Study claims children who are spanked have lower IQs

[datachicane]

(T)he 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 unspanked counterparts. The results, he said, were statistically significant. And they held even after accounting for parental education, income, cognitive stimulation by parents and other factors that could affect children's mental abilities.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090925/sc_livescience/childrenwhogetspankedhaveloweriqs)

Discuss.

[G.]

They're doing it wrong.

The whole idea is to knock some sense INTO them.

[Indy]

They removed genetics as a factor? As in, the Walmarters who hit their kids producing more dumb kids is not part of it? Suuuuuuure...

[KLang]

I suspect the authors of the study reached the conclusion they set out to.

[Methanolandbrats]

Might be that people who beat the **** out of their kids don't read to them and do other early activities that stimulate learning.

[extramundane]

Max Mosley oughta be f'n brilliant, then.

[opinionated ow]

Might be that people who beat the **** out of their kids don't read to them and do other early activities that stimulate learning.

Exactly. I don't believe for one second that I'm any dumber for getting a slap on the bum when I was obnoxious...

[datachicane]

Exactly. I don't believe for one second that I'm any dumber for getting a slap on the bum when I was obnoxious...

Whoa, there. The author isn't claiming that any given individual would be less intelligent after being spanked, but that there's a statistically significant effect across a population. One child in ten or twenty with a reduced score could be enough to create the effect, while the rest might be perfectly fine. Heck, you personally might even be smarter. :gomer:

Sometimes studies like these are as interesting for their Rorschach- like qualities as for the contents of the studies themselves...

[rocket]

Statistics also say the average human has one breast and one testicle.:D

[cameraman]

Straus will present the study results, along with research on the relationship between average national IQ and prevalence of spanking around the world, Friday at the 14th International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, in San Diego, Calif.

So this study has not been published yet. Which means it hasn't been peer reviewed yet. To give you some idea of what Murray Straus studies here are his recent published studies:


Polyvictimization by dating partners and mental health among U.S. college students.

Prevalence of dating partner violence and suicidal ideation among male and female university students worldwide.

Bucking the tide in family violence research.

The special issue on prevention of violence ignores the primordial violence.

Binge drinking and violence against dating partners: the mediating effect of antisocial traits and behaviors in a multinational perspective.

Gender symmetry in prevalence, severity, and chronicity of physical aggression against dating partners by university students in Mexico and USA.

Cross-cultural reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale Adult Recall Short Form.

Is he right? I have no idea but I seriously doubt that it is as cut & dried as the story makes it out to be.

[datachicane]

Is he right? I have no idea but I seriously doubt that it is as cut & dried as the story makes it out to be.

No doubt, and even if his results are that cut and dried, it'd be pretty foolish to bet the bank on the conclusions of a single study.

Anecdotally (which is worth precisely nada), my 10-yr old daughter has never been spanked, is almost unsettlingly well-behaved, and scores TAG in three subjects. Frankly, it's kind of creepy waiting for the big karma hammer to drop, especially with puberty on the horizon :eek:

[Tifosi24]

Seeing as this article a still a working paper, I can't believe I am commenting on it, but I was able to obtain a masters degree after being spanked. Besides, a less than 3 point drop in IQ after five years is nothing.

[emjaya]

How do you test a 2yo's IQ? And what do they mean by spanking; a "don't touch" pat on the hand or a doubled-up power cord across the back of the legs?

[chop456]

Missed this until just now.


Seems to me that the research is backwards. The ones getting spanked are already dumb. That's why their behavior necessitates it. :D

[datachicane]

Missed this until just now.


Seems to me that the research is backwards. The ones getting spanked are already dumb. That's why their behavior necessitates it. :D

:rofl::thumbup: