Children who are spanked have lower IQs

You used "then" instead of "than" way too many times. Makes me wonder about you...

Bull, my dad was spanked and was tested at more than a 160 IQ, I was spanked and test out at 140 as do both of my boys who were both spanked, when needed. My brother was spanked and tests out at better than 150. Guess we would have all been smarter.

IQ tests are way to subjective to score a 5 pt deviation. This tells us nothing. Most kids before the 1970's were spanked, or a lot worse, and there a plenty of geniuses out there.

I was spanked more than my sister, and have a higher IQ than she does. Actually, I'm not sure she was ever spanked at all, she was scared to death of spankings. I'd like to know the other variables: how often the children were spanked, why they were spanked, and how they were spanked (open hand, belt, etc). I use it as little as possible on my son, but sometimes I simply cannot get it across to him otherwise that his behavior is wrong, especially when he hurts someone else intentionally. Oh, and he was reading at 3 years and writing at 4 years, so he isn't suffering too much from it I'd say.

I are spanked once two, and now i am dokter.....;) (this is not a joke on you doctordonna)

I will say this: barring a miniscule point variation between what I am guessing is a standardized IQ test, the children whom recieved corporal punishment will most likely be more successful because they are actually disciplined. I am thirty now and many of my peers who were not spanked at all seem to lack direction and it only appears to be gettting worse with the next generations (equate this to an increase of people trying to reason with children). As far as intelligence is concerned I would say they are no more intelligent than I. They are definitely not dumb either.

So, for all of you fruity people out there who say spanking is wrong, I would like to commend you on raising another generation of people to cut my lawn and wash my car.

-the end

P.S. they can also call me dude as long as they show up on time

I think all anti-spanking "studies" and articles need to clarify the type of "physical" discipline involved. The other variables, as stated above, are very important. Often, the term "spanking" is used broadly to include all forms of hitting a child. I myself (a spanker) have cringed at parents who slap a child or grab their arm and yank. If I spank my son, I do so as my parents did to me: never ever in anger, never with their own hand (too personal) and never anywhere but they're bottom! Also, spanking should be used, I think, on young children only, and should not be used just whenever or for really insignificant things like poor grades. Most of those here who are against spankings were not spanked correctly, and therefore do not understand that there are thousands of people out there who are not even remotely abusive in this type of punishment. Controlled, non-violent spankings should not be confused with random hitting. I guess I am repeating what many of you have already said (galaxyJ). My siblings and I "turned out" to be intelligent, disciplined, hard-working individuals who are well adjusted. We all had good grades, graduated with honors and my sister was valedictorian in high school and salutatorian in college. Anyway, are a few points really that big of a deal?! I know nothing about intelligence testing since I was never tested.

Oops... I wasn't paying attention and used the incorrect spelling when referring to "they." It should not be "they're" but "their", as in "their bottom." Sorry!

Wow I guess we have a bunch of lower IQer's walking around. I have got to say that when we were growing up we would never throw a fit or even think of hitting a parent like the young ones of today. There is nothing sadder than to see a Mother with a screaming kid throw hands or kicking because he did not get what he wanted and this happens all the time in stores. Do not say to give them time out or ground them or even take things away because it does not help the kids play the system. How do I know I have 2 very smart grandsons that do it all the time to their parents oh they try on grandma but don't get to far. I know that what I use doesn't stick very long but at least they behave for awhile. I make them write their spelling words 25 times each or write a story using their spelling words or we do a hand writing hour or we read for an hour oh yes they get mad but if they argue I add to what ever we are going to do. As always just my opinion.

I am wondering if we (the taxpayers) fund these studies. It seems like a large waste of time and money.

pffft.....so that's what happened to all the 'lefties'...lol!

I'M KIDDING.......... JUST KIDDING...... RELAX!!!

Read early, read often; even if you have to pull the comic page out of someone's Sunday paper.

Also, there are spankings and there are beatings. I should be the smartest person alive; because of all my spankings, I surely lost a hundred IQ points.....

