istockphoto(CBS News) Disciplining children with physical punishment such as spanking, shoving or sl...

1. Spanking, physical punishment may raise risk for mental
health woes in adult years
istockphoto
(CBS News) Disciplining children with physical punishment such as spanking, shoving or slapping
may raise their risk for developing mental health problems when they get older, new research
suggests.
Sad dads spank more, study says: Who gets hit?
"We should not be using physical punishment on children of any age," Dr. Tracie O. Afifi, PhD, the
new study's author and assistant professor of community health sciences at the University of
Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, told WebMD.
For the study, published in the July 2 issue of Pediatrics, Canadian researchers looked at data from a
U.S. survey of nearly 35,000 adults that was collected between 2004 and 2005. They determined

2. about 6 percent of adults experienced harsh physical punishment in the absence of more severe
forms of child maltreatment including physical, sexual or emotional abuse and neglect. Types of
harsh physical punishment included spanking, slapping, hitting, shoving, grabbing and pushing.
The researchers found harsh physical punishment increased a person's odds for having a mood or
anxiety disorder, engaging in alcohol or drug abuse and risk for several types of personality
disorders. They determined that between 2 and 7 percent of mental health disorders among study
participants were attributed to physical punishment.
"We're not talking about just a tap on the bum," Afifi told HealthDay. "We were looking at people
who used physical punishment as a regular means to discipline their children."
According to the researchers, physical punishment by parents or caregivers has been abolished in
32 countries, not including the U.S. and Canada. A recent survey of the Carolinas found 46 percent
of mothers reported slapping or spanking their child in the past year, while national estimates are
similar (48 percent). The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly urges against physical
punishment to discipline children.
The researchers want parents and pediatricians to know of the link between physical punishment
and mental health disorders in the hopes that reducing physical punishment may reduce the
prevalence of such disorders in the U.S. population.
Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven Alexandra Cohen
Children's Medical Center of New York in Lake Success, N.Y, told WebMD that time-outs, when done
properly, can be effective for preschool and school-aged children.
"A good rule of thumb is one minute for every year of age," Adesman said. "Time-outs should occur
in a safe, central location where the child can be observed." He added that time-outs should be a
time of quiet reflection, and not engaging or negotiating the child.
Not all psychologists, however, were ready to rule out disciplinary spanking.
"Certainly, overly severe physical punishment is going to have adverse effects on children,"
psychologist Dr. Robert Larzelere, of Oklahoma State University, Stillwater told USA Today. "But for
younger kids, if spanking is used in the most appropriate way and the child perceives it as being
motivated by concern for their behavior and welfare, then I don't think it has a detrimental effect."
WebMD has more tips for disciplining children.
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