ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN PARENTING STYLE, PHYSICAL DISCIPLINE, AND ADJUSTMENT IN ADOLESCENTS’ REPORTS - "Recollections of physical discipline as absent, age-delimited (ages 2–11), or present into adolescence were associated with youths’ evaluations of their mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles and their own adjustment. Data were from the Portraits of American Life Study–Youth (PALS–Y) a diverse, national sample of 13- to 18-year-olds ( N = 158). The modal experience of youth with authoritative parents was age-delimited spanking; the modal experience of youth with permissive parents was no spanking; the modal experience of youth with authoritarian or disengaged parents was physical discipline into adolescence. The age-delimited group reported the best adjustment (less maladjustment than the adolescent group; greater competence than both other groups). The positive association between fathers’ age-delimited spanking and youths’ academic rank persisted even after accounting for parenting styles... The effect that inclusion criteria have on the conclusions afforded by meta-analyses has been explicitly demonstrated by Ferguson (2013) who examined 45 longitudinal studies that predicted externalizing, internalizing, and/or cognitive development from measures of positive discipline, spanking, and/or corporal punishment (abuse was specifically excluded). Mean ages of the participants in the 45 studies ranged from 0–14.5 yr. (M = 6.4, SD = 4.1). Ferguson conducted one set of meta-analyses based on 111 r values, and then a second set based on 69 partial r values (representing the variance associated with a disciplinary technique after controlling for children’s adjustment at baseline). Ferguson (2013) found that results based on bivariate associations yielded “small but non-trivial” associations between spanking/corporal punishment and negative outcomes, whereas results based on partial r values were “statistically significant but trivial” (p. 196), explaining less than 1% of the variance in externalizing and internalizing, and slightly more than 1% in cognitive development. Effect sizes were higher for older than for younger children (i.e., spanking became more adverse and positive discipline became more beneficial with age). Specifically, the effects of “spanking” on externalizing were trivial for children younger than 7, but non-trivial for children 7 and older; the effects of “corporal punishment” on externalizing were trivial for children under age 11, but nontrivial for children older than 11. Effect sizes were also inversely related to scientific rigor (i.e., methodologically stronger studies reported the weakest effects). On the basis of these patterns, Ferguson encouraged the scientific community to be careful “not to exaggerate the magnitude and conclusiveness of the negative consequences of spanking/CP [corporal punishment] to the general public.” Although the only association actually reduced to statistical non-significance was the association between spanking and externalizing for children ages 4–7, Ferguson warned that “over-generalizing from the data might easily backfire,
decreasing the credibility of scholarly statements on parenting research overall” (p. 204). Individual studies of spanking permitting the strongest causal inference include a series of clinical trials demonstrating that spanking reduces children’s noncompliance (e.g., Bean & Roberts, 1981; Roberts & Powers, 1990) and time-sequential studies that control for auto-correlations in both children’s adjustment and spanking. The studies reviewed in this section employed large national samples and measures specifically assessing spanking (rather than physical discipline more broadly defined). Arguably the strongest of these studies is that of Berlin, Ipsa, Fine, Malone, Brooks-Gunn, Brady-Smith, et al. (2009), because this study was very precise with respect to the age at which spanking was administered, asked about spankings administered by anyone in the household rather than just the respondent, and examined both aggression and cognitive ability. Berlin and her colleagues found that spanking at age 1 year predicted subsequent aggression and cognitive deficits, but spanking at age 2 years was not related to children’s subsequent adjustment. These results seem discordant with the results concerning cognitive development reported by Straus and Paschall (2009), who found that frequency of spanking was inversely related to rate of cognitive development, measured by a change score, among children ages 2–9 years. A study by Taylor, Manganello, Lee, and Rice (2010) was also methodologically strong. These researchers found that spanking more than twice a month (but not 1–2 times a month) when children were age 3 years predicted increased aggression at age 5... In one of the first studies to control for children’s baseline adjustment and minimize reporter bias by employing independent sources of information, Gunnoe and Mariner (1997) found that spanking was inversely associated with children’s self-reported aggression for certain subgroups, including younger children (ages 4–7 years) and Blacks. This prompted the researchers to surmise that the effects of spanking are mediated by the meaning children ascribe to the spanking, with younger children and Blacks more likely to view spanking as a legitimate expression of parental authority... youth who recalled age-delimited physical discipline described themselves as the best adjusted. They reported greater competence than either of the other two physical discipline groups and less maladjustment than the group whose physical discipline persisted into adolescence... youth who did not recall having been spanked by their fathers provided lower estimates of academic rank. Together, these findings suggested that age-delimited spanking (ceasing before age 12 years) provided the youth in this sample just a slight advantage over the complete absence of spanking after controlling for parenting styles... , the results of the present study were accordant with Gelles’ (1972) report that adults who recalled being infrequently “hit” were better adjusted than those who were never hit or hit frequently... this research highlighted the need for parents to strike the right balance between superfluous control and too little control. Superfluous control in the form of physical discipline that continued into adolescence was associated with adjustment difficulties in nine of the 10 regression equations. Conversely, at least one variable suggesting atypically low control (permissive, disengaged, and/or physical discipline absent) predicted difficulties in six equations. This suggested that both superfluous control and undercontrol constituted risk factors for youth in this sample and supported Baumrind’s (2012) assertion that confrontive control is a critical component of good parenting."