When people drink more Pepsi, the temperature rises...so what does that prove? Yet, when they took spanking out of schools, the SAT scores started falling. That doesn't make sense, come to think of it....

I really think that it's socioeconomic. Poor people can't afford books and they don't have time between two jobs to read to kids. Poor neighborhoods don't have libraries. If we had traveling libraries for kids, we might raise some IQs along the way.

A nation's economic level is correlated with its education level. All three of my cousins with doctorial degrees learned to read at age two or three. I started reading to my son before he was born, but the real reason he's intelligent is that he wanted to know how I knew what words said and meant...

It also depends on who does the study. I've seen a study on teen sex and they included 18 and 19 year old graduates and married teens as well but didn't mention it when they talked about the numbers. So, I agree... their definition on 'spanking' is not clarified, age of spankings is not clarified, and what are they comparing it to?.... Did they test the child throughout their childhood to show that their individual IQs dropped with repeated 'spankings'? These study tend to be biased if you look at what they are trying to prove. Numbers are very easy to manipulate when there's a message you want to get out.

Both my kids have had spankings, not a lot, but some- their IQ is well over 150. I was abused as a kid and my IQ is about 160 but the abuse simply made me not care about my own IQ tests. So there are too many factors missing from this study to where I will not take it as a factual study. Really when is the media going to do some real sleuthing instead of taking the one study (out of many varying ones) that is more to their liking and going with it?

All I can say is I wasnt spanked, but worse. My parents beat the living sh#* out of me when I was a kid when I misbehaved (frying pan involved), and being latino,well, some of you know what Im talking about. And you know what? I turned out excellent and I thanked my parents for it. I accomplished several things in my life, Im not addicted to drugs, and I served in Iraq with the Army. So yeah, this article is pure bull.

This is the stupidist research I've seen in awhile. There is no way they could correlate information like this. Someone is getting grant dollars to research this, so they have to come up with 'the answer." Any conclusion like this would be merely a coincidence.

It's what is wrong with alot of kids these days. They misbehave because they aren't afraid of the consequences, there are none.

Wow ... the science behind this study is weak at best.

This study fails to meet even the lowest thresholds for demonstrating a causal link between spanking and lower IQ scores. The score differences were slight at best, and I could come up with a million different possible explanations for what the actual causal link might be.

It might simply be that lower IQ kids tend to get spanked more, rather than spanking actually leading to a lower IQ.

It might be that lower IQ parents are more likely to have lower IQ kids, and lower IQ parents tend to spank more.

I could go on and on ...

Don't even get me started on the merits (or lack thereof) for the IQ test in actually demonstrating intelligence.

The link between IQ scores and actual intelligence has been a hotly debated topic in the academic community for years. Once you add the uncertainty of the meaning of the scores to the uncertainty regarding the causal links, you have a study that doesn't let you draw much in the way of meaningful scientific conclusions.

The bottom line is that the study's authors drew the conclusions they wanted to from this statistically-meaningless data.

Another useless study produced by a scientific group less concerned about actual science than they are about getting easy grant money.

Actually, this is simple genetics plus environment. Parents who (still) spank are less intelligent than parents who do not (in this day and age) spank. Stories about your mom and dad and other cultures don't matter. In the US, in the 21st century, smart people don't physically attack their children. Dimmer parents beget dimmer kids.

Second, like the authors say, beating your kids hurts them. It turns them inward, and away from an open and energetic engagement with the outside world. Hence, they know less, learn less, reason less critically.

Want smart kids? Show them affection while you redirect them away from negative behaviors. Want dumb kids, teach them the world is run by dangerous, out-of-control people who are more powerful than they are.

Bob - You came to the same incorrect conclusion the study's authors did.

Parents who spank might, on average, have lower IQ's than the parents who do not spank. It follows that kids of parents with lower IQ's have lower IQ's themselves.

What the study's authors failed to demostrate is that the kids would have higher IQ's if there was no spanking in a house where spanking is currently taking place.

I suspect the parents and the kids would have the exact same IQ either way. Put another way, low IQ may be a cause for the spanking, but spanking probably has no effect on IQ.

