Spanking Kids Causes Sexual Problems
By MedHeadlines • Feb 29th, 2008 • Category: Children's Health, Family, Lifestyle, PreventionAccording to a recent study, people who were spanked as kids are more likely to have sexual problems when they get older. The study particularly concerned itself with 3 sexual problems. First was the problem that people have of verbally and physically coercing others into having sex. 
Second was the problem of wanting to engage in risky sex such as in the case of premarital sex without the use of a condom. Third was the problem of desiring masochistic sex such as the desire to be spanked when having sex.
90 percent of U.S. parents use spanking as a way of correcting the behavior of their kids. With these recent results about the problems it may cause, many parents may wish to reconsider their policy.
The study involved 14,000 university students from 32 countries. In terms of the male population, 29 percent had either verbally insisted on sex when a partner did not want to or threatened to end the relationship if the partner did not want to have sex. 1.7 percent of the men said they had used physical force, either holding the partner or hitting them. 15 percent had insisted on sex without a condom in the past 12 months. These men all scored high on a four-step measure of how much corporal punishment tey had received as children. Each step on the scale showed a 10 percent increase in the likelihood to engage in the problematic behaviors already mentioned. This suggests that spanking by loving parents causes children to confuse violence with love and increases the probability of violence during sex. Results for women were equally persuasive to this conclusion although statistically proved to be only about 85% as likely as they were for men.
The study was presented by Murray Straus, author of “Beating The Devil Out Of Them: Corporal Punishment In American Families And Its Effects On Children.”
Source: University of New Hampshire
- Do you agree with the results of this study? Why? Why not?
If this is true then a whole generation of people would be having sexual problems, because this was standard punishment 40 years ago
Lilly, the degree of corporal punishment correllates to the degree of problems later on in life.
Total, utter BUNK. Good grief!
“If this is true then a whole generation of people would be having sexual problems, because this was standard punishment 40 years ago”
Well maybe they ARE having sexual problems.
All one has to do is look around to confirm that. Or—think for a moment about their own experiences with others in life. For my own part, it’s been my experience that the majority of persons I’ve known (sexually and otherwise: mostly otherwise) indeed do have the problems described. Although many of them would never define it as a problem. That is, until you speak to their exes (or even their current partner).
Hi JR.
Figures don’t lie, but liars figure, so beware of statistics. But that’s not a logical reason to dismiss something before looking into the matter.
On what basis do you say it’s bunk?
Where do these people come up with this information?! Plenty of people have been spanked as kids and never “indulge” in masochistic sex! Yet plenty of others are never spanked and are the 1st in line to have it done to them!
Enquiring minds….and a good imagination are more likely the culprits of these interests! Don’t knock it till you try it! (Makes me wonder what position these people “enjoy”…..and if they’ve ever left the lights on!. LOL
I have to concur with the “bunk” sentiment. Human beings are complex creatures, so to say that you can draw a straight line from spanking to aggressive sex is ludicrous. Perhaps those parents who spank have a greater genetic predisposition to aggression, which they pass on to their children, which causes them to be this way? We also know absolutely nothing more about these people than what the study shows. Culture plays a big part in how people act, as well as the things they have been exposed to. And don’t forget that there’s money in studies such as these, as evidenced by the fact that the author of the study also happens to have a book.
There simply is not enough information to make such a grand conclusion, and they play the fear card by implying that spanking your child will make them a violent sex fiend. This study has all the hallmarks of a clever marketing campaign designed to sell his book.
Is there any end to this BS. Take a good look at our young kids.
I guess in 20 years they won’t have any mental problems. Because of “time out”
I am pretty sure im normal and my childhood was ” 1st thing in the am spanking for doing nothing wait till you do something” . But I love my parents and have 4 great kids.
The stats dont lie.. lol.. maybe it is just kids in college.. university students .. and i wonder what countries.. maybe people that dont go to college dont show these problems.. or maybe it is just the athletes in college that were the percentage of sex crazed stats.. o and by the way i went to college and played sports.. lol.. what i am getting at is the fact that numbers can be made to look anyway the study wants them to.. Did they do research on the disfunctional people there never got a spanking growing up..
We need another study. LOL. Lets use newborn puppies. Divide 10 litters equally. Beat one half daily for 1 year. Love other half daily for 1 year. Review results. Live and learn.
Correlation is not indicative of causation.
I have heard it all now. This is the stupidest idea I have heard of lately. I was spanked and I spanked my children and I am one of the babyboomers. I always go back to the old addage from the Bible- spare the rod and spoil the child. I am perfectly fine with my life in the terms being mentioned and I know my daughter is(she is 26). As of now I have an 18 yr. old son and don’t know how anyone that knows him (and believe me there are alot) that doesn’t say is one of the best well-mannered and behaved kids they have ever been around. We live in a small community and I couldn’t think of a handful of people that don’t love him to death. This is sooo bizarre. But I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it is wrong.
