Spanking Linked to Social, Mental Problems in Kids, Says New Study

Children who are spanked are more likely to developer anti-social behavior, defy their parents, and suffer from mental illnesses later in life, according to a new study.

A girl in Beijing on Sept. 19, 2012. China's elderly face increasing uncertainty three decades since the one-child policy took hold, with no real social safety net, the law has left four grandparents and two parents with one caretaker for old age, and bereaved families with none. Wang Zhao/AFP/GettyImages

Children who are spanked are more likely to develop anti-social behavior, defy their parents, and suffer from mental illnesses later in life, according to a new study. 

A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Family Psychology looked at 50 years of research in the field. 

“Our analysis focuses on what most Americans would recognize as spanking and not on potentially abusive behaviors,” said Elizabeth Gershoff, an associate professor of human development and family sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. 

The researchers are adamantly opposed to spanking.