Spanking and Children’s Approaches to Learning: Estimates from a Longitudinal Matched-Sample Design
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Development of Approaches to Learning: Theoretical Issues
1.2. Spanking and Children’s Approaches to Learning
1.3. Spanking as a Risk Factor
1.4. Empirical Evidence Linking Spanking and ATL
1.5. Confounding and Selection Bias
1.6. Current Study
2. Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Dependent Variables
2.2.2. Independent Variable
2.2.3. Covariates Used in Matching and as Control Variables
2.3. Analytical Strategies
3. Results
3.1. Preliminary Results
3.2. Analytical Results
4. Discussion
Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Before Matching | After Matching | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Spanked vs. Not Spanked | Spanked vs. Not Spanked | |||
Age 6.5 | Age 7.5 | Age 6.5 | Age 7.5 | |
Spanking at age 5.5 | −0.079 ** | −0.071 * | −0.081 *** | −0.067 ** |
Child characteristics | ||||
ATL at age 5 | 0.228 *** | 0.191 *** | 0.241 *** | 0.193 *** |
Inhibitory control at age 5 | 0.150 *** | 0.149 *** | 0.146 *** | 0.152 *** |
Cognitive flexibility at age 5 | 0.142 *** | 0.106 *** | 0.148 *** | 0.095 *** |
Working memory at age 5 | 0.049 *** | 0.044 *** | 0.043 *** | 0.050 *** |
Externalizing Behavior at age 5 | −0.095 *** | −0.098 *** | −0.077 *** | −0.080 *** |
Boy (ref. girls) | −0.243 *** | −0.296 *** | −0.243 *** | −0.282 *** |
Age (months) | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | −0.004 |
With disability | −0.109 *** | −0.096 *** | −0.122 *** | −0.113 *** |
Had center-based care | −0.004 | −0.014 | −0.003 | −0.025 |
Private school (ref. public school) | −0.098 ** | −0.100 ** | −0.056 | −0.031 |
Primary Caregiver Characteristics | ||||
Black (ref. White) | −0.042 | −0.057 | −0.035 | −0.102 * |
Hispanic | 0.133 *** | 0.138 *** | 0.157 *** | 0.131 ** |
Asian | 0.158 *** | 0.250 *** | 0.166 ** | 0.252 *** |
Other | 0.032 | 0.121 † | 0.059 | 0.100 |
High school (ref. less than HS) | 0.008 | −0.001 | 0.030 | 0.015 |
Some college | −0.022 | 0.003 | −0.005 | 0.016 |
Bachelor’s or higher | 0.088 * | 0.139 ** | 0.113 * | 0.135 * |
Previously married (ref. Married) | −0.088 ** | −0.054 | −0.078 † | −0.049 |
Never married | −0.088 ** | −0.102 ** | −0.080 * | −0.066 † |
Age | −0.002 | 0.002 | −0.004 | 0.000 |
Depressive symptoms | −0.012 | 0.002 † | −0.024 * | −0.020 |
Educational expectation | 0.072 ** | 0.103 *** | 0.087 * | 0.082 * |
Volunteer for school | 0.013 | 0.048 * | 0.031 | 0.029 |
PTO attendance | 0.002 | −0.007 | 0.020 | 0.014 |
Home environment | ||||
Cognitive stimulation | 0.001 | −0.016 | 0.000 | −0.018 |
Emotional support | −0.014 | −0.009 | −0.016 | −0.001 |
Caregiver parenting stress | −0.016 † | −0.033 ** | −0.010 | −0.043 *** |
(ref. Family below poverty line) Family poverty 100–199% | 0.058 † | 0.057 † | 0.062 † | 0.106 ** |
Family poverty above 200% | 0.114 *** | 0.097 ** | 0.077 * | 0.125 ** |
Discussing Religion & Traditions | 0.016 * | 0.021 † | 0.008 | 0.017 |
Midwest (ref. Northeast) | −0.030 | −0.047 | −0.032 | 0.016 |
South | 0.007 | −0.001 | −0.010 | 0.040 |
West | −0.043 | 0.016 | −0.029 | 0.015 |
Suburb (ref. city) | −0.018 | 0.040 | −0.019 | −0.045 |
Town/rural | −0.007 | 0.015 | −0.020 | 0.023 |
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Before EB-Matching | After EB-Matching | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Spanked %/M(SD) | Comparison %/M(SD) | Spanked %/M(SD) | Comparison %/M(SD) | |
Child characteristics at age 5 | ||||
Approaches to learning | 2.82 *** (0.79) | 3.00 (0.76) | 2.84 (0.73) | 2.84 (1.15) |
Inhibitory control | 4.62 *** (1.55) | 5.02 (1.43) | 4.67 (1.38) | 4.67 (2.18) |
Cognitive flexibility | 13.93 *** (3.88) | 14.43 (3.56) | 13.96 (3.57) | 13.96 (5.60) |
Working memory | 428.61 *** (33.84) | 435.81 (33.88) | 428.81 (32.20) | 428.82 (48.64) |
Externalizing behaviors | 1.73 *** (0.77) | 1.55 (0.71) | 1.72 (0.73) | 1.72 (1.27) |