This is obviously political “science” for an agenda. Logic would dictate that those who were misbehaving the most required the most frequent spanking. The spanking wa the result of poor behavior. This same poor behavior would lead to other unacceptable behavior later. However, many people learned from early that poor behavior had a cost. 2 reasons why this bogus study fails are: 1) this would be the same as saying that because Irish children used to eat a lot of potatoes, that it led to their offspring having black hair. 2) If spanking is so bad then why have there been countless observations that as spanking has diminished, that the number of self-centered and unruly children in society (growing to adults with the same unwelcome behaviors) has grown. People no longer learn there is a cost to their behavior which must be balanced. Now, it is “if you mis-behave, we will have to blame society”. Get real - this study is bogus.
maybe its actually backwards..the people who end up being jerks and sexually aggressive simply got spanked more when they were kids because they were little jerks then too..
The conclusion drawn in this article overstep the bounds of the survey. Statements such as: “many parents may wish to reconsider their policy,” or “spanking by loving parents causes children to confuse violence with love” does not follow from the results of the survey. It is precisely the contrast of corporeal punishment and loving parents that renders spanking such an effective disciplinary measure. Also, I highly doubt that parents who apply corporeal punishment only for extreme cases of disobedience cause the children any harm. This sort of regiment forces children to consider what would make their parents punish them, and the only available answer is their misbehavior.
Couldn’t the study say instead that people with these sexual problems in adulthood were more likely to have been disobedient as children? Or perhaps: todays society is ineffective at teaching people to be considerate inasmuch as children who were self-centered are more likely to grow into adults who are self-centered.
The trouble with these studies is that more often than not, correlation is used to imply causation. I find it difficult to believe that all external factors can be controlled or even identified to prove that spanking was the root cause.
violence begets violence…doesn’t take a genius to do the math. duh.
Here, I thought Sexual Problems had to do with Falling off of a Bicycle or Making too many Right Turns while driving a car..
It is totally Crazy how they figure these test. Did they bother to see how many of these people with Sexual problems also had Developed Drug, Alcohol, Stress, Depression and Marriage problems after growing up. I would think two people meeting in a Bar and deciding to have unprotected Sex that night would have more to do with the Drinking and Drugs they are doing rather than if they were spanked 20 years earlier. I would like to know how many Lying Politicians and Corporate Thieves were spanked as Children ??
Seriously, spanking or other punishment has gotten so much press that parents have simply stopped disciplining their children. In fact, all of the well behaved and happy children I know come from homes where spanking is sometimes used. That doesn’t mean that spanking is the ONLY method of behavior correction, but it is used effectively. There are some behaviors that ar simply too serious for a simple “time out”
Another version of the article says this “Straus analyzed the results of the International Dating Violence Study, a survey of more than 14,000 university students at 68 universities in 32 countries. The students were asked if they had been spanked or hit frequently before age 12 and if they had coerced a sexual partner in the previous 12 months.”
So, what exactly constitutes frequently? Once a week? Once a month?
Furthermore, can we truly say that college aged students have a firm grasp on their sexuality, or even their personality for that matter? I’m nothing like I was in college, and was spanked as child, and am involved in healthy, respectful relationship where there is no “pressure” involving sex whatsoever.
Who are the idiots who pay for these studies?
Personally I spanked my kids twice in their entire lives and they are not whooping their partners butts.
And why is there no mention of female spanking victims?
I see only male results.
Usually these people being interviewed are hand picked and have the right answers for the questions.
I defy this person to divulge all of the interviews that were taken and not just the token few that gave him or her
the answers they wanted to hear.
Publish all of them for everyone to read.
What a crock of crap. Opponents of spanking will stop at nothing to get their dumb headed point across. The truth is that spanking has it’s place in the parental tool box. It shouldn’t be the first tool out in most situations, but it shouldn’t be gotten rid of either. These studies make me laugh at first, then very sad in the end.
Since when is masochistic sex between consenting adults a problem? Obviously risky sex behavior and coersion are “problems”, however I fail to see how wanting to (or even heaven forbid actually) being spanked while having sex is any way shape or form a problem if both people involved are OK with it. In fact, role-playing is often considered “healthy sex” by mental health professionals.
I agree that this study is bunk, I’ve seen what happens when you don’t use spanking as a discipline, the Children today have no fear of any consiquences , No Respect for elders and would just rather kick the cane out from under an old lady than help her, where on the other hand kids that do have harsh punishments are respectful to elders and are far more well behaved, I know that was the situation when I was growing up and the same for most of my friends, I’ve also had no problems what so ever as far as sex goes, I’m the Proud Father of 3 and for the most part My Wife and I enjoy a very normal healthy sex life, we don’t want to tie and beat each other up to have a good time.
