Spanking Lowers IQ, According to Study
Categories: Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Relatives, Development, Single Parenting
Spanking lowers IQ points, a study found. Credit: cogdogblog, Flickr
Spanking children can cost them IQ points, according to a recent study by Murray A. Straus, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire.
Straus found that children whose parents refrained from spanking scored an average of two to five points higher on IQ tests, depending on their age.
"Spanking has a lot of negative effects," Straus, the co-director of the Family Research Laboratory, told ParentDish.
Children who are spanked throughout childhood show signs of chronic stress, which likely impedes their brain development, he said. Spanking also erodes the parent-child bond, which may impact parents' ability to teach their children new things.
Straus believes that families who don't spank boost their children's intelligence by having more conversations about behavior and expectations.
"If you don't spank, you have to do more explaining," he said. "Explaining to a child improves brain development."
Researchers tested the cognitive abilities of children aged 2 to 4 and 5 to 9 at the start of the study and then four years later. In the 2-to-4 age range, children who were not spanked over the four years scored an average of five points higher on intelligence tests. In the older age group, the children who were not spanked scored an additional two-and-a-half points on the tests, said Straus, who worked with Mallie J. Paschall on the research.
The study also shows the importance of not spanking kids between the ages of 2 to 6, Straus said, because
those children are undergoing "rapid brain development."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SKL 10-06-2009 @ 4:52PM
D-d-duh, that explanes ulot . . . .
First, I have to know whether or not they excluded abused children (and children of parents who have ever been abusers) from this study. Because if not, that is going to skew the results and render them meaningless. (Duh, all the kids who are beat in the head and hide in the corner / in the streets half of the day are in the spanked group! Genius observation!)
Second, has anyone considered that smarter kids are easier to guide with verbal and abstract discipline? Maybe they have the cause and effect backwards.
Third, IQ trends downward as family size trends upward (due to various other correlated circumstances), and parents with lots of kids can't be as "patient and reasonable" with each child as parents with just one or two kids. Did this study control properly for family size and other correlating factors? And on a related note, how about the fact that people who choose not to spank are more likely to have read a lot of information about child-rearing (not necessarily formal education, but just interested in reading, etc.)? Did they control properly for that? I hope they at least controlled for the parents' true IQs.
Fourth, how come nobody's mentioning the uptick that happens with 3+ spankings? I would like to understand that, but how can I ask if I'm anti-spanking?
Obviousy I think this study and pretty much every anti-spanking study I've ever seen is flawed. I would like to see a study done that excludes all kids who (a) have ever been abused or neglected, or (b) have parents who have ever abused or neglected their child. Without such a study, we will never know whether spanking actually makes kids smarter.
My experience is that you can't do much about true IQ (assuming proper physical nurturing and a reasonably stimulating environment). But you can help a child to learn meaningful coping skills. And in this area, a well-timed spank can (for some kids) do more than many iterations of non-corporal punishments.
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Elliette 10-06-2009 @ 5:25PM
Brabo, I was raised in a house full of profesional women, was spanked perhaps a coupled of times in my entired life (I deserved it) graduated with honors and have lived a very happy and well adjusted life. By the way I have 2 children that grew up to also be happy, inteligent and with high IQ. Very little corporal punishment was necessary but it was not totally eliminated!
chris 11-24-2009 @ 4:48PM
SKL it looks like you are confusing this article with the actual study.
Elizabeth 10-07-2009 @ 3:21AM
I think the thing about spanking is that most people don't distinguish it from abusing your child--and yes, there is a difference between discipline and abuse, although, buy the law's definition you'd never know it. By their definition I was abused as a child because my mother spanked me with a belt. But I have to tell you, she never hit me past the age of seven or eight (or if she did I repressed it), because to me getting spanked was unpleasant, and I changed my behavior to avoid it, and that style of discipline worked for her, and for me. Who's to say it would work if I'd had a brother or sister? Time outs don't work for every kid, and if spanking your kid is the only way to get through to them, I think as a parent you have that right.
