@article{ref1,
title="Spanking and children's social competence: evidence from a US kindergarten cohort study",
journal="Child abuse and neglect",
year="2022",
author="Kang, Jeehye",
volume="132",
number="",
pages="e105817-e105817",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Spanking is a risk factor for children's social competency. However, establishing causality is a challenge, given selection bias in samples and the possibility of confounding the harms of excessive spanking with the effects of infrequent spanking. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: This study addressed these causality issues to strengthen the causal estimates of the links between spanking and children's social competency. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The study used longitudinal US kindergarten cohort data from children aged 5 to 7. <br><br>METHODS: The study used matching and lagged dependent variables to mitigate selection bias associated with lifetime (Ns = 17,171-17,537) and recent (Ns = 10,393-10,724) incidence of spanking. Cases in which spanking frequency exceeded two times a week were excluded. Sample sizes are provided in ranges due to the variations across multiple imputed samples. <br><br>RESULTS: Lifetime experience of spanking by age 5 was associated with higher externalizing behaviors at ages 6 and 7, and with lower self-control and interpersonal skills at age 6. A recent incidence of spanking at age 5 was associated with higher externalizing behaviors, lower self-control, and lower interpersonal skills at ages 6 and 7. These results remain significant after cases of frequent spanking were excluded. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The results support the argument that spanking harms children's social development.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-2134",
doi="10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105817",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105817"
}