Claim: Spanking kids can cause long-term harm: Canada study.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: spanking their children were three times more likely to also report using forms of punishment considered abusive to the researchers "such as beating, burning, kicking, hitting with an object somewhere other than the buttocks, or shaking a child less than 2 years old" than mothers who did not report spanking. The authors found that any spanking was associated with increased risk of abuse, and that there were strong associations between abuse and spanking with an object. Adam Zolotor, the study's lead author, noted that "increases in the frequency of spanking are associated with increased odds of abuse, and mothers who

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: in children's aggressive behavior. The few existing randomized controlled trials used to investigate physical punishment have shown that it is not more effective than other methods in eliciting children's compliance. A 2002 meta-analysis indicated that spanking did increase children's immediate compliance with parents' commands. However, according to Gershoff, those findings were overly influenced by one study, which found a strong relationship but had a small sample size (only sixteen children studied). A later analysis found that spanking children was not more effective than giving children time-outs in eliciting immediate compliance, and that spanking led to a reduction in long‑term compliance.

title: Elizabeth Gershoff
text: on child and youth development, and the efficacy of early childhood and parental educational programs. In 2016, Gershoff and her colleagues published the results of a meta-analysis of the effects of corporal punishment and physical abuse on children. The studies included in the meta-analysis involved more than 160,000 children and spanned over a 50 year period. The results provided clear evidence in support of the view that spanking children is harmful. The more children were spanked, the more likely they were to experience anti-social behavior, aggression, mental health problems, and cognitive difficulties. The effects of spanking were indistinguishable from the

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: reductions in children’s aggression [...] Spanking consistently predicted increases in children’s aggression over time, regardless of how aggressive children were when the spanking occurred". A 2010 study at Tulane University found a 50% greater risk of aggressive behavior two years later in young children who were spanked more than twice in the month before the study began. The study controlled for a wide variety of confounding variables, including initial levels of aggression in the children. According to the study's leader, Catherine Taylor, this suggests that "it's not just that children who are more aggressive are more likely to be spanked."

title: Spanking
text: discipline, studies have shown that parents tend to apply physical punishment inconsistently and tend to spank more often when they are angry or under stress. The use of corporal punishment by parents increases the likelihood that children will suffer physical abuse, and most documented cases of physical abuse in Canada and the United States begin as disciplinary spankings. If a child is frequently spanked, this form of corporal punishment tends to become less effective at modifying behavior over time (also known as extinction). In response to decreased effectiveness of spanking, some parents increase the frequency or severity of spanking or

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: report spanking on the buttocks with an object–such as a belt or a switch–are nine times more likely to report abuse". One study reported by Murray Straus in 2001 found that 40% of 111 mothers surveyed were worried that they could possibly hurt their children by using corporal punishment. Numerous studies have found increased risk of impaired child development from the use of corporal punishment. Corporal punishment by parents has been linked to increased aggression, mental health problems, impaired cognitive development, and drug and alcohol abuse. Many of these results are based on large longitudinal studies controlling for various confounding

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: spanking for managing undesired behavior". In particular, the AAP believes that any corporal punishment methods other than open-hand spanking on the buttocks or extremities, including striking with an object, striking which leaves marks lasting longer than a few minutes, pulling by the hair, jerking a child's arm and shaking a child, "should never be used". In the AAP's opinion, such punishments, as well as "physical punishment delivered in anger with intent to cause pain", are "unacceptable and may be dangerous to the health and well-being of the child." They also point out that "The more children are spanked, the more

title: Spanking
text: is thought to reflect the child's perception that hitting is the way to deal with anger and frustration. There are also a number of documented adverse physical, mental, and emotional effects of spanking and other forms of corporal punishment, including various physical injuries, increased anxiety, depression, and antisocial behavior. Children who were spanked during childhood are more likely to abuse their own children and spouse. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states no child under the age of two should be spanked. Additionally, the AAP recommends that primary care providers (e.g., pediatricians and family medicine physicians) begin to discuss parents'

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: as defiance and attachment to "delinquent" peer groups and encourages an acceptance of aggression and violence as acceptable responses to conflicts and problems. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, "The research that is available supports the position that spanking and other forms of physical punishment are associated with negative child outcomes. The Canadian Paediatric Society, therefore, recommends that physicians strongly discourage disciplinary spanking and all other forms of physical punishment". The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health of the United Kingdom opposes corporal punishment of children in all circumstances, stating that "it is never appropriate to hit or beat

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: less effective to use". The AAP believes that spanking as a form of discipline can easily lead to abuse, noting also that spanking children younger than 18 months of age increases the chance of physical injury. The United States' National Association of Social Workers "opposes the use of physical punishment in homes, schools, and all other institutions where children are cared for and educated." Paulo Pinheiro asserts that "The [UN study] should mark a turning point—an end to adult justification of violence against children, whether accepted as 'tradition' or disguised as 'discipline' [...] Children’s uniqueness—their potential and vulnerability, their dependence

