title: Mothers' spanking of 3-year-old children and subsequent risk of children's aggressive behavior.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal was to examine the association between the use of corporal punishment (CP) against 3-year-old children and subsequent aggressive behavior among those children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Respondents (N = 2461) participated in the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (1998-2005), a population-based, birth cohort study of children born in 20 large US cities. Maternal reports of CP, children's aggressive behaviors at 3 and 5 years of age, and a host of key demographic features and potential confounding factors, including maternal child physical maltreatment, psychological maltreatment, and neglect, intimate partner aggression victimization, stress, depression, substance use, and consideration of abortion, were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Frequent use of CP (ie, mother's use of spanking more than twice in the previous month) when the child was 3 years of age was associated with increased risk for higher levels of child aggression when the child was 5 years of age (adjusted odds ratio: 1.49 [95% confidence interval: 1.2-1.8]; P < .0001), even with controlling for the child's level of aggression at age 3 and the aforementioned potential confounding factors and key demographic features.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations to the contrary, most parents in the United States approve of and have used CP as a form of child discipline. The current findings suggest that even minor forms of CP, such as spanking, increase risk for increased child aggressive behavior. Importantly, these findings cannot be attributed to possible confounding effects of a host of other maternal parenting risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. ctaylor5@tulane.edu
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Manganello
authors.forename: Shawna J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Janet C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rice
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010553:Personality Development; D011678:Punishment / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D012951:Socialization; D014481:United States
references.citation: Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997 Apr;151(4):392-7
references.pmid: 9111439
references.citation: J Psychol. 2004 May;138(3):197-221
references.pmid: 15264439
references.citation: Am Psychol. 1982 Feb;37(2):197-211
references.pmid: 7091864
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2002 Jul;128(4):580-9; discussion 602-11
references.pmid: 12081082
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 2009 Jan;99(1):175-83
references.pmid: 19008518
references.citation: Child Dev. 2006 May-Jun;77(3):554-72
references.pmid: 16686788
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2003 Sep;112(3 Pt 1):e202-7
references.pmid: 12949313
references.citation: Child Dev. 1956 Jun;27(2):135-53
references.pmid: 13330116
references.citation: Child Dev. 2009 Sep-Oct;80(5):1385-402
references.pmid: 19765007
references.citation: Child Dev. 2009 Sep-Oct;80(5):1403-20
references.pmid: 19765008
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2002 Jul;128(4):539-79
references.pmid: 12081081
references.citation: Child Abuse Negl. 1998 Apr;22(4):249-70
references.pmid: 9589178
references.citation: J Stud Alcohol. 1999 Sep;60(5):632-42
references.pmid: 10487732
references.citation: Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2006 Oct;76(4):554-63
references.pmid: 17209723
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2003 Mar;39(2):309-23
references.pmid: 12661888
references.citation: J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2003 Dec;31(6):575-90
references.pmid: 14658739
references.citation: J Clin Child Psychol. 1999 Jun;28(2):137-50
references.pmid: 10353074
references.citation: Child Dev. 1962 Sep;33:509-35
references.pmid: 13866395
references.citation: Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 1999 Jun;2(2):55-70
references.pmid: 11225932
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2000 Mar;36(2):274-82
references.pmid: 10749084
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2008 Jul;122(1):e15-25
references.pmid: 18595960
references.citation: Child Dev. 1992 Dec;63(6):1321-35
references.pmid: 1446555
references.citation: J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2008 Feb;29(1):55-66
references.pmid: 18300726
references.citation: J Clin Child Psychol. 2000 Jun;29(2):266-81
references.pmid: 10802835
references.citation: J Interpers Violence. 2011 Jan;26(1):71-87
references.pmid: 20522884
references.citation: Child Maltreat. 2005 Aug;10(3):283-92
references.pmid: 15983111
references.citation: Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997 Aug;151(8):768-75
references.pmid: 9265877
references.citation: Child Abuse Negl. 2006 Aug;30(8):893-907
references.pmid: 16930696
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2005 Jun;73(3):371-388
references.pmid: 15982136
references.citation: J Abnorm Soc Psychol. 1961 Nov;63:466-92
references.pmid: 13910234
references.citation: Child Abuse Negl. 1982;6(2):129-39
references.pmid: 6892293