As for the statement that it affects I.Q., I don't agree with that at all. I.Q. is something is genetic, not determined by how much your parent spanks you. I was spanked, and I have a genius I.Q. But then I wasn't raised in the era where if your parents spanked you, you could call the cops on them.
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Mihir 10-07-2009 @ 9:33AM
The person who put the caption under the picture was obviously spanked as a child. Then again, maybe "spaking" is a new form of discipline.
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notoriousp 10-07-2009 @ 9:47PM
Um, I was spanked as a child and I'm currently a student at the College of William and Mary.
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Hbun 11-15-2009 @ 3:57PM
Obviously there are going to be acceptions but people should look at the whole group of kids that were effected by spanking. It is showed that it harms them mentaly, its not the actual spanking its the fact that it causes stress, anxiety and fear. This can slow a child’s cognitive development. And that is proven.
David Robinson 10-08-2009 @ 12:52AM
Intelligence has a high genetic component. So maybe smarter parents are less likely to spank. This would mean that the results found were nothing to do with spanking. That said I am generally against spanking.
David Robinson
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Kat 10-08-2009 @ 9:36PM
Seriously? I've taken several IQ tests, and the results are never consistant, usually ranging up or down about 10 points, depending on how clearly I was thinking at the time, how much sleep I got the night before, if I had eaten or was distracted by hunger...none of which has anything to do with how I was raised.
We are talking about AT MOST 5 extra points here...not exactly a big deal in the long run, especially when something like intelligence and a childs potential can not possibly be measured accurately.
There is nothing wrong with swatting your kid on the bottom every once in a while when they misbehave. There is a big difference between a disciplinary spanking and a beating. People need to learn some basic common sense.
Perhaps if parents were not so afraid to spank children, there would be less smart-mouthed, budding criminals having babies before they graduate high school. They would gain those extra 5 points if they actually paid attention in school.
Kids need to know that the PARENT is in control in a home, and that they CAN NOT do whatever they want, and that actions DO have consiquences--some of which might include a spanking. So what if the kid doesn't like it? It is not a parents job to be a best friend, it is a parents job to raise responsible, respectful, contributing members of society.
Having and keeping respect and authority in your home is WAY more important in the long run than a lazy, rude, criminal with few extra IQ points.
I was spanked as a child, but I barely remember it. What I do remember is the emotional abuse of being ignored and left to do whatever I wanted because my parents couldn't be bothered to spend any time with me or teach me any life skills.
Despite their ignorance, I took RESPONSABILITY for my own life and made something of myself. I have no problem with spanking, but I DO have a problem with lazy parents.
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PDeverit 10-10-2009 @ 12:03AM
Child buttock-battering vs. DISCIPLINE:
Child buttock-battering for the purpose of gaining compliance is nothing more than an inherited bad habit.
Its a good idea for people to take a look at what they are doing, and learn how to DISCIPLINE instead of hit.
I think the reason why television shows like "Supernanny" and "Dr. Phil" are so popular is because that is precisely what many (not all) people are trying to do.
There are several reasons why child bottom-slapping isn't a good idea. Here are some good, quick reads recommended by professionals:
Plain Talk About Spanking
by Jordan Riak,
The Sexual Dangers of Spanking Children
by Tom Johnson,
NO VITAL ORGANS THERE So They Say
by Lesli Taylor M.D. and Adah Maurer Ph.D.
Most compelling of all reasons to abandon this worst of all bad habits is the fact that buttock-battering can be unintentional sexual abuse for some children. There is an abundance of educational resources, testimony, documentation, etc that can easily be found by doing a little research with the recommended reads-visit www.nospank.net.
Just a handful of those helping to raise awareness of why child bottom-slapping isn't a good idea:
American Academy of Pediatrics,
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
Center For Effective Discipline,
PsycHealth Ltd Behavioral Health Professionals,
Churches' Network For Non-Violence,
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Parenting In Jesus' Footsteps,
Global Initiative To End All Corporal Punishment of Children,
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In 26 countries, child corporal punishment is prohibited by law (with more in process). In fact, the US was the only UN member that did not ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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