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: the University of Manitoba indicated that people who reported being "pushed, grabbed, shoved, slapped or hit" even "sometimes" as children suffered more mood disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and mania, along with more dependence on drugs or alcohol in adulthood. Those who reported experiencing "severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, or exposure to intimate partner violence" were not included in the results. According to the researchers, the findings "provide evidence that harsh physical punishment independent of child maltreatment is related to mental disorders". An earlier Canadian study gave similar results. Preliminary results from neuroimaging studies

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: between popular opinion and empirical evidence may be rooted in cognitive dissonance. In countries such as the US and UK, spanking is legal but overt child abuse is both illegal and highly stigmatized socially. Because of this, any parent who has ever spanked a child would find it extremely difficult to accept the research findings. If they did acknowledge, even in the smallest way, that spanking was harmful, they would likely feel they are admitting they harmed their own child and thus are a child abuser. Similarly, adults who were spanked as children often face similar cognitive dissonance, because admitting

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: negative outcomes in children subjected to spanking and corporal punishment, but found the overall relationship to be "trivial" or nearly so. However, Ferguson acknowledged this still indicates harmful outcomes and noted some limitations of his analysis, stating "On the other hand, there was no evidence from the current meta-analysis to indicate that spanking or CP held any particular advantages. There appears, from the current data, to be no reason to believe that spanking/CP holds any benefits related to the current outcomes, in comparison to other forms of discipline." A 2016 meta-analysis of five decades of research found positive associations between

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: In many cultures, parents have historically been regarded as having the right, if not the duty, to physically punish misbehaving children in order to teach appropriate behavior. Researchers, on the other hand, point out that corporal punishment typically has the opposite effect, leading to more aggressive behavior in children and less long-term obedience. Other adverse effects, such as depression, anxiety, anti-social behavior and increased risk of physical abuse, have also been linked to the use of corporal punishment by parents. Evidence shows that spanking and other physical punishments, while nominally for the purpose of child discipline, are inconsistently applied, often

title: Corporal punishment of minors in the United States
text: spanking when angry and for trivial misdeeds, such as minor social transgressions by children. Those mothers who spanked tended to rely on spanking as a punishment rather than using it as a "last resort". These episodes of corporal punishment were not usually effective in stopping the unwanted behaviour. According to the study's lead author, George Holden, “The recordings show that most parents responded either impulsively or emotionally, rather than being intentional with their discipline”, contrary to the advice of spanking advocates. The audio recordings used in the study revealed that mothers tended to spank their children, of varying ages, an

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: anger they report as adults, the more likely they are to spank their own children, the more likely they are to approve of hitting a spouse, and the more marital conflict they experience as adults" and that "spanking has been associated with higher rates of physical aggression, more substance abuse, and increased risk of crime and violence when used with older children and adolescents". The AAP believes that corporal punishment polarizes the parent-child relationship, reducing the amount of spontaneous cooperation on the part of the child. In their words, "[R]eliance on spanking as a discipline approach makes other discipline strategies

title: Spanking
text: boys have been spanked more than girls. In the United States, the spanking of infants is common, with toddler-age children being spanked the most. The main reasons parents give for spanking children are to make children more compliant and to promote better behavior, especially to put a stop to children's aggressive behaviors. However, research has indicated that spanking (or any other form of corporal punishment), tends to have the opposite effect. Children who are physically punished more often tend to obey parents less with time, and to develop more aggressive behaviors, including toward other children. This increase in aggressive behavior

title: Aggression
text: physical punishment has been found to predict some increase in child aggression regardless of culture. While these associations do not prove causality, a number of longitudinal studies suggest that the experience of physical punishment has a direct causal effect on later aggressive behaviors. In examining several longitudinal studies that investigated the path from disciplinary spanking to aggression in children from preschool age through adolescence, Gershoff concluded: "Spanking consistently predicted increases in children's aggression over time, regardless of how aggressive children were when the spanking occurred". similar results were found by Catherine Taylor at Tulane University in 2010. Family violence researcher

title: Corporal punishment in the home
text: change in the laws concerning corporal punishment. In their words, "Societies which promote the needs and rights of children have a low incidence of child maltreatment, and this includes a societal rejection of physical punishment of children". According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "The only way to maintain the initial effect of spanking is to systematically increase the intensity with which it is delivered, which can quickly escalate into abuse". They note that "Parents who spank their children are more likely to use other unacceptable forms of corporal punishment". In the United States, interviews with parents reveal that as

title: Elizabeth Gershoff
text: that “children sometimes need a good, hard spanking”. Parents believe in the efficacy of corporal punishment in the absence of any valid evidence that spanking is necessary or effective at correcting misbehavior, regardless the age of the child. Other research provides evidence of intergenerational transmission of violence: individuals who received physical punishment as children are more likely to use physical punishment as adults when disciplining children. Elizabeth Gershoff Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff is Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She is known for her research on the impact of corporal punishment in the