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Attitudes Toward Spanking
Updated: April 2013
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In2012,accordingtoanationallyrepresentativesurvey,77percentofmen,and65
percentofwomen18to65yearsoldagreedthatachildsometimesneedsagood
hardspanking.Thisproportionhasdeclinedmodestlysince1986amongwomen,
whileapprovalamongmales,afterdecliningintotheearly1990s,remainedsteady
sincethen.
Importance
Oneofthemostfrequentlyusedstrategiestodisciplineachild,especiallyayoungerchild,isspanking.1About94percentofparentsofchildrenagesthreetofourintheUnitedStatesreporthavingspankedtheirchildreninthepreviousyear.2
However,useofcorporalpunishmentislinkedtonegativeoutcomesforchildren(e.g.,delinquency,antisocialbehavior,psychologicalproblems,andalcoholanddrugabuse),andmaybeindicativeofineffectiveparenting.3,4,5Researchalsofindsthatthenumberofproblembehaviorsobservedinadolescenceisrelatedtotheamountofspankingachildreceives.Thegreatertheageofthechild,thestrongertherelationship.6
Positivechildoutcomesaremorelikelywhenparentsrefrainfromusingspankingandotherphysicalpunishment,andinsteaddisciplinetheirchildrenthroughcommunicationthatisfirm,reasoned,andnurturing.7Studiesfindthistypeofdisciplinecanfosterpositivepsychologicaloutcomes,suchashighselfesteemandcooperationwithothers,aswellasimprovedachievementinschool.8
Thetypeofdisciplineparentsemployisofteninfluencedbyboththeageandthereasoningabilityofthechild.9Forexample,ayoungerchildmaybelessabletorespondtorationalverbaldiscipline;analternativestrategymightbetoredirectthechildsattention.10Incontrast,olderchildrenmayrespondmorereadilytoreasonedcommunicationthatisbothfirmandnurturing.
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Trends
Intheperiodbetween1986and2012,theproportionofwomenwhoagreedorstronglyagreedthatitissometimesnecessarytogiveachildagood,hardspankingdroppedby22percent(from82to65percent).Whileapprovalamongmendroppedsevenpercentbetween1986and1991(from84to78percent),ithassinceremainedsteadyandwasat77percentin2012.(Figure1)
Differences by Gender
In2012,menweresignificantlymorelikelythanwomentoagreeorstronglyagreethatitissometimesnecessarytogiveachildagood,hardspanking(77and65percent,respectively).(Figure1)
84 82
7378
7379
75 7782
75 77
6972
6973
64
65
0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012
Percen
t
Percentage of Males and Females Ages 18 to 65 Who Agree or
Strongly Agree that it is Sometimes Necessary to Discipline a Child
with a "Good,
Hard Spanking," Selected Years 1986-2012
Figure 1
Source: Data for 1986-2000 was reproduced from Child Trends.
2002. Charting Parenthood: A Statistical Portrait of Fathers and
Mothers in America. Washington, DC: Child Trends. Table P5.1. Data
for 2002-2012: Original analysis by Child Trends of the General
Social Survey
Females
Males
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Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin
BlackandHispanicwomenaremorelikelythanarewhitewomentoagreeorstronglyagreethatagoodhardspankingissometimesnecessary.In2012,74percentofblackwomenand76percentofHispanicwomen,comparedwith64percentofwhitewomenagreedthatachildsometimesneedsagoodhardspanking.AsianandPacificIslanderwomenweretheleastlikelytoagree,at12percent.(Figure2)
64
74 76
12
64
78
90
72
47
86
0
25
50
75
100
WhitenonHispanic BlacknonHispanic Hispanic Asian/PacificIslander
AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative
Percen
t
Females Males
Source: Child Trends' original analysis of the General Social
Survey 2012.
Percentage of Adults Who Agree that it is Sometimes Necessary to
Give a Child a "Good Hard Spanking," by Race and Hispanic Origin
and Sex,
2012
Figure 2
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Differences by Educational Attainment
In2012,collegeeducatedwomenandmenwerelesslikelythantheircounterpartswithlesseducationtoendorsespanking.(Figure3)
Differences by Age
Therearenosignificantdifferencesbyagegroupintheproportionofmenorwomenwhoagreeorstronglyagreethatspankingachildissometimesnecessary.
State and Local Estimates Noneavailable.
80
6661 63
76
8379
70
0
25
50
75
100
Lessthanhighschool HighschooldiplomaorGED
Vocational/technicalorsomecollege
Collegegraduate
Percen
t
Females males
Figure 3
Source: Child Trends' original analysis of the General Social
Survey 2012
Percentage of Adults Who Agree that it is Sometimes Necessary to
Give a Child a "Good Hard Spanking," by Education and Sex, 2012
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International Estimates Noneavailable.
National Goals None.
