Spanking Has Declined Sharply in the U.S. in Last 25 Years, Study Finds

Orang tua Amerika jauh lebih sering menghindari tongkat daripada di masa lalu, menurut sebuah penelitian yang diterbitkan di JAMA Pediatrics pada akhir Juli 2020. Menggunakan data nasional dari studi Monitoring the Future, para peneliti mengamati orang tua berusia 35 tahun dengan anak kandung, diadopsi atau anak tiri berusia 2 sampai 12 tahun. Orang tua ditanya seberapa sering mereka memukul anak mereka (pilihan berkisar dari "tidak pernah" hingga "setiap hari"); para peneliti menemukan persentase orang tua yang melaporkan memukul anak-anak mereka telah menurun dari 50 persen pada 1993 menjadi 35 persen pada 2017.

Memukul oleh pria menurun dari 52 menjadi 36 persen selama jangka waktu ini, sementara pukulan oleh wanita turun dari 48 menjadi 35 persen. Secara keseluruhan, pemukulan balita (2 hingga 4 tahun) menurun dari 60 menjadi 39 persen.

Most of the study participants were white and married or engaged. Black, Hispanic and Asian parents accounted for 20 percent of the participants. Single parents represented about 5.5 percent of the participants.

While the issue of spanking has received a lot of discussion and research over the last few decades, it was only in 2018 that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) formally opposed corporal punishment . In a 1998 clinical report, the AAP merely discouraged its use. Also, in a 1992 survey of family physicians and pediatricians, the majority supported corporal punishment, despite research showing it wasn't effective and could be harmful.

So if experts took so long to definitively weigh in against spanking, why has it been decreasing for the past decades? There's no clear answer regarding this dramatic drop. Some experts believe it's a generational change, as humans increasingly reject any form of domestic violence, according to CNN. Others point to the influence of popular culture, with television stars such as "Supernanny" emphatically saying spanking does not help and should never be used. There has also been a constant trickle of studies showing the dangers of spanking, which can result in kids with increased aggression, depression, suicidal behavior, substance abuse and even changes in the brain.

While many are cheering the decline in spanking, the study authors warn that these numbers must continue to drop. More than one-third of parents in the U.S. still spank their children, after all. And in-school corporal punishment is still allowed in 19 states.

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In the U.S., it's no crime to spank your kids. But 60 countries around the globe prohibit corporal punishment in the home, including Argentina, Congo, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Sudan and Spain.

Originally Published: Aug 10, 2020