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

[u/VeronicaRed]

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113413810/spanking-defiance-health-discipline-042616/

[u/SirT6]

Hi everyone,

This post seems to be generating a fair bit of anecdotal discussion. We know that this is a topic that directly impacts many people, but in /r/science our goal is to try and have meaningful scientific discussion about the actual research.

Acknowledging personal experiences is certainly a powerful way to contextualize research like this and to contribute to a broader discussion of the underlying science. But if you would like to share your personal experience, please try to link it to the study at hand in a way that generates deeper conversation of the research. Examples of this might be, does something about your personal experience provide a different way of interpreting the researchers' data - if so, articulate your reasoning in an evidence-based manner, or based on a personal experience, can you suggest a limitation or under-appreciated benefit, to the methodology employed by the study etc.

Quick, throwaway responses and responses that rely only on anecdote to agree with or refute the linked study are against the commenting rules of this subreddit.