What Works to Make Progress on the Indicator
SeeChildTrendsLINKSdatabase(LifecourseInterventionstoNurtureKidsSuccessfully)forreviewsofmanyrigorouslyevaluatedprograms,includingthefollowingwhichhavebeenshowntobeeffectivefortrainingparentsinpositive,nonviolentparenting:
EarlyStart:www.childtrends.org/?programs=earlystart
HealthyFamiliesNewYork:www.childtrends.org/?programs=healthyfamiliesnewyorkhfny
ParentChildInteractionTherapy:www.childtrends.org/?programs=parentchildinteractiontherapy
STARParentingProgram:www.childtrends.org/?programs=starstopthinkaskrespondparentingprogram
TriplePPositiveParentingProgram:www.childtrends.org/?programs=tripleppositiveparentingprogram
Related Indicators
Childmaltreatment:www.childtrends.org/?indicators=childmaltreatment
Childrensexposuretoviolence:www.childtrends.org/?indicators=childrensexposuretoviolence
Parentalwarmthandaffection:www.childtrends.org/?indicators=parentalwarmthandaffection(archived)
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Definition
AdultsintheGeneralSocialSurveywereaskedtoreportwhethertheystronglyagree,agree,disagree,orstronglydisagreethatitissometimesnecessarytodisciplineachildwithagoodhardspanking.
Data Sources
Datafor20022012:OriginalanalysisbyChildTrendsoftheGeneralSocialSurvey
conductedbytheNationalOpinionResearchCenterattheUniversityofChicago.Availableathttp://sda.berkeley.edu/cgibin/hsda?harcsda+gss10
Datafor19862000:ChildTrends.2002.ChartingParenthood:AStatisticalPortraitofFathersandMothersinAmerica.Washington,D.C.:ChildTrends.http://www.childtrends.org/Files/ParenthoodRpt2002.pdf(SeeIndicatorP5andTableP5.1)
Raw Data Source GeneralSocialSurvey
www.norc.org/GSS+Website/
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Appendix 1 - Percentage of Males Ages 18 to 65 Who Either Agree
or Strongly Agree that it is Sometimes Necessary to Discipline a
Child with a "Good, Hard Spanking": Selected Years, 1986-2012
1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
2008 2010 2012
Total 84 81 83 82 78 73 78 73 77 79 75 77 76 77 75
77RaceandHispanicOrigin1 WhitenonHispanic 84 80 83 82 75 73 76 73
75 79 74 77 74 77 77 78BlacknonHispanic 80 93 80 93 91 80 90 82 90
87 80 87 90 92 82 90Hispanic 80 79 55 75 69 82 77 76 67 62
72Asian/PacificIslander 72 59 78 83 72
47AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative 81 75 84 91 60 79 70 53 86
PovertyStatus Poor 84 76 80 79 80 69 Nonpoor 83 81 82 82 78
74
MaritalStatus Currentlymarried 86 86 82 82 82 74 78 75 78 78 76
76 77 79 78 80Notcurrentlymarried 81 77 83 82 74 72 78 72 76 79 73
78 75 75 71 75
ParentalStatus Parent 82 84 82 84 83 76 80 74 78 79 76 78 78 80
75 78Nonparent 87 77 83 80 70 69 76 71 75 79 74 75 72 71 75 76
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1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
2008 2010 2011AgeofRespondent
18to24yearsold 83 71 85 76 73 67 58 69 79 79 68 78 79 68 69
8125to44yearsold 84 81 81 81 75 74 79 73 76 76 78 75 75 78 79
7745to65yearsold 83 84 83 86 82 73 81 74 77 81 75 78 76 79 74
76
EducationalAttainment Lessthanhighschool 83 85 80 87 80 74 78 77
85 87 81 72 78 81 63 76HighschooldiplomaorGED 84 82 85 86 79 76 81
75 79 84 79 80 84 81 85 83Vocational/technicalorsomecollege 78 88
81 81 82 86 72 75 81 77 72 73 79 78 79
Collegegraduate 83 76 78 74 70 66 72 68 69 66 67 78 70 66 71
70EmploymentStatus Notinlaborforce 86 81 83 82 82 75 76 73 77 77 77
80 67 77 77 77Lookingforwork 72 72 76 72 58 66 73 67 71 85 84 69 90
80 77 58Lessthan35hoursperweek 74 95 76 71 73 61 71 67 57 76 82
35hoursormoreperweek 81 82 84 86 75 71 83 76 77 84 76 78 78 79
74 79Note:Scoresbasedontwocategories:StronglyAgreeorAgree
""datanotavailable1PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace.
Source:Datafor19862000wasreproducedfromChildTrends.2002.ChartingParenthood:AStatisticalPortraitofFathersandMothersinAmerica.Washington,DC:ChildTrends.
P5.1.Datafor20022010areaproductofChildTrends'originalanalysisoftheGeneralSocialSurvey,20022010.
