@article{ref1,
title="Attachment style and the association of spanking and child externalizing behavior",
journal="Academic pediatrics",
year="2019",
author="Ward, Kaitlin P. and Lee, Shawna J. and Pace, Garrett T. and Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew and Ma, Julie",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the longitudinal associations between maternal spanking and child externalizing behavior are moderated by attachment style. <br><br>METHODS: This study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 2211), a large cohort sample of low-income urban families. Multiple-group autoregressive cross-lagged models examined the associations between maternal spanking and child externalizing behavior when children were ages 1, 3, and 5. Moderation of attachment style was examined using structural invariance testing. <br><br>RESULTS: For children with an insecure parent-child attachment style, spanking at age 1 was associated with externalizing behavior at age 3. However, for children with a secure parent-child attachment style, the association between maternal spanking at age 1 and child externalizing behavior at age 3 was absent. Attachment style did not moderate the association between maternal spanking at age 3 and externalizing behavior at age 5, suggesting that spanking at age 3 is associated with deleterious outcomes at age 5, regardless of attachment style. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that, even in the context of a secure attachment style, spanking is associated with adverse outcomes in early childhood. <br><br>FINDINGS support the American Academy of Pediatrics 2018 policy statement, which encourages parents to avoid spanking when disciplining children. <br><br>RESULTS suggest that children, regardless of attachment style, may benefit from policies and services that promote non-violent forms of discipline.<br><br>Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1876-2859",
doi="10.1016/j.acap.2019.06.017",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2019.06.017"
}