Spanking and Child Outcomes:
Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses
Elizabeth Gershoff and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor
2024-01-20
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Introduction
- Whether spanking is helpful or harmful to children continues to be the source of considerable debate among both researchers and the public.
- This article addresses 2 persistent issues, namely whether effect sizes for spanking are distinct from those for physical abuse, and whether effect sizes for spanking are robust to study design differences.
Analysis
Meta-analyses focused specifically on spanking were conducted on a total of 111 unique effect sizes representing 160,927 children.
What Is An Effect Size?
In meta-analysis, an effect size is an attempt to make comparable different measures on different numeric scales. Effect sizes are often expressed in terms of standard deviations.
“… in order to have one more favorable outcome in the”treatment” group compared to the “control” group, we need to treat 13.0 people on average.” https://rpsychologist.com/cohend/
Results
- Thirteen of 17 mean effect sizes were significantly different from zero and all indicated a link between spanking and increased risk for detrimental child outcomes.
- Effect sizes did not substantially differ between spanking and physical abuse or by study design characteristics.
Citation
Gershoff, E. T., & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2016). Spanking and Child Outcomes: Old Controversies and New Meta-Analyses. Journal of Family Psychology. 30(4), 453-469. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/fam0000191