One of some studies that show positive results of spanking
Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses - [On one previous meta-analysis] "the customary and conditional categories of physical punishment were associated with small levels of beneficial outcomes, ds = .06 and .05, respectively. When these physical punishment categories were compared with other forms of discipline, conditional spanking was found to be associated with lower levels of noncompliance and antisocial behavior than disciplinary alternatives. Customary physical punishment was found to predict more detrimental outcomes when children’s initial levels of child misbehavior were statistically controlled, d = −.19, but was generally not significantly different from other disciplinary tactics, including reasoning, taking away privileges, and time out, in the strength or direction of its associations with child outcomes."
Spare the rod and spoil the group’s cultural fitness? Conditions under which corporal punishment leads to detrimental and beneficial outcomes - "We find that spanking is associated with positive mental health outcomes when (1) performed by calm parents in a (2) ritualized, structured fashion and combined with (3) other disciplinary techniques within (4) a loving relationship with the child, typically (5) as part of the practice of moral, collective religiosity, and when (6) controlling for confounding variables. In that spanking is noticeably practiced by conservative religious cultural groups, we hypothesize that it can be a fitness-promoting form of behaviour in line with religiousness being an example of a group-fitness-promoting adaptation... Calm and reasoned discussion is central to the pursuit of knowledge. It is therefore unfortunate that the topic of spanking tends to evoke outrage. Vocal opponents of the practice have simply asserted that it is an affront to the dignity and rights of the child, or any other person subject to it, and to even contemplate it shows moral deficiency as it is ‘a horrible thing that does not work’ in the words of a former president of the American Psychological Association (see 49). The result, argues Wright (50, p. xxvi), has been a shift in the nature of childhood itself: ‘Formerly considered a preparation for adulthood, childhood is now regarded as an endless playtime. Parents are so intimidated by the threat that structure and discipline may irreparably harm their children that they make only the most modest demands.’ As we have discussed, such lax parenting appears to result in maladjusted children who are, unsurprisingly, unprepared for the demands of adulthood... Larzelere et al. (51) show that violence towards children by their parents has increased considerably since spanking was outlawed in Sweden in 1979... One proposed explanation is that because spanking is banned and strongly socially prohibited, a difficult situation with a poorly behaved child is permitted to escalate until a parent loses his or her temper and severely assaults the young child. Such a negative consequence to the banning of an adaptive form of behaviour is as our model would predict. That said, Larzelere et al. (51) show that many other forms of violence have also increased dramatically in Sweden since 1981, including the rape of children. This is congruous with the general societal breakdown that would be predicted by practices that had previously elevated group-oriented behaviour being abandoned. As already discussed, an example of group-oriented behaviour is traditional religiosity."