This study is ridiculous, you think with the grant money they get for these studies they would research something a little more helpful for the human condition, not make up fairy tales because they hated thier childhood.
The study really seems biased to me.
The Reuters report says: “The students were asked if they had been spanked or hit frequently before age 12 …”
Hitting is not spanking. Hitting is not corporal punishment, it is abuse. Lumping hitting in with spanking taints the study - it is no longer about corporal punishment.
Corporal punishment *properly applied* - i.e., with restraint as a punishment for misbehavior, rather than simply lashing out in uncontrolled anger - is not abusive. And corporal punishment *stops* at a certain age, when the child grows beyond the simple physical stimulus/response learning mechanism and develops the ability to reason.
A study that reveals that abused children are more likely to coerce or abuse others is not surprising, and is not useful in a dialog about corporal punishment - i.e. spanking. Someone who titles a study of corporal punishment “beating the devil out of them” obviously has an axe to grind and isn’t going to produce a balanced study.
another example of wasted government money…when are we going to get smart and stop giving money to these people with there hidden adjendas…all is bad and I’m not happy with anything that happened and our parents and government made me the way I am and I too lazy to do real work so I’ll come up with these lame studies that the same people I blame for the way I am pay for. B_ _ _ C_ _ _!
The study regards “threatening to end the relationship” in the absence of sex as problematic behavior.
I thought that was a standard part of male-female bargaining.
I guess I was way off!
Spanking of children is a social phenomena that can occur in a multitude of forms, some of which are abusive, and some of which are not. What matters most is consistency and control. A parent who is in control and disciplines the child for actual bad behaviour is likely not abusing the child. A parent who is out of control and beating a child just to vent is committing child abuse and no question this leads to lots of trouble later in life, sexual and otherwise. I feel that this study does not seem to take any of this into consideration. Questions: Is the parent spanking while in a fit of anger? Is the parent singling out one child as the scapegoat? Are we talking about leaving marks? These are redflags for child abuse. If there’s a policy that bad behaviour might result in a spanking, that might be good parenting. Child abuse does occur, and deserves our attention. It’s usually not “spanking” though, it’s just a big person inflicting violence on a small person because the small person is defenseless. People learn that behaviour often from their parents, and take it out on their own children, who go on to do the same.
Without corporal punishment it’s been proven that children become spoiled, narcissistic sociopaths, who sooner or later in life usually commit fratricide, patricide, matricide or homicide. They also believe themselves to be highly intelligent and usually have a perfection complex. When the world disproves that they are geniuses and they realize that they are imperfect, they usually begin to have problems with depression that frequently leads to suicide. Many do not accept the fact that they are average and live in a world of self delusion where they see themselves as superior to everyone in every way; they are clinically insane egomaniacs. Control and manipulation is achieved through constant lying and making it known to everyone that they are important and that they are needed in all situations in life. They find authority figures despicable and will never relinquish authority, fighting, hating even killing those that would tell them what to do. If you want to raise up a demon, a devil, an incredibly evil child and adult, then forgo corporal punishment. Just remember to sleep with a gun and to lock your bedroom door at night, they are thinking of killing you, incessantly.
ah ok so that’s why i’m a slight masochist and why i still like to be spanked to this day!
Utter nonsense! Much research has made some people mad. I believe this: spanking drives away foolishness from the heart of a child. Leave your kids without discipline, and you breed beasts!
Anecdotal evidence is the idea that “my experience trumps any study done by a bunch of pointed headed scientists”. I love that whenever people don’t like the findings of a peer-reviewed, well conducted study, they say “well, my experience says differently” and call it bogus. Spanking your kids is bad period. Science says so. If you want to spank your kids, they may end up with no problems, but the data say there is a strong likelyhood they will. End of story. Calling to cut funding doesn’t change this.
Just to clarify, this study used the experiences of THOUSANDS of people and statistically analyzed the data (and yes they know the difference between causality and correlation, that’s what statistics tell you). Arguing that you know better because you raised 2 kids is like saying you know more about building cars than GM because you raced pine-box derby when you were young.
Spanking IS HITTING like any other. I am STRONGLY against spanking or any kind of child physical “discipline”. as a child I was spanked with a wooden spoon and a hairbrush often in anger and it has left me fearful and anxious as well as angry. You cannot spank your wife or husband because they do something you dont like spanking just leads to worse behaviour as many studies such as this have proven. Kids need to be given time out or have their privileges taken away I have a four year old cousin he has never been spanked as is extremely well behaved timeouts work great. I am glad spanking is on the decline but more needs to be done.
I say beat the little sobs and the older ones too. The more sexual preverts the better. If your going to beat someone, pick a helpless and defencless child, what better way to get your rocks off? I get turned on just thinking about it, where’s my wip? Those fresh little fannys just beg for a beating and what a turn on that is.
I was beaten from day one and can’t wait to beat somebody else, any takers?