Unpacking the Association Between Corporal Punishment and Criminal Involvement

• Author: Bridget Joyner,Kevin M. Beaver
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221107874
• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Date: 01 December 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2022, Vol. 49, No. 12, December 2022, 1845 –1863.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221107874

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2022 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

1845

UNPACKING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND CRIMINAL

INVOLVEMENT

BRIDGET JOYNER

Florida State University

KEVIN M. BEAVER

Florida State University

King Abdulaziz University

A great deal of research has revealed a link between corporal punishment and negative life outcomes, but the underlying

mechanisms that explain how and why these associations exist are not well understood. The current study extends this line

of research by analyzing a longitudinal sample of high-risk male and female youth drawn from the National Survey of Child

and Adolescent Well-Being. The analyses revealed that the use of corporal punishment was differentially used depending on

certain parental behavioral characteristics. Even after accounting for such attributes, our models generally demonstrated that

corporal punishment was associated with later criminal involvement. The models also revealed that the corporal punishment-

criminal involvement link was dependent upon the relationship of the parent to the child being spanked. Our analyses addi-

tionally address the importance of proper model specification when examining the association between corporal punishment

and later life outcomes. We conclude by discussing implications for future research.

Keywords: punishment; criminal behavior; juvenile delinquency; longitudinal; parenting

Corporal punishment, commonly referred to as “spanking,” is the most common form of

physical punishment in the United States and is defined as “hitting a child on their but-

tocks or extremities using an open hand” (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016, p. 453). Around

the world, an estimated 80% of children are spanked or otherwise physically punished by

their parents (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund [UNICEF], 2014).

Despite the widespread use of corporal punishment as a means of discipline, corporal

punishment is frequently viewed as a violation “of children’s right to protection from harm”

AUTHORS’ NOTE: The data and tabulations utilized in this publication were made available by the National

Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Cornell University, Ithaca New York. The data from the

Substantiation of Child Abuse and Neglect Reports Project were originally collected by John Doris and John

Eckenrode. Funding support for preparing the data for public distribution was provided by a contract (90-CA-

1370) between the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and Cornell University. Neither the collector

of the original data, funding agency, nor the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect bears any

responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here. Correspondence concerning this article should

be addressed to Bridget Joyner, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 112 S

Copeland Street, Tallahassee, FL 32304; e-mail: bnjoyner@fsu.edu.

1107874CJBXXX10.1177/00938548221107874Criminal Justice and BehaviorJoyner, Beaver / Corporal punishment & criminal involvement

research-article2022

1846 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR

and having a “serious impact” on children and societies (Global Initiative to End All

Corporal Punishment of Children, 2020, p. 2). Indeed, hundreds of studies have been con-

ducted revealing that the practice of corporal punishment is detrimental to child develop-

ment (e.g., Altschul et al., 2016; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016). These studies have

linked the use of corporal punishment to a number of negative life outcomes, including

impaired mental health (Afifi et al., 2017), social maladjustment (Altschul et al., 2016), and

externalizing problem behaviors (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016).

Despite the mounds of research conducted on the negative consequences associated

with corporal punishment, the evidence is far from conclusive regarding whether spanking

is causally related to such outcomes and, if so, the magnitude of the effect sizes. Findings

from existing studies, for example, are often difficult to interpret because of methodologi-

cal shortcomings. Against this backdrop, the current study reexamines the link between

spanking and criminal involvement, using a longitudinal sample of male and female ado-

lescents from across the United States, by addressing certain methodological limitations

that are pervasive across studies analyzing the potential effects of spanking on criminal

involvement.

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Corporal punishment as a means of disciplining children has been widely used and

accepted as a natural aspect of parental behavior throughout history and across cultures

(Altschul et al., 2016). Parents who spank their children often believe that corporal punish-

ment is an effective way to promote desirable child behavior and there is some research to

support this idea. To illustrate, Larzelere and Kuhn (2005) conducted a meta-analysis inves-

tigating differences in child outcomes based on comparisons between physical punishment

and alternative disciplinary methods. Their analyses revealed that conditional spanking

effectively reduced child noncompliance and antisocial behavior. Only overly severe meth-

ods of physical punishment, such as slapping the child in the face or hitting them with an

object, were revealed to lead to comparatively worse child outcomes (Larzelere & Kuhn,

2005).

While there is some evidence that spanking has positive effects, there is reason to believe

that these positive effects are limited to only certain outcomes or samples. There is a long

line of research revealing that corporal punishment is ineffective at reducing misbehavior

and promoting prosocial behavior, and that it is harmful to child development (e.g.,

Ferguson, 2013). For instance, research has consistently revealed that the use of spanking is

associated with children exhibiting higher levels of externalizing problem behaviors, such

as delinquency (e.g., Maguire-Jack et al., 2012). Maguire-Jack et al. (2012), for example,

explored this potential association by examining whether spanking at ages 1 and 3 were

associated with behavior problems at ages 3 and 5. Their analyses revealed that spanking

was associated with higher levels of externalizing problem behaviors at both ages 3 and 5

(Maguire-Jack et al., 2012). These findings have since been replicated using a wide range

of statistical techniques and samples (e.g., Ferguson, 2013) further verifying the link

between corporal punishment and child problem behaviors.

Previous studies have also revealed that the consequences of receiving corporal pun-

ishment in childhood extend forward in the life course and have implications for adoles-

cent outcomes (e.g., Sheehan & Watson, 2008). To illustrate, Gibson and Fagan (2018)