Child Outcomes of Nonabusive and Customary Physical Punishment by Parents: An Updated Literature Review - "All six studies that used clinical samples (including four randomized clinical studies) and all three sequential-analysis studies found beneficial outcomes, such as reduced noncompliance and fighting, primarily when nonabusive spanking was used to back up milder disciplinary tactics in 2- to 6-year olds. Five of eight longitudinal studies that controlled for initial child misbehavior found predominantly detrimental outcomes of spanking. However, those detrimental outcomes were primarily due to overly frequent use of physical punishment. Furthermore, apparently detrimental outcomes have been found for every alternative disciplinary tactic when investigated with similar analyses. Such detrimental associations of frequent use of any disciplinary tactic may be due to residual confounding from initial child misbehavior. Specific findings suggest discriminations between effective and counterproductive physical punishment with young children"
The Effects of Spanking on Psychosocial Outcomes: Revisiting Genetic and Environmental Covariation - "The current research analyzed data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (Study 1) and conducted simulation models using parameters from the literature (Study 2) to provide a summative evaluation of the psychosocial effects of spanking with regard to genetic and nonshared environmental covariation. Results of Study 1 replicated previous work showing that associations between spanking and outcomes of delinquency, depression, and alcohol use were explained by moderate-to-large degrees of genetic covariation, and small-to-moderate degrees of nonshared environmental covariation. Simulation estimates from Study 2 suggest that genetic covariation could account for a substantial amount of the phenotypic effect between spanking and psychosocial outcomes (≈60%-80%), with the remainder likely attributable to nonshared environmental covariation (≈0%-40%). The results of the current research indicate that continued work on the effects of spanking is best served by behavior genetic research on a broader range of outcomes than what is currently available."
Analyzing the origins of childhood externalizing behavioral problems - "Drawing on a sample of twin children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B; Snow et al., 2009), the current study analyzed 2 of the most prominent predictors of externalizing behavioral problems (EBP) in children: (a) parental use of spankings and (b) childhood self-regulation. A variety of statistical techniques were employed, and, overall, the findings can be summarized into 2 points. First, the results show that the relationships among spanking, self-regulation, and EBP are highly nuanced in that multiple explanations for their intercorrelations appear to fit the data (e.g., bidirectional relationships and shared methods variance). Second, genetic influences accounted for variance in each variable (EBP, spankings received, self-regulation) and even explained a portion of the covariance among the different variables. Thus, research that does not consider genetic influences when analyzing these associations runs a risk of model misspecification."
Physical punishment and childhood aggression: the role of gender and gene-environment interplay - "A large body of research has linked spanking with a range of adverse outcomes in children, including aggression, psychopathology, and criminal involvement. Despite evidence concerning the association of spanking with antisocial behavior, not all children who are spanked develop antisocial traits. Given the heterogeneous effects of spanking on behavior, it is possible that a third variable may condition the influence of corporal punishment on child development. We test this possibility using data drawn from a nationally representative dataset of twin siblings. Our findings suggest that genetic risk factors condition the effects of spanking on antisocial behavior. Moreover, our results provide evidence that the interaction between genetic risk factors and corporal punishment may be particularly salient for males."
A Genetically Informed Study of the Association Between Harsh Punishment and Offspring Behavioral Problems - "Conclusions about the effects of harsh parenting on children have been limited by research designs that cannot control for genetic or shared environmental confounds. The present study used a sample of children of twins and a hierarchical linear modeling statistical approach to analyze the consequences of varying levels of punishment while controlling for many confounding influences. The sample of 887 twin pairs and 2,554 children came from the Australian Twin Registry. Although corporal punishment per se did not have significant associations with negative childhood outcomes, harsher forms of physical punishment did appear to have specific and significant effects. The observed association between harsh physical punishment and negative outcomes in children survived a relatively rigorous test of its causal status, thereby increasing the authors’ conviction that harsh physical punishment is a serious risk factor for children."
The limits of child effects: evidence for genetically mediated child effects on corporal punishment but not on physical maltreatment - "Research on child effects has demonstrated that children's difficult and coercive behavior provokes harsh discipline from adults. Using a genetically sensitive design, the authors tested the limits of child effects on adult behavior that ranged from the normative (corporal punishment) to the nonnormative (physical maltreatment). The sample was a 1994-1995 nationally representative birth cohort of 1,116 twins and their families who participated in the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Study. Results showed that environmental factors accounted for most of the variation in corporal punishment and physical maltreatment. However, corporal punishment was genetically mediated in part, and the genetic factors that influenced corporal punishment were largely the same as those that influenced children's antisocial behavior, suggesting a child effect. The authors conclude that risk factors for maltreatment are less likely to reside within the child and more likely to reside in characteristics that differ between families."
