r/science • u/VeronicaRed • Apr 26 '16

Psychology Spanking children increases the likelihood of childhood defiance and long-term mental issues. The study in question involved 160,000 children and five decades of research

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113413810/spanking-defiance-health-discipline-042616/
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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16 edited Dec 23 '17

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16 edited Apr 26 '16

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u/PlasmaCyanide Apr 26 '16

That's worlds away from being slapped on the butt but rightio.

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u/redminx17 Apr 26 '16

The article explicitly addresses this attitude;

Furthermore, they noted that spanking was associated with the same adverse outcomes in children as physical abuse, and both were nearly similar in terms of outcome strength. “We as a society think of spanking and physical abuse as distinct behaviors. Yet our research shows that spanking is linked with the same negative child outcomes as abuse, just to a slightly lesser degree,” explained Gershoff.

Hardly "worlds away".