This is the kind of stuff that should be obvious to a real scientist, though apparently I expect too much from the modern scientific community and their statistics-driven pseudo-science.

To even begin to prove causality you would need to eliminate all other variables: economics, geography, test bias, reporting bias (people may be reluctant to admit they spank their children), and a hundred other factors.

I'm far more inclined to believe that on average spanking itself is often the result of socio-economic factors which are in turn probably more likely closer to the root cause of success on IQ tests.

I was spanked more than anybody on the planet or should I say beaten to an inch of my life everyday. What are we comparing here? Abuse is one thing and spanking is another.

Growing up in the Marine corp was a spanking paradise that more children should experience. Dr. Spock thought that positive reinforcement was a good idea until we ruined five generations of kids. Moderation is the key.(something that we don't have in this country anymore). I am a genius compared to all of the unspanked, spoiled, overpraised, get a trophy for showing up people that I know. Even Dr. Spock admitted that not spanking was a bad idea when he retired.( but what are we going to do about it now that the damage has been done?)

This is just another study and experiment that has already been tried and has failed in the past.

Look up Dr. Spock and positive reinforcement.

I think this study is BS. I know plenty of people who were spanked all the time and a few of them have IQs in the genius level.

PUH-LEEZ spare us with this garbage.

Karen, I agree with you.

I was spanked to death (figuratively) when I was a kid and I feel I'm much better off today, in spite of all the spankings. I don't claim to be an Einstein or anything even remotely close, but I do consider myself intelligent.

My husband was beaten by his dad when he was a kid (constantly), and today he holds three Masters degrees and a Ph.D. Not too shabby to say the least!

Also another factor can also be emotional abuse. Something that can be just as damaging to one's self worth as a fist in the face. Being told constantly that you are stupid, worthless, a waste of space can definately can have effect. I've known parents that never spanked their kids but what comes out of their mouth was horrible.

like damaged goods, damage the emotional spirit, the healthy loving mind..and for sure, you'll have damaged goods..not all mental or mean spirited are of DNA or of a chemical imbalance..mistreat, not give your children the precious time they need for love / bonding etc...you're guaranteed a disheartening outcome..children love play, bonding with their parents and a happy relationship with them..if that is not there, there will be many, many problems for them in their future..please, make time for your children..the most wonderful thing for them is being close with them..that does not cost large sums of money..shower them with wealth, they become spoiled, narcissistic and troublesome later...balance is the key, they learn balance of emotions, understanding, mutual respect, honesty etc..usually, the outcome is gratifying...

I haven't read all the comments but what about the fact that maybe kids with lower IQs do things more often to "earn" a spanking more than those who have higher IQs. Perhaps it's not the spanking that in turns gives the child a lower IQ but the fact that they have a lower IQ that they don't make the right decisions.

My study shows that people who study spanking have lower IQ's. Maybe they have so called degrees that end in the word study.

I agree with you. In the home that I grew up in, not only were we spanked, but there was a lot of unnecessary violence from our father. In spite of it all, my sister was tied for valedictorian of her class and she was extremely motivated. I, on the other hand, had intelligence, too, but lacked motivation until my senior year. I have lots of cousins who were spanked and they are like, musical prodigies and all kinds of other great things. There's definately a flaw in that man's research. No matter what, I just can't believe that slapping a kid on the butt affects his cognitive development. It just sounds too ridiculous to me. If they can do a study that is rock solid with the same results, I may start to be swayed. But hello, what are 3 points? And the deal about spankings being a 'short term' solution? I've not seen that with me or any of my relatives.

Given all of the comments based on personal anecdotal evidence that trump a larger study, I'm compelled to agree that spanking does effect intelligence negatively.

Why is an effective, time-tested method for parenting under persistent ack these days? I think parents have fallen for pseudo-intellectual utopian rhetoric on how spanking generates violent children or how unintelligent children grow into violent adults. Well, time will tell. With spanking on the decline, we will be able to see a measureable increase in academic performance in a decade.

