Children who are spanked have lower IQs, new research finds

Children who are spanked have lower IQs worldwide, including in the United States, according to new groundbreaking research by University of New Hampshire professor Murray Straus. The research results will be presented Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, at the 14th International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, in San Diego, Calif.

"All parents want smart children. This research shows that avoiding spanking and correcting misbehavior in other ways can help that happen," Straus says. "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.

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. The more spanking the, the slower the development of the child's mental ability. But even small amounts of spanking made a difference," Straus says.

IQ and Spanking Worldwide

Straus also found a lower national average IQ in nations in which spanking was more prevalent. His analysis indicates the strongest link between corporal punishment and IQ was for those whose parents continued to use corporal punishment even when they were teenagers.

Straus and colleagues in 32 nations used data on corporal punishment experienced by 17,404 university students when they were children.

According to 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. 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," Straus says.

"Nevertheless, there is evidence that attitudes favoring corporal punishment and actual use of corporal punishment have been declining even in nations that have done little to implement the law and in nations which have not prohibited corporal punishment," he says.

Widely considered the foremost researcher in his field, Straus is the co-director of the Family Research Laboratory and professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He has studied spanking by large and representative samples of American parents since 1969. He is the author of "Beating The Devil Out Of Them: Corporal Punishment In American Families And Its Effects On Children."

He has been president of three scientific societies including the National Council on Family Relations, and has been an advisor to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Much of his research on spanking can be downloaded from http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2.

Straus's research was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 11,800 undergraduate and 2,400 graduate students.

PHOTO

Murray Straus, professor of sociology and co-director of the UNH Family Research Laboratory

http://www.unh.edu/news/img/Straus.jpg

CHARTS

The More Spanking, the Lower the Child's Cognitive Ability Score Four Years Later

http://www.unh.edu/news/img/straus_chart1.gif

The Higher the Percent of Parents in a Nation Who Used Corporal Punishment with Teenagers, the Lower the National Average IQ

http://www.unh.edu/news/img/straus_chart2.gif

The More Spanking, the Greater the Probability of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms

http://www.unh.edu/news/img/straus_chart3.gif

24 Sep 2009

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Here we go again...

I got spanked once I think and I have behaved my self since. My older brother got spanked a bit more than I did and he turned out fine. My little brother has gotten spanked the most because nothing else works with him. He was adopted when he was 12 and has issues from that. I asked him if he thought spanking was a good thing. His reply: "Well, it sucks when I'm getting it, but it works. I'll probably use it on my kids." There is a difference between a spanking and a beating. My little brother knows he is doing something wrong, but he does it anyway. He's turning 16 this month and my parents are still willing to spank him. He knows this and it's what keeps him in line more than anything else. Some kids it works, with others not so much.

Posted by Anonymous on Oct 11th, 2009 at 11:21 am.

Maybe the kids were spanked

Maybe the kids were spanked because they already had low IQs and did stupid stuff that deserved a good spanking.

Posted by Anonymous on Oct 7th, 2009 at 2:39 pm.

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.

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 available on the subject that can easily be found by doing a little research with the recommended reads.

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 buttock-battering 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.

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 29th, 2009 at 3:39 am.

Wrong results!!

"Children who are spanked have lower IQs"

But have these children had the potencial to get a higher IQ than what the have right now? Who can proove that? Mayby these children were such stupid, that their parents only felt helpless and didn't know what else to do, but giving them a clap on their back to make them realize what stupidity they just did. In other words:
Were these children really spanked and got the lower IQ as a result of this, or did they already have a lower IQ an were spanked because of this. Where's the biological proove for these so called RESULTS! For me nothing is sure in this case by now!

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 28th, 2009 at 4:32 pm.

Reply to "Wrong results!!" post - WOW

This makes absolutely no sense. No Offence. If you had any knowledge about how children learn and skills they may be lacking you would not have said what you have just said. So it's right to spank a child because they are stupid? What is wrong with that comment? I can think of a lot of things. How Does spanking a child make them realize the "stupidity they just did"? What the heck does that mean. Does that help them understand why what they did was wrong? No.... Would you want a smack for every stupid thing you did? No. Because some people may understand differently about something..and People will then explain it the right way...
I hope you are not a parent.

Posted by Anonymous on Oct 28th, 2009 at 10:00 am.

How sad

I read these comments, people making excuses for their parents assaulting them or them assaulting their children, and am saddened. Seriously folks, spanking is ASSAULT! If you did it to another adult, you would get arrested, that is why it should be considered a legal matter. Wouldn't you want the police to get involved if you discovered a neighbor was starving their child? How is this any different?

