A new study claims that the more a child is spanked, the lower his IQ is. My first thought when I heard the study was that perhaps the child with the lower IQ was less obedient and that is why they got more spankings. The study also claims to refute that point.
For the life of me, I can’t imagine how hitting a child on the butt removes smart cells from his brain. The whole study just seems very peculiar.
According to a MSNBC article on the subject,
“Straus and his colleague Mallie Paschall of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Maryland studied nationally representative samples of two age groups: 806 children ages 2 to 4, and 704 ages 5 to 9. The researchers tested the kids’ IQs initially and then four years later.
Both groups of kids got smarter after four years. But the 2- to 4-year-olds who were spanked scored 5 points lower on the IQ test than those not spanked. For children ages 5 to 9, the spanked ones scored on average 2.8 points lower than their un-spanked counterparts. “
But how could such a study be controlled to know the real truth. I mean, are all parents that spank their kids going to fess up and cooperate with that study. There could be dozens of parents who claim they don’t spank who actually do for fear of being under a microscope. There are also parents who consider a spank to be something more or less than it actually is. So can you really measure something as unpalatable as an IQ against something so immeasurable.
After all, as the article states,
“Whether or not spanking equates with dumber kids is not known, and may never be known. That’s because the only way to truly show cause and effect would be to follow over time two groups of kids, one randomly assigned to get spanked and another who would not get spanked. Barring that method, which is unfeasible, Straus considers his study the next best thing, as he looked back at a nationally representative set of kids who were followed over time.”
Running a “true study” of the subject would probably be criminal.
Just a personal aside… I was spanked and have an IQ that falls between 140-150. I know a lot of people who are less smart that where never touched.
If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
Also read:
Southerners Spank Their Kids More
Spanking: Risks and Legal Concerns