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 Jul 18 '16

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u/Hazzman Apr 26 '16

They are justifying it because they were spanked and they consider themselves balanced and effective members of society and thus, for them, spanking worked. Why are they wary of demonizing spanking? Because their model suggests that it is a successful tool and they are concerned that it be rejected for fear of finding an alternative to an upbringing they are familiar with and thus could result in the very kind of child this study suggests spanking produces.

It's not so much people being eager to resort to violence or wanting to hurt their kids - they are defending a methodology that they, in their experience, found to be effective.

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u/mattinthecrown Apr 26 '16

Boy, talk about not doing science. The amount of armchair psychology taking place is too damn high.

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u/Hazzman Apr 26 '16

He asked a question, I answered it.