The only reason parents aren't getting into legal trouble for spanking their kids is because outside people usually aren't there to witness it, we have turned into a "tattling is bad" society, and a lot of cultures hold the view that children are property. So to the spankers, they think silence means acceptance. But children are not property, they are people, and deserve to be treated as such. I understand it is so ingrained in a spanker's mind that it seems normal, but look at the outside world--your boss doesn't hit you when you do something wrong. That is because violence is never a solution to a problem, it is just a sign that you've lost intellectual control over the situation.

Further proof that spanking doesn't work--the article said that the spanked kids are spanked an average of 3 or more times a week. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?!?!

The best punishment is (yes, I have kids), when they are young, to separate them from the thing that was making them behave badly ("ground" the toy) or ask them to sit quietly or go take a nap (aka "time out") or, when they get a little older and their brains are more developed, ask them to think about what they did, why it was a bad idea, and to make better decisions in the future. You might think that it only works for my kids or some kids, but if you have kids in daycare or in school, you will notice they take similar measures to stop bad behavior. I know that it sounds like so much work to a spanker but it pays off in the long run--you end up with a child that knows how to make good decisions the rest of their life. I assume that is why non-spanked kids have higher IQs, because they have been taught better decision-making skills.

For those that think spanking is okay, it is apparent that those IQ points you are missing are preventing you from seeing the flaws in your logic and allowing you to make excuses for what your parents did to you! If you are succeeding as an adult, it is despite the traumas that were inflicted upon you as a child. That is great, now just go one step further and try to see past your inner desire to unquestioningly accept everything your parents did and break the cycle of violence.

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 28th, 2009 at 8:33 am.

Then again...

From Anonymous: "As far as a spanking or a smack across the face causing stress, well, IT'S SUPPOSED TO CAUSE STRESS! That's the idea, you want the child to associate this negative thing (a spanking) with their negative or undesired action. You want the thought of a spanking to stick with them. When they go, "Should I throw a rock through this window?", you want them to then think, "That's not a good idea, I will get a spanking, and that will hurt, and it was not fun at all last time." "

Somehow that doesn't seem like the best way to go about things. Instilling fear in the child in order for him/her to display the correct moral choices? Not so beneficial. Not throwing a rock at someone's window should be more about "it wouldn't serve anybody and cause more trouble than it's worth" rather than "I'll get a spanking if I do this". There are many ways to make the child aware of the morals involved and spanking is not on top of that list. Indeed, a great deal of our behavior is heavily fear-based, which doesn't really serve anybody. Sure, it keeps us in line, but there are, again, better ways to do that. I wouldn't steal a random car in the street not because I'm afraid of the possible incarceration, but because I think of all the trouble and distress I might bring to the car-owner(s). Fostering empathy and making the child see things from another person's perspective help quite a bit in making sure that the child will not do undesirable things.

Also, receiving punishment for something that was undesirable in the eyes of the parent isn't as clear-cut as people might claim. Adults themselves aren't exactly the hallmark of what humanity is capable of. Since we're merely humans, we too fall prey to negative feelings and stresses. Sometimes we might take them out on the child in question...consciously or unconsciously. And furthermore, not every adult is on the same development level, so just leaving everybody to their own devices when it comes to rearing children doesn't sound all that kosher. I consider most adults to be pretty unbalanced actually, I mean most of them haven't even fully matured despite what their physical age might tell you. Neuroses, anxieties, stresses, issues, unhealthy paradigms...they're quite prevalent really.

I've been spanked a few times when I was younger and looking back I don't think I've deserved those spankings. While I can't resent my parents for doing so (they did the best they could under those circumstances), I would have rather gone without. Before you scream "anarchy!", I must state that a good talking-to would have done wonders. Sometimes you just want to be heard as a child and of course you're trying to figure out what you can and cannot do, but fear shouldn't be the underlying basis for that.
A great place to start is to be really clear about how a certain behavior makes you feel as a parent (or otherwise). When my mom told a third-party how she felt when I said certain things, I was suddenly made aware of how mean I was being so I quickly apologized and vowed to never talk down to her again. I think it's very important to instill in a child from a very young age the ability to look inward and to analyze their behavior in addition to looking at things from the perspective of someone else.

