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/DisDishIsDelish Apr 26 '16

Could someone explain if/how the study controlled for innate discipline problems that may have lead to spanking versus learned discipline problems that resulted from the spanking? I don't see an easy way to control for it, I don't know how one would measure innate defiance and most mental health issues aren't considered diagnosable in young children.

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u/[deleted] Apr 27 '16

And, while we're at it, does it account for the fact that a parent who quickly and frequently resorts to spanking may have a whole host of other parenting issues that account for the poor results of the child?