Summarised as "anti-social behaviour in the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Study as a consequence of spanking was very strongly (0.86) genetically mediated, though this was not the case with violent physical abuse"
Meme - "Parents who hit their kids always say: "There’s a difference between spanking and abuse.” But a child’s brain doesn’t pause while being hit and think, "This is just a spanking so don’t produce cortisol. Deactivate the fight or flight response system to avoid brain damage.”"
People who send their kids for martial arts lessons always say: "There's a difference between sparring and having my kids beaten up by neighbourhood bullies."
But a child's brain doesn't pause while being hit and think, "This is just sparring so don't produce cortisol. Deactivate the fight or flight response system to avoid brain damage."
(Actually this applies to adults too. So clearly martial arts must be banned)
Cortisol is bad. Therefore sending kids to school where they feel stress is child abuse
Cumulative cortisol exposure increases during the academic term: Links to performance-related and social-evaluative stressors - "Cortisol levels in hair samples were significantly higher (d = 0.84) during the academic term (M = 14.24 pg/mg, SD = 11.36) compared to summer break (M = 8.00 pg/mg, SD = 4.14), suggesting greater cumulative exposure to cortisol"
School is literally child abuse!
Effects of Different Types of Exercise Training on the Cortisol Awakening Response in Children - "Children who did increase their cardiovascular fitness, regardless of their experimental group assignment, showed an increase in cortisol activity. This is in line with previous findings in children indicating vigorous physical activity was positively related with 30 min post-waking cortisol values"
Allowing kids to exercise is child abuse
Why you should never use timeouts on your kids - "Not 15 minutes into the eight-hour class, certified parenting instructor Linda Hatfield, who runs a Southern California program called Parenting from the Heart, explained that decades of neuroscience and social research have shown that timeouts and other methods of punishment are not only ineffective in steering the behavior of children but outright damaging... All punishments are ineffective, Hatfield went on to say, because the vast majority of kids don’t misbehave; they behave... “All behavior,” Hatfield said, “is communication.”... Sometimes we need to listen, really listen, to the experts and the science — and both are telling us it’s time to quit punishing our children... Punishment in any form is harmful, LaPointe said, because “it takes the core need of the child… and uses it as a bargaining chip.”"
When hating on spankers isn't enough virtue signalling anymore. Looks like all methods of discipline are "abusive" now
Why bed-sharing is healthy and sleep training is child abuse, according to a biological anthropologist
The "myth" of the slippery slope strikes again
Meme - bite sized heart ! maano stan account @sunflwrsunset: "i will NEVER yell at my kids. i will NEVER let anyone else yell at my kids, not even their father. if you can't think of a better way to communicate with your CHILD other than raising your voice or your hand, you're a bad parent and you SHOULDN'T be a parent."
Surprise surprise. Even yelling at kids is now "abusive". I saw some people supporting this in a group where this was posted, so it's not an isolated sentiment
Meme - Rev Sarah @RevSarahLocke: "Ok but what if we stopped calling it "gentle parenting" and started calling the alternative "child abuse?"
Seriously, if we did half the stuff we call "parenting" to adults, you'd be us calling it emotional and psychological abuse."
"I have referred to the alternative as child abuse for a few years now, the guilty are always triggered."
The slippery slope slipped long ago
It's emotional and psychological abuse to not let your 5 year old leave your house at midnight
Parents who are occasionally abrupt with their children may be guilty of 'mild neglect', says NSPCC - "Parents who are occasionally abrupt with their children and hold low-key celebrations may be guilty of ‘mild neglect’, according to NSPCC guidance... Parents who talk about their child with delight, "praise them spontaneously" and give them a "generous emotional reward for any achievement" score a one but those who limit praise, even if they usually agree with others’, score a three. The NSPCC says the scores must be used in context, taking into account the reasons for poor care and the impact on a particular child, but concerns have been raised over the “middle-class” values in the guidance."
The definition of "child abuse" broadens by the day
Do nonphysical punishments reduce antisocial behavior more than spanking? a comparison using the strongest previous causal evidence against spanking - "The apparently adverse effect of spanking on antisocial behavior was replicated using the original trichotomous covariate for initial antisocial behavior. A similar pattern of adverse effects was shown for grounding and psychotherapy and partially for the other two disciplinary tactics. All of these effects became non-significant after controlling for latent comprehensive measures of externalizing behavior problems. These results are consistent with residual confounding, a statistical artifact that makes all corrective actions by parents and psychologists appear to increase children's antisocial behavior due to child effects on parents. Improved research methods are needed to discriminate between effective vs. counterproductive implementations of disciplinary tactics. How and when disciplinary tactics are used may be more important than which type of tactic is used."
