reported by primary caregivers, predominantly mothers, who indicated how often they spanked their child in the past week. To address potential biases, the researchers used a method called entropy balancing. This statistical technique reweighted the comparison group to align with the spanked group, ensuring that any differences observed were due to spanking and not other factors.
Before matching for biases, children who were spanked showed lower levels of inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. However, after the matching process, the link between spanking and lower working memory disappeared, suggesting that this association in previous studies might have been influenced by other factors.
“We found no association between spanking and children’s working memory, another critical component of executive functioning,” Kang explained. “The null finding was at odds with previous research. However, we used a large, nationally representative sample, rigorous matching design, and highly controlled modeling, all of which strengthened causal inferences to these relationships. Thus, this inconsistency could stem from the rigorous matching process applied in our study relative to prior research.”
Notably, however, the adverse effects of spanking on inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility persisted even after matching. This indicates that spanking, even when infrequent, can negatively impact these cognitive skills essential for learning and behavior regulation. Surprisingly, the study found no moderation effects based on child gender, race/ethnicity of the primary caregiver, or the level of parental warmth. This suggests that the negative impacts of spanking are consistent across different demographics and family contexts.
“It may have been less known that spanking can impact children’s cognitive development,” Kang told PsyPost. “We found that exposure to spanking at age 5 was negatively related to children’s ability to deliberately regulate action (called inhibitory control) and adaptively shift between tasks (called cognitive flexibility) at age 6, irrespective of child gender, race, and parental warmth.”
“In particular, the association persisted even with infrequent spanking for inhibitory control. Given that children’s executive functioning is essential to socio-emotional and academic school readiness, which in turn relates to future income, health, and criminal conviction, this study provides public implications.”
While the study provides valuable insights, it has its limitations. One significant concern is the potential influence of unobserved factors, like community violence exposure, that were not included in the analysis. These factors could have a bearing on both the likelihood of a child being spanked and their cognitive development.
Looking ahead, researchers suggest exploring the severity, chronicity, and methods of spanking to understand its varied effects on children’s cognitive development. They also recommend using direct assessments for inhibitory control and incorporating data from both parents to gain a more comprehensive understanding.
In her previous work, Kang found that children who were spanked tended to have higher externalizing behavior, lower self-control, and lower interpersonal skills compared to children who had never been spanked. The findings indicated that even infrequent spanking negatively impacted children’s social development. She has also found that spanking is associated with lower reading and math scores.
“The significant links between spanking and both inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility were consistent with previous research about the effects of child maltreatment,” Kang told PsyPost. “Although spanking is a milder stressor compared to child maltreatment, it still appears to impair impulse restraint and prepotent responses in children. The public should be aware of the neurobiological, social, emotional, and cognitive harm associated with spanking. Parents should be assisted with effective positive parenting strategies, so they do not resort to spanking.”
The study, “Spanking and executive functioning in US children: A longitudinal analysis on a matched sample“, was authored by Jeehye Kang and Christina M. Rodriguez.
