This project was supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant BCS 0818478) through the Developmental Learning Science—IRADS Collaborative on the Analysis of Pathways from Childhood to Adulthood at the University of Michigan.
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Longitudinal Links Between Spanking and Children’s Externalizing Behaviors in a National Sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American Families
Article first published online: 3 FEB 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01732.x
© 2011 The Authors. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.
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How to Cite
Gershoff, E. T., Lansford, J. E., Sexton, H. R., Davis-Kean, P. and Sameroff, A. J. (2012), Longitudinal Links Between Spanking and Children’s Externalizing Behaviors in a National Sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American Families. Child Development, 83: 838–843. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01732.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 1 MAY 2012
- Article first published online: 3 FEB 2012
- Abstract
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This study examined whether the longitudinal links between mothers’ use of spanking and children’s externalizing behaviors are moderated by family race/ethnicity, as would be predicted by cultural normativeness theory, once mean differences in frequency of use are controlled. A nationally representative sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American families (n = 11,044) was used to test a cross-lagged path model from 5 to 8 years old. While race/ethnic differences were observed in the frequency of spanking, no differences were found in the associations of spanking and externalizing over time: Early spanking predicted increases in children’s externalizing while early child externalizing elicited more spanking over time across all race/ethnic groups.