The Effects of Spanking on Psychosocial Outcomes: Revisiting Genetic and Environmental Covariation

The current research analyzed data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (Study 1) and conducted simulation models using parameters from the literature (Study 2) to provide a summative evaluation of the psychosocial effects of spanking with regard to genetic and nonshared environmental covariation. Results of Study 1 replicated previous work showing that associations between spanking and outcomes of delinquency, depression, and alcohol use were explained by moderate-to-large degrees of genetic covariation, and small-to-moderate degrees of nonshared environmental covariation. Simulation estimates from Study 2 suggest that genetic covariation could account for a substantial amount of the phenotypic effect between spanking and psychosocial outcomes (≈60%-80%), with the remainder likely attributable to nonshared environmental covariation (≈0%-40%). The results of the current research indicate that continued work on the effects of spanking is best served by behavior genetic research on a broader range of outcomes than what is currently available.