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Appendix 2 - Percentage of Females Ages 18 to 65 Who Either
Agree or Strongly Agree that it is Sometimes Necessary to
Discipline a Child with a "Good, Hard Spanking": Selected Years,
1986-2012
1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
2008 2010 2012
Total 82 76 75 77 69 72 69 70 69 71 73 69 69 65 64
65RaceandHispanicOrigin1 WhitenonHispanic 80 74 72 74 64 69 66 67
66 67 74 65 66 63 61 64BlacknonHispanic 92 88 88 93 84 88 87 84 82
84 80 94 84 80 76 74Hispanic 81 77 86 83 66 65 67 73 76 56 72 65 61
67 76Asian/PacificIslander 55 62 46 74 60 52
12AmericanIndian/AlaskanNative 92 85 69 65 81 76 78 70 59 88 64
PovertyStatus Poor 87 77 81 81 77 76 Nonpoor 81 76 73 76 65
70
MaritalStatus Currentlymarried 82 77 71 74 72 72 68 70 71 70 71
68 67 62 61 66Notcurrentlymarried 82 76 77 78 67 71 69 71 67 72 75
70 71 69 68 64
ParentalStatus Parent 84 77 76 77 71 73 70 71 70 73 73 71 69 65
63 66Nonparent 75 73 71 75 61 68 65 68 65 64 73 63 70 66 67 64
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1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
2008 2010 2011
AgeofRespondent 18to24yearsold 86 75 68 70 72 72 65 60 71 67 85
79 70 68 68 5525to44yearsold 81 76 73 78 69 72 69 70 67 73 72 72 71
66 64 7145to65yearsold 82 77 77 77 68 72 69 72 70 70 69 61 67 63 63
64
EducationalAttainment Lessthanhighschool 86 85 80 84 80 83 77 82
77 80 78 63 75 72 67 80HighschooldiplomaorGED 81 77 76 77 69 71 73
71 69 74 72 74.3 73 70 71.8 66Vocational/technicalorsomecollege 68
69 73 69 70 69 71 73 70 80 70 74 68 62 61
Collegegraduate 76 61 63 69 53 63 54 58 61 55 63 63 53 53 56
63EmploymentStatus Notinlaborforce 81 79 75 81 68 68 70 70 67 72 77
67 69 66 58 60Lookingforwork 89 71 67 68 66 65 55 66 59 67 62 61 73
74 69 72Lessthan35hoursperweek 64 64 71 66 58 65 64 61.8 63
35hoursormoreperweek 82 75 76 75 70 75 72 72 73 72 75 76 71 64
69 70Note:Scoresbasedontwocategories:StronglyAgreeorAgree
""datanotavailable1PersonsofHispanicoriginmaybeofanyrace.
Source:Datafor19862000wasreproducedfromChildTrends.2002.ChartingParenthood:AStatisticalPortraitofFathersandMothersinAmerica.Washington,DC:Child
Trends.P5.1.Datafor20022010areaproductofChildTrends'originalanalysisoftheGeneralSocialSurvey,20022010.
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Endnotes
1Day,R.,Peterson,G.,&McCracken,C.(1998).Predictingspankingofyoungerandolderchildrenby
mothersandfathers.JournalofMarriageandtheFamily,60,7994.2StrausM.A.,andStewart,.JH.(1999).CorporalpunishmentbyAmericanparents:nationaldataon
prevalence,chronicity,severity,andduration,inrelationtochildandfamilycharacteristics.ClinicalChildandFamilyPsychologyReview,2,5570.3McCord,J.(1995).Coercionandpunishmentinlongtermperspectives.NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress.4Straus,M.A.(2001).Beatingthedeviloutofthem:CorporalpunishmentinAmericanfamiliesandits
effectsonchildren(2nded.).NewBrunswick,NJ:TransactionPublishers.5Afifi,T.O.,Mota,N.P.,Dasiewicz,P.,MacMillan,H.L.,&Sareen,J.(2012).Physicalpunishmentand
mentaldisorders:ResultsfromanationallyrepresentativeU.S.sample.Pediatrics,130(2),19.6Bradley,RobertH.,etal.(2001).ThehomeenvironmentsofchildrenintheUnitedStates,PartII:
Relationswithbehavioraldevelopmentthroughagethirteen.ChildDevelopment,72(6),18681886.7Baumrind,D.(1991).Effectiveparentingduringtheearlyadolescenttransition.InP.Cowan&M.
Hetherington(Eds.),Familytransitions.Hillsdale,NJ:Erlbaum.8Ibid.9Petersen,G.,&Rollins,B.(1987).Parentchildsocialization.InM.SussmanandS.Steinmetz(Eds.),
HandbookofMarriageandtheFamily.NewYork:Plenum.10ChildTrends.(2002).Chartingparenthood:Astatisticalportraitoffathersandmothers.Washington,
DC:ChildTrends.http://www.childtrends.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/03/ParenthoodRpt2002.pdf
