Estimating the Association Between Spanking and Early Childhood Development Using Between- and Within-Child Analyses.

Objective: Most research establishing the association between spanking and child development has used cross-sectional data and correlational methods in high-income countries, raising questions about the internal (i.e., causality) and external (e.g., generalizability) validity of this work. The main objective of this study is to use more internally valid methods to assess the links between spanking and developmental outcomes in four low- and- middle-income countries. Method: This study employs data from four longitudinal studies conducted in Bhutan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, comprising 3,048 young children (M_age = 53.11 months, SD = 9.16 in the first round of data collection), which used comparable information on parent reports of spanking and direct assessments of children's development measured by the International Development and Early Learning Assessment. Results: Findings from random- and fixed-effects models that use both between- and within-child variation show that spanking relates to an array of negative cognitive, social–emotional, and motor outcomes. Yet, the results also demonstrate heterogeneity in estimates between sites, which warrants further investigation. Conclusions: These results, along with prior evidence, indicate that spanking might harm the early developmental skills that serve as children's foundation for lifelong well-being. Therefore, considering issues of human rights, existing evidence, and following a precautionary principle, policymakers, and practitioners should invest in strategies aimed at preventing and reducing spanking and other forms of violence against children across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]