Disciplinary Spanking Effects: New Study Reveals Spanking Can Lead To Long-Term Mental Health And Behavioral Issues

Do you spank your kids as a disciplinary action when they misbehaved? Well, parents should think of other ways to discipline their children because experts found that spanking has alarming effects on children.

Spanking has long been a form of discipline for children and almost 80 percent of parents worldwide spank their kids. But its effects has recently been revealed by a team of experts at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan, who conducted a meta-analysis of five decades of research on spanking.

The Research

Based on the study published in the Journal of Family Psychology, researchers looked into 50 years of research on spanking involving more than 160,000 children. According to The Telegraph, the findings showed disturbing effects of spanking on children, particularly in their mental health.

"We found that spanking was associated with unintended detrimental outcomes and was not associated with more immediate or long-term compliance, which are parents' intended outcomes when they discipline their children," Austin's The University of Texas associate professor of human development and family sciences Elizabeth Gershoff said in a statement on Monday, RedOrbit quotes.

Research coauthor Andrew Grogan-Kaylor from the University of Michigan School of Social Work also added the study underscored the extensive range of undesired results of spanking to children. He also stressed spanking has an opposite effect than what parents normally want to instill.

The Effects Of Disciplinary Spanking

Researchers have defined spanking as an "open-handed hit" on the bottoms or extremities. While many viewed it as a corporal punishment that can help teach children about respect and obedience, spanking can lead to long-term mental health and behavioral issues.

In fact, children who are spanked have potential tendencies to defy their parents. They also behave anti-socially as well as experience increased aggression, mental health problems and cognitive difficulties.

"Parents spank because they want to correct bad behavior that's happening right now," Grogran-Kaylor said, as per CBS Detroit. "As human beings, we often tend to be bad at seeing long-term outcomes. So what the research says is that the spanking is probably not going to correct the behavior in the short-term and it's very likely to lead to mental health difficulties, anxious kids, aggressive kids."

Stop Physical Child Abuse

There are still several people who believe spanking is not a harmful disciplinary practice. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently urged parents and the public to get involved in education campaigns and legislative approaches to reduce corporal punishment such as spanking, EurekAlert! notes.

The move also aims to reduce physical abuse in children. Thus, Gershoff is hopeful that their study can help educate parents about the harmful effects of spanking, suggesting a more positive approach and non-punitive forms of discipline.

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