Punishment is, by it's very essence, the easy way out. Instead of looking at your own issues and the other person's actions in detail, there is merely a quick judgment followed by a punishment. Punishment is the short-sighted way out.
It's actually akin to how Modern Medicine is done; get rid of the cancer by slicing it out instead of tackling the source of the cancer (which is an unhealthy lifestyle by the way, either self-generated or from outside like pollution). Punishment doesn't mean we've rid ourselves of the underlying cause of a certain behavior. If a person steals, one must also understand that such a behavior doesn't appear out of thin air. If our society was much fairer, there would be less stealing. Stealing is simply the symptom of a larger problem. It is not until one tackles the actual source of the problem that the symptoms disappear with time. Basic sociology.
I wouldn't say "adieu punishment", but there's definitely more that can be done in any situation.

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 27th, 2009 at 9:49 am.

I would like to say that..

I tried posting a comment for this article and Science Blog is not posting it on what I can only assume is a result of some liberally biased editor. Way to walk the path of a scientist. Good work Science Blog. You are just like all the other Media Outlets that do their best to smother other people's opinions. Congratulations. If you finally do post my comment at this point, it is moot, because this article will be so far down the list by Monday that nobody will ever read it. Way to be one-sided.

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 26th, 2009 at 1:27 am.

Really?

Lets get one thing straight. I have an I.Q. of 141. I am a civil engineer. I was spanked... with a belt occasionally. I was also smacked when I back talked. My younger brother was also spanked and smacked. His I.Q. is higher than mine. I do not beat my wife either and I resent the fact that anyone would suggest that because corporal punishment was used to discipline me that I would do so. I would also like to state that I love my parents very much and do not resent any of them or the rest of my family for spanking me, because I probably deserved it. As far as these results, I would be curious to see what the I.Q.s of the parents of these children are, and whether or not there is a deviation in the children from their parents I.Q.'s. I would also like to state that many of my very intelligent friends were spanked and they have all come out spectacularly and many are very intelligent as well (doctors, engineers, pilots, etc.). I think that every child needs something different and that requires punishments that utilize different methods. As long as you are not leaving huge bruises, causing any sort of damage to the child, and as long as you are not outright abusing the child, I believe a spanking, when administered from a calm, collected mind can be a useful motivational tool. As far as a spanking or a smack across the face causing stress, well, IT'S SUPPOSED TO CAUSE STRESS! That's the idea, you want the child to associate this negative thing (a spanking) with their negative or undesired action. You want the thought of a spanking to stick with them. When they go, "Should I throw a rock through this window?", you want them to then think, "That's not a good idea, I will get a spanking, and that will hurt, and it was not fun at all last time." Try and tell me I'm wrong. Think about it, how much more disrespectful are kids today compared with when you were a child and corporal punishment was "at large?" Or, have some children of your own and see how well timeouts work. I also think it is grossly arrogant for a few people to think they know what is best for everyone else's children, and I think it would be a large mistake to give the power to our government to ban spanking. Whats next? Do they get to tell us what to eat, and when to go to sleep also? It is ridiculous. In short, keep an eye out for actual child abuse whether it be physical or verbal, and stop it when it occurs, but otherwise, mind your own damn business and let the parents who spawned the child, raise that child how they see fit. Its not your job to press all the other people in the world into conforming to your beliefs, opinions, or methodologies.

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 25th, 2009 at 11:35 am.

Are you kidding me?

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 25th, 2009 at 11:33 am.

Children who are spanked

Besides effecting IQ, parent(s) who inflict physical pain on their children as punishment for this or that digression are teaching the child a life long lesson. The original miss-behavior is quickly forgotten, but the fact that it is alright for big people to beat on small people when angry is imprinted.

Beaten children will almost always beat their children and often their wives and, unfortunately, sometimes worse. When judging a future husband women should find out if he was beaten when young. If so, keep on looking.

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 25th, 2009 at 2:48 am.

Wow. What simplistic

Wow. What simplistic claptrap. So we have gone from declaring that people who abuse animals will, not may, abuse other people to those who spank or who were spanked will beat their wives.

Are there any other fallacies of composition that you wish to post?

Do I need to remind everyone that one study on such a small group does not a fact make?

Do I need to remind everyone that such a study has to be verified and these claims peer-reviewed?

Considering that one of the authors of this study seems to have an established history of putting forth the idea that spanking is bad, confirmation bias is a legitimate concern.

Has anyone considered the fact that I.Q tests that rely upon the Gaussian bell curve has a standard deviation of 15?

To rule out such deviations, a series of test would have to be given to these children and an average established.

But I’m sure that such details and facts regarding these tests, there meaning and how science is to be conducted will be lost on those who seek to simply make it a crime to spank a child based upon their own negative view of the practice.

Posted by Anonymous on Sep 25th, 2009 at 11:06 am.