And a decrease of violence as well, right?

Yes, I believe that according to this study most of the liberals in the country were not spanked as children. That's why they act like they do.

Sorry Skiddy, I condiser myself to be liberal-moderate and yes I was spanked as a child. I also have a IQ that is over 120. My hubby was also spanked as a child (another liberal-moderate) and he was invited to join Mensa.

I believe the researchers came to the study with a bias against corporal punishment, and they conducted the research to fit thier views.

What a load of horse manure. Before some overly educated person decided and subsequently covinced a bunch of folks "spanking" or as it is more commonly known "whuppin'" your kids was abuse or so horrible, people didn't give such actions a second thought, indeed in some cases, you were considered a bit strange if you did not "discipline" yours. Think a minute folks, we're not necessarily talking how we individually were "raised", we're talking something that in some form or another has been going on since the Mayflower's landing! Therefore it can reseasonably be concluded the majority of our leaders, scientist, athletes and yes our esteemed educators etc., were possibly dumber for having been spanked, for crying out loud, give me a break!

You are a anomaly you have too remember liberal researchers are always right it doesnt matter they might have a hidden agenda.

While I don't disagree with your ctiricism of the study, one would think that a man with scientific training would understand that exceptions (you!) and anecdotal evidence do not supercede the conclusion of study of a larger sample.

You are right, Russell.

Sorry Russell I have to disagree with your blanket statement. My children were(are) spoiled. However, there is a difference in being spoiled and being a spoiled brat. My children were disciplined (and yes, I spanked). They were told "No". They both graduated high school without being involved with drug, sex, and alcohol. They were never in trouble in school or elsewhere. They are both in college. The one that lives at home is 21 and will still check to see if it is okay if she goes out with friends. They will also be the first ones to share what they have with others. You can give your children material things and spoil them as long as you give them yourself as well.

I agree Texan.. There is a difference between spoiling and SPOILING and the difference between spanking and ABUSE..

I have an IQ close to 130, not the brightest but where I lack in academics, I make up for it in common sense.. My kids are spoiled but they are also spanked.. Have I ever put a cigarette out on one of them, NO.. Have I ever bent one over my knee, told them they were going to be spanked for biting another child, YES.. My children are not socially or academically retarded or stunted.. My kids also get the newest gaming system on the market, Do they get bought every game available, OH hell no.. Do they get games for birthdays and holidays, Yes.. We go on three vacations a year and the kids go every time.. I know alot of parents that cant afford many things for their children and I'm starting to become one of those parents BUT they have what they have and they are thankful for it.. My husband has a high IQ but lacks common sense.. Thankfully one of the two biological messes of ours is in Talented and Gifted and the other one will hopefully join his sister.. My oldest now on the other hand, her father has an IQ of about 72 (might have dropped more in the last 15 years), seriously room temperature.. My poor oldest is greatly impacted because of it, I'll be damned if that child doesn't try to strive to make herself better..

Side note.. MY DAUGHTER MADE VOLLEYBALL and she is #33.. My heart sings with pride, it made me cry looking at her in her little uniform knowing what she has had to do to get threw her obstacles..

I believe abusing a child might lower IQ but spankings, highly doubt it.. Some people on this vine would be total mentally retarded or mental mush from beatings.. I had a belt and switch and fists and hangers used on me.. All it made me do is hate and resent my parents.. My sister has a lower IQ and has had ONE spanking her whole entire life.. My brother was spanked but with alot more moderation then I was and he has about 140 range of IQ.. It also helps when you have some family with smarts.. My uncle was in mensa, he was in college and they had done his IQ test a month or so before he died and it was 168..

As far as this study, it's proven that lead base paint posioning in anyway shape or form drops the IQ by 10 points per point of lead in the body. Any number of reason could have caused these kids to test a little lower.. The damn study is vague.. Did they start out all the children with the same exact IQ or did they already have variances prior to the study.. Sounds like a crusade of some damn do-gooder who is against spanking.

It's curious that you clicked on this article. Do you really think that being hit by your parents made you brilliant? Perhaps you were made to be afraid to fail? Is this method really healthy?

