-
Essay / The Controversial Issue of Spanking and Its Effects
Table of ContentsIntroductionArticle 1Article 2Historical Perspective on SpankingArticle with a Stronger ArgumentLogical FallaciesImportance to the WorldReferencesIntroductionIn many parts of the world, particularly in the West, there is a story that parents and guardians are allowed to spank their children to instill discipline. Somehow, spanking seems to be instantly effective since a misbehaving child immediately stops what he or she was doing. The majority of people saw this from the perspective that it worked best for their children and was a way to show them love. The effect can result in a kind of illusion, knowing that experiences are more powerful and profound than facts. The number of times children are spanked is part of their memory that they carry into adulthood. However, some questions are asked to be answered whether it is worth spanking children. Some of these questions should seek to answer the long-term effects of spanking or whether corporal punishment is best. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Below is an explanation of two articles that will be briefly explained on the controversial issue of spanking. A historical point of view and theories of the controversy will also be presented, without forgetting theories about it. By reviewing the evidence provided in the articles, an explanation will be given in order to create a stronger argument. Logical fallacies will be identified and a description of the importance of the topic at hand to the world.Article 1In their article, Rush and Miller-Perrin (2018) examined attitudes, professional practices, and ethical beliefs regarding spanking. The study used a sample of 3,000 members of the American Psychological Association who participated in an online survey and participants of whom 782 completed it with a response rate of 28%. The results are damning in that psychologists are not in favor of the idea of parents spanking their children. A majority of them, 86% to be precise, believe that it is a poor technique for establishing discipline. 71% of them consider spanking to be a cause of harm to children while 72% would under no circumstances advise parents to use it. In fact, most of them considered it unethical to advise parents to spank them, regardless of the circumstances. Most psychologists interviewed thought it would be wise for the APA to adopt policies to discourage not only the act of spanking, but also any other form of corporal punishment. While most participants were aware of the research conducted on spanking, a minority or were unsure of the implications for children's development. After conducting regression analysis, it was found that the recommendations provided by psychologists were related to their personal attitudes, experiences and ethical beliefs. The results suggest that there has been a significant change in their views over the past 18 years. The article details each of the findings in terms of policy and practice.Article 2Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez et al. (2018) aimed to examine the prevalence and correlation of spanking and verbal punishment, limiting their study to Latino immigrant families with young children. Moreover,the association between spanking and verbal punishment was a child's internalizing and externalizing problem one year later. Potential moderators were parental and cultural contexts. A sample of 633 Dominican American and Mexican immigrant families with young children with a mean age of 4.43 years was assessed by parent self-report. After a 12-month period, parent and teacher ratings of internalizing and externalizing were collected. The researchers found that there was a positive correlation for the male child regarding spanking while on the other hand negative correlation regarding spanking of the mother with family social support as well as knowledge of American culture. Verbal punishment, initially, was linked to externalizing problems, while secondly it was associated with Dominican American and Mexican children, a relationship that had no moderation. However, the study claimed that the associations between spanking and the child's subsequent internalizing or externalizing behaviors were not significant. The study concluded by showing how important it is for researchers to examine verbal and physical discipline techniques in order to understand their influences on Latino children's outcomes. Furthermore, such research would help put into perspective the contextual influences that may elucidate the use and long-term effects of verbal punishment and spanking on these children at different stages of their development. Historical Perspective on SpankingPhysical punishment of children has long been considered an appropriate method for controlling and correcting children's behavior. However, practices and attitudes regarding this form of punishment have changed dramatically over the years. According to the Global Initiative to End Child Corporal Punishment (2017), as many as 50 countries have banned parents from spanking their children. Sweden was the first country to ban corporal punishment, although belief in the appropriateness of corporal punishment was declining before implementing these laws and continues to decline (Lasoford et al., 2017). Similarly, the United States is in decline, but spanking still remains the norm. The issue of corporal punishment, particularly spanking, remains a topic under the radar of social scientists. Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor (2016) argue that spanking does more harm than good. Regardless of this evidence, not all psychologists agree on the effectiveness of spanking, which has significant implications for recommending policies and practices. Article with a Stronger Argument The Miller-Perrin & Rush article provides a stronger argument regarding psychological punishment and spanking. The article bases its argument on answering the question whether the above-mentioned approach is an effective approach to improving children's compliance and whether it harms child development. The main goal is to examine whether the methodology is sufficient enough to draw a conclusion about whether spanking plays a role in child development. Building on research conducted over the past several years, Miller-Perrin and Rush (2018) argue that different conclusions have been reached by several studies conducted over the past 15 years. Simply put, corporal punishment is harmful and ineffective because it is linked to negative child developmental outcomes. Research on negative outcomes related to non-abusive corporal punishment shows a correlation between spanking and, 52(2), 147-155.