Table 4.
Effect Sizes Moderated by Study Characteristics
| Moderator | N in each subcategory | β for difference from referent | Significant differences among subgroups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study design (referent = cross-sectional) | 61 | ||
| Longitudinal | 23 | −.07 | |
| Retrospective | 23 | −.03 | |
| Experimental | 4 | −.50 | |
| Measure (referent = parent report) | 65 | ||
| Observation | 6 | −.10 | |
| Child report | 11 | .03 | |
| Child retrospective | 26 | −.03 | |
| Both parent and child | 3 | −.10 | |
| Index of spanking (referent = frequency) | 79 | ||
| Frequency and severity | 8 | −.11 | |
| Ever in life | 15 | −.06 | |
| When used | 5 | −.29 | |
| Ever in time period | 4 | −.18 | |
| Raters of spanking and outcome (referent = same rater) | 42 | ||
| Independent raters | 67 | −.04 | |
| Time period (referent = not specified) | 51 | ||
| Observation | 6 | −.10 | |
| Last week | 22 | .01 | |
| Last month | 3 | −.26 | |
| Last year | 8 | .16 | |
| Ever | 8 | −.17 | |
| Hypothetical | 1 | −.40 | |
| Specific time period | 12 | −.04 | |
| Country (referent = U.S.) | 77 | ||
| Other than U.S. | 34 | .04 | |
| Age range of children at time of spanking (referent = 2- to 5-years-old) | 36 | ||
| Less than 2-years-old | 15 | .17 | |
| 6- to 10-years-old | 30 | .05 | |
| 11- to 15-years-old | 27 | .01 | |
Note. βs in third column represent difference from the β for the referent category. None were significantly different from the β for the referent category.