Could spanking affect your child's IQ?
Children who are spanked have lower IQs worldwide, including in the US, according to new groundbreaking research.
“All parents want smart children. This research shows that avoiding spanking and correcting misbehavior in other ways can help that happen,” says study author Murray Straus, professor of sociology and co-director of the University of New Hampshire Family Research Laboratory.
“The results of this research have major implications for the well being of children across the globe. It is time for psychologists to recognize the need to help parents end the use of corporal punishment and incorporate that objective into their teaching and clinical practice. It also is time for the United States to begin making the advantages of not spanking a public health and child welfare focus, and eventually enact federal no-spanking legislation," he says.
IQ and spanking in America
Straus found that children in the United States who were spanked had lower IQs four years later than those who were not spanked. Straus and Mallie Paschall, senior research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, studied nationally representative samples of 806 children ages 2 to 4, and 704 ages 5 to 9. Both groups were retested four years later.
The IQs of children ages 2 to 4 who were not spanked were 5 points higher four years later than the IQs of those who were spanked. The IQs of children ages 5 to 9 years old who were not spanked were 2.8 points higher four years later than the IQs of children the same age who were spanked. “How often parents spanked made a difference,” says Professor Straus. “The more spanking the, the slower the development of the child’s mental ability. But even small amounts of spanking made a difference.”
According to Professor Straus, there are two explanations for the relation of corporal punishment to lower IQ. First, corporal punishment is extremely stressful and can become a chronic stressor for young children, who typically experience corporal punishment three or more times a week. For many it continues for years. The research found that the stress of corporal punishment shows up as an increase in post-traumatic stress symptoms such as being fearful that terrible things are about to happen and being easily startled. These symptoms are associated with lower IQ. Second, a higher national level of economic development underlies both fewer parents using corporal punishment and a higher national IQ.
The good news is that the use of corporal punishment has been decreasing worldwide, which may signal future gains in IQ across the globe. “The worldwide trend away from corporal punishment is most clearly reflected in the 24 nations that legally banned corporal punishment by 2009,” says Professor Straus. “Both the European Union and the United Nations have called on all member nations to prohibit corporal punishment by parents. Some of the 24 nations that prohibit corporal punishment by parents have made vigorous efforts to inform the public and assist parents in managing their children. In others little has been done to implement the prohibition.”
Check out Supernanny’s advice on toddler care and childcare for methods of discipline that don’t include spanking.