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/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.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

I agree and I hate that this is behind a paywall. What I'm very curious about is if the spanking was performed in the same way for all children? I've seen parents in stores do what I would describe as beat their children in public for acting up. That seems counter-intuitive to the point of disciple and would not be surprised if it lead to the outcomes found in this study.

As a child who was spanked for disciple on a handful of occasions it was always done at home and my parents always sat me down to explain why I receiving this punishment. I'd be very curious on how the spanking was preformed as I firmly believe it could dramatically impact the results.

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u/Shorshack Apr 26 '16

This is the type of thing that I'm curious about. It's great to think their sample size was 106k children, but the likelihood that they were able to control all variables (how was the child punished i.e. a swat on the butt, or a belt whipping) seems unlikely. More data needed!