Spank, slap, or hit? How labels alter perceptions of child discipline.

Abstract

Objective: Words shape our perceptions of behavior, and we applied this maxim to evaluating how different verbs can alter the perception of corporal acts used to discipline children. Specifically, we compared spank, swat, slap, hit, and beat. We hypothesized that (a) parents and nonparents would rate these terms differently, (b) corporal terms would be differentiated in a consistent manner across 3 behavior rating scales (common, acceptable, effective), and (c) acceptable and effective ratings would align more closely to each other than either would to common ratings. Method: In an online survey, participants read 8 vignettes with words used to label parental reactions to child misbehaviors and rated each vignette on how common, acceptable, and effective the response was. Results: Parents rated corporal actions as more common than did nonparents, but the samples were comparable on acceptable and effective ratings. Rank order of corporal term ratings was consistent across rating scales, with spank rated as the most common, acceptable, and effective response, followed (in order) by swat, hit, slap, and beat. Finally, evaluations of corporal terms on the acceptability and effectiveness of parental responses were more closely aligned with each other than either was to evaluations of how common the responses are. Conclusion: The specific verbs used to describe acts of physical discipline can alter interpretations of the associated behavior, and potentially serve to normalize, conceal, or justify violent actions.

Associations between spanking beliefs and reported spanking among adolescents-parent/caregiver dyads in a Canadian sample

“…More than five times as many parents agreed that some children need to be spanked than agreed that some children need to be hit. Consistent with previous findings, [ 43 ] these parents appear to compartmentalize “spanking” into what they consider to be a less harmful, more acceptable, and perhaps even useful form of violence. Objectively, spanking is hitting; the parent is striking the child.…”

“…Other euphemisms for hitting, which also include “smacking”, “slapping” and “tapping” children, are used to normalize and minimize the experience of physical punishment [ 42 ]. Furthermore, it has been found that the specific verb used to refer to physical punishment alters the perception of it, with “spank” rated as most acceptable followed by “swat,” “hit,” “slap,” and “beat” [ 43 ]. It has even been recommended that child maltreatment professionals only use terms such as “hitting” in an effort to condemn rather than support the use of physical punishment [ 44 ].…”

A Qualitative Analysis of Stay-At-Home Parents’ Spanking Tweets

“…Given the small number of tweets that mention spanking, we decided to use synonyms of spanking to build a corpus of spanking tweets. We reviewed the corporal punishment terminology literature which has demonstrated that parents use terms, such as "beat," "punch," "slap," "tap," and "whoop" to refer to spanking (Brown et al 2016;Fréchette and Romano 2017;Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor 2016). Based on these efforts, we identified the following synonyms of spanking: smack, slap, whoop, beat, hit, punch, swat, pop, and tap.…”

“…Corporal punishment is defined as "the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not injury, for the purpose of correcting or controlling the child's behavior" (Donnelly and Straus 2005, p. 3). Corporal punishment is also commonly known as spanking, hitting, popping, or whooping (Brown et al 2016;Fréchette and Romano 2017) and has been identified globally to be the most common form of violence against children (United Nations Children's Fund 2014). Over the last several decades, much attention has been paid to the question of how corporal punishment affects children's mental and socio-behavioral health outcomes.…”

Associations between Lifetime Spanking/Slapping and Adolescent Physical and Mental Health and Behavioral Outcomes

“…11 Furthermore, a recent study demonstrated that adults' perceptions of physical punishment differed according to the verb used to describe the act: with spanking perceived as "the most common, acceptable, and effective" (p. 5) relative to verbs including "swat," "hit," "slap," and "beat." 16 Parents who use spanking express the belief that it will result in positive short-and long-term outcomes for the child. 17,18 In contrast to these beliefs, there is an extensive and growing literature demonstrating that physical punishment, including spanking, is associated with poor outcomes across the life span, including poor mental health, poor physical health, and problem behaviors.…”