Spanking Makes Kids Aggressive

Docs recommend time-outs rather than corporal punishment

By Marie Morris, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 12, 2010 4:18 PM CDT

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Spanking Makes Kids Aggressive — Tulane University scientists have found that children spanked at age 3 are more aggressive at 5 than children not subjected to corporal punishment. (?Kelly Sue)

Spanking an unruly child may make a parent feel better in the moment, but the effects on the spank-ee are negative and long-lasting, new research shows. Tulane University scientists looked at 2,500 3-year-olds, waited 2 years, and controlled for other factors that might have influenced their behavior. "The odds of a child being more aggressive at age 5 if he had been spanked more than twice in the month before the study began increased by 50%," the lead researcher tells Time.

"This adds more credence, more data and more strength to the argument against using corporal punishment," said a doc who wasn't involved with the research.
(More spanking stories.)

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