Boy (ref. Girls) | 56 *** | 0.51 | 0.56 | 0.56 |
Age (months) | 67.57 (5.43) | 67.44 (4.95) | 67.50 (4.86) | 67.49 (7.71) |
With disability | 23 *** | 19 | 21 | 21 |
Had center-based care | 54 | 56 | 53 | 53 |
Private school (ref. public) | 0.12 *** | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.10 |
Primary caregiver demo-graphics & behaviors | ||||
White (ref) | 50 *** | 61 | 47 | 47 |
Black | 19 *** | 10 | 18 | 18 |
Hispanic | 23 * | 21 | 24 | 24 |
Asian | 4 * | 5 | 7 | 7 |
Other | 4 * | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Less than HS (ref.) | 11 *** | 8 | 12 | 12 |
High school | 30 *** | 24 | 29 | 29 |
Some college | 30 *** | 26 | 29 | 29 |
Bachelor’s or higher | 29 *** | 43 | 30 | 30 |
Married (ref.) | 66 *** | 75 | 67 | 67 |
Previously married | 13 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
Never married | 21 *** | 14 | 20 | 20 |
Age | 32.36 *** (6.70) | 34.16 (6.67) | 32.49 (6.00) | 32.49 (8.49) |
Depressive symptoms | 1.44 *** (0.91) | 1.23 (0.63) | 1.41 (0.74) | 1.41 (1.37) |
Educational expectation | 76 *** | 83 | 78 | 78 |
Volunteer for school | 51 *** | 60 | 50 | 50 |
PTO attendance | 38 | 36 | 39 | 39 |
Home environment | ||||
Cognitive stimulation | 25.71 *** (5.00) | 26.44 (4.79) | 25.67 (4.90) | 25.67 (8.29) |
Emotional support | 14.74 *** (1.83) | 15.09 (1.61) | 14.73 (1.65) | 14.73 (2.71) |
PCG Parenting stress | 8.65 *** (3.10) | 7.61 (2.75) | 8.60 (2.76) | 8.59 (4.67) |
Family below poverty (ref.) | 35 *** | 23 | 34 | 34 |
Family poverty 100–199% | 26 *** | 21 | 26 | 26 |
Family poverty above 200% | 39 *** | 56 | 40 | 40 |
Discussing Religion and Family Traditions | 3.75 *** (1.48) | 3.63 (1.45) | 3.75 (1.35) | 3.75 (1.97) |
Northeast (ref.) | 10 *** | 18 | 11 | 11 |
Midwest | 15 *** | 23 | 15 | 15 |
South | 53 *** | 34 | 50 | 50 |
West | 22 * | 25 | 24 | 24 |
City (ref.) | 32 | 31 | 34 | 34 |
Suburb | 30 *** | 36 | 33 | 33 |
Town/rural | 38 *** | 33 | 33 | 33 |
% Covariates differed | 86% | 0% | ||
Ns a | 1830–1870 | 9340–9380 | 2070–2110 | 10,680–10,720 |
Spanked vs. Not Spanked | ||
---|---|---|
Age 6.5 | Age 7.5 | |
Before matching: Full sample | ||
Spanking at age 5.5 | −0.079 ** | −0.071 * |
Caregiver parenting stress | −0.016 † | −0.033 ** |
(ref. Family below the poverty line) | ||
Family 100–199% of the poverty line | 0.058 † | 0.057 † |
Family 200% above the poverty line | 0.114 *** | 0.097 ** |
After EB-matching: Full sample | ||
Spanking at age 5.5 | −0.081 *** | −0.067 ** |
Caregiver parenting stress | −0.010 | −0.043 *** |
(ref. Family below the poverty line) | ||
Family 100–199% of the poverty line | 0.062 † | 0.106 ** |
Family 200% above the poverty line | 0.077 * | 0.125 ** |
After matching: excluding spanking 2+ times (0 vs. 1) | ||
Spanking at age 5.5 | −0.071 * | −0.070 * |
Caregiver parenting stress | −0.015 | −0.042 ** |
(ref. Family below the poverty line) | ||
Family 100–199% of the poverty line | 0.055 | 0.089 * |
Family 200% above the poverty line | 0.073 † | 0.123 ** |
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Kang, J.; Rodriguez, C.M. Spanking and Children’s Approaches to Learning: Estimates from a Longitudinal Matched-Sample Design. Behav. Sci. 2025, 15, 658. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050658
Kang J, Rodriguez CM. Spanking and Children’s Approaches to Learning: Estimates from a Longitudinal Matched-Sample Design. Behavioral Sciences. 2025; 15(5):658. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050658
Chicago/Turabian StyleKang, Jeehye, and Christina M. Rodriguez. 2025. "Spanking and Children’s Approaches to Learning: Estimates from a Longitudinal Matched-Sample Design" Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 5: 658. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050658
APA StyleKang, J., & Rodriguez, C. M. (2025). Spanking and Children’s Approaches to Learning: Estimates from a Longitudinal Matched-Sample Design. Behavioral Sciences, 15(5), 658. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050658