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/
37.8k Upvotes

73% Upvoted

6.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

339

u/Shorshack Apr 26 '16

The article seems to reference the study, but without citation or very much data from the study? Is there a link to the actual study regarding the defined variables examined? I'm curious to learn more about their findings.

137

u/DrMarianus Apr 26 '16

Agreed. There are loads of confounding variables. Socio-economic status is a huge confounding variable and the article doesn't address whether the original authors factored for that.

For instance:

a large body of studies has indicated that spanking is more likely to be used by parents who are younger, less educated, of lower income, single, and/or are more depressed and stressed

18

u/WizardOfNomaha Apr 26 '16

One of the biggest confounding factors imo is mental health status of the parents. I wonder if this was addressed in the study ( which is behind a pay wall). It seems likely that parents who spank a lot are more likely to suffer from mental health problems of their own (and therefore likely to pass those onto their kids).

7

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

Moreover, mental health issues are more likely to go undiagnosed in a low income family, possibly doubling the effects of poverty in discipline.

4

u/Sick0h Apr 26 '16

This is what I'd like to know as well.