Clearly, grounding, psychotherapy, privilege removal and sending kids to their rooms are all "abusive" too and we need to jail any parents who "abuse" their kids in these ways
Meme - "Should I Spank My Chlld? A Comprehensive Flowchart
Are they old enough to understand reason?
Yes: Then use reason
No: Then they're not old enough to understand the reason you're striking them.
Conclusion: Stop hitting your child, asshole."
Clearly, reason works with everyone, which is why there're no adult criminals - since everyone who is old enough to understand reason is amenable to reason
Also, according to behaviorism, they don't need to understand why you are striking them for striking them to work
Long-term ABA Therapy Is Abusive: A Response to Gorycki, Ruppel, and Zane - "The growth of the neuro-diversity movement in autism is a direct result of the practice of ABA on the autism population. It was the attempt to fix “that which may not be broken” that led to this revolt. While there is no consensus in the scientific community on the validity of the neuro-diversity argument, no one has previously researched the catalyst for this outcry—ABA. We are not the first authors to emphasize the abusive nature of ABA therapy, and various others continue to identify this abuse and advocate for the termination of this abuse or for alternative treatments... ABA is unethical from a bioethics perspective. ABA violates autonomy insofar as it coercively closes off certain paths of identity formation. It also violates autonomy by coercively modifying children’s patterns of behaviors to be misaligned with their preferences, passions, and pursuits."
The "myth" of the slippery slope strikes again! Opposing spanking is no longer enough to signal virtue - now therapy to help kids function is also "abusive". We shouldn't help kids adapt to society - society needs to adapt to them. And then the worse outcomes autistic kids have will be proof we need even more liberal social engineering to "fix" society
This is How to Deal with Manipulative Child Behaviors - "Babies as young as 15 months can cry knowing their parents come to pick them up. In a 2018 study, 188 multidisciplinary teachers in a Russian preschool observed 160 common childhood manipulations among kids ages 3-7."
Some anti-spanking people got very upset at the idea that kids can manipulate adults. They think kids are pure, innocent angels who can do no wrong, and all you need to do is to reason things out with them, and if that doesn't work, it's the adutl's fault. No wonder they claim spanking is always child abuse
Invasive therapy for children with autism is not justified - "As a pediatrician who cares for autistic children, I have grave concerns about this paper. This paper does not describe valid research but rather details the abuse of disabled children. For one, the authors did not inject stem cells—they injected mononuclear bone marrow cells. They did not report on how many stem cells are in their preparation. Furthermore, injecting anything intrathecally can have serious consequences, including the development of lifelong pain (arachnoiditis) or bleeding into the spinal cord causing paralysis. Such a risky intervention should only be considered if the alternative of no treatment is more dire. Autism is not a dire sentence. There are alternative effective therapies for autism. Subjecting children, without their consent, to a seriously risky procedure is abuse. Forty‐eight percent of the children have side effects, including pain. I do not consider pain a minor adverse event; I consider it major and related to the study. Furthermore, these are disabled children and are a protected vulnerable group in whom research should only be performed if it is of likely/potential benefit and poses minimal risk. In the United States, I doubt this study would be approved by an internal review board... I urge you to retract this paper immediately. It does damage to the autism community in general. It is biased and ableist and continues the tradition of unaccepting parents abusing their children with treatments"
Any procedure to children which results in pain is "abuse" unless it is a (potentially) life-saving intervention. Looks like children can never be involved in medical research from now on, except when their lives are at risk, so future children won't benefit
Meme - "I got kicked off the original group but, the original poster said something along the lines of, "This is what happens when you attempt a power struggle with a strong willed child." I simply said that a strong willed child and a bratty undisciplined child are two different things. And that if ours did this, they would be having a mystery until we got new cans, before getting the boot. It was a Gentle Parenting group."
"I grounded my kid and this was his response
*canned food with labels removed*"
Gentle parenting = no discipline