Why did YOU click on the article? Are you some kind of pervert, LOL? What hypocrisy. Eva is right, BTW. She's not saying her relatives are brilliant BECAUSE they were spanked, idiot. Odds are there's no correlation whatsoever. Or if there is, it would depend on what they kids were spanked FOR. Some parents do punish kids for showing normal curiosity about the world, and THAT could dampen IQ. But so would putting kids in "time out" for the same reason.

History has proven that spanking works.

Well, actually an extensive study was done concerning spanking in Germany. It was determined that people who were spanked hesitated to help hide the Jews, and that people who weren't spanked risked their lives to help the Jews. It might have more to do with compassion than IQ.

My cousin and I have kids who are the same age, although, I'm better educated, she's as intelligent as I am, but she spanked and I didn't. She has had nothing but problems with her kids, and I've had nothing but joy from mine. Studies just make you think about your own behavior, so they are worth the money...if you listen to them. We just thought about this particular study and just look at the dialogue that it provoked.

I'm not sure I have ever heard anyone advocate hitting children in the sense of your last sentence.

It sounds from your post like your issue is not a matter of form of discipline, but that you never felt secure that your parents really cared about you. In such a case it doesn't matter whether there is corporal punishment or not, the child is more likely to grow up insecure and with feelings of lack of worth and purpose.

Mary, you were not spanked in a normal way. You were ABUSED. You simply don't know the difference, which isn't surprising because you didn't have good role models. It's not your fault, but PLEASE stop equating two things that have nothing to do with one another.

Look at it this way: what if, instead of spanking you for poor grades, your parents had instead grounded you for a month, permanently taken away things that meant a lot to you, or, (as happened to someone I know) had your beloved dog given to a nerve gas laboratory to be experimented on? The point is that spanking isn't the worst thing you can do to a child by any means. The worst forms of cruelty aren't physical. You were abused both physically and emotionally, and I strongly suspect the emotional part is what toke the worst toll.

NEVER call a child a loser....As they say, takes one to know one.

I wasn't calling young children losers. I meant "children" as in offspring. What, are you the vocabulary police now, too?

I agree, this study is irresponsible, typical of msnbc to post. I spanked my children when it was needed, and my daughter had honors when she graduated from college.

It is not off topic, I totally agree! Why is hitting your own children OK? Would one allow a teacher or school principal the same method of discipline. It takes a little more time and effort to discipline a child with respect and reasoning and other forms of consequences. Parents who hit, can not be bothered with the extra effort.

Really? Are you being serious? I think most people know the difference between correcting a child with punishment, and smacking a child around out of annoyance or irritation.

And in my childhood, the lazy parents were the ones who permissively neglected their children. The diligent parents kept a tight reign on things like respect for authority and respect for all people.

Most of the people in human history were spanked. They spanked kids during the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and at virtually every other historical period before our own, when a few influential people suddenly decided it was harmful. I would be very surprised if such geniuses as Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, or Thomas Jefferson were never spanked, because it was the norm at the time. Does anyone other than the people who did this study really believe that the average IQ is higher today than it was in the 15th, 16th, 17th, or 18th century?

Mary, why is it okay to put your own children in time out, or force them to go to their rooms? Why is it that if they run away from home, you can have them brought back forcibly? If you did that to an adult, you would be arrested. But children AREN'T adults, a point that is lost on some.

Proper dicipline through spanking is not hitting the hell out of your kid. I had five children. The older ones were diciplined at times with a spanking. I would explain why they were getting one and then a simple not aggressive slap to the back of there leg. I never used my hand, but rather a ruler to the back of the leg. You don't have to hit hard the area is tendor. The discussion as to why they were getting the spanking was always included and I never spanked while angry. My 2nd oldest is an honor student and a writer. My younger children recieved less spankings and are not as I dont want to say intelligent but not as productive. I believe they are less independant, and require more guidance at an older age. Though it doesn't say what influence spanking had on them it is clear caused the older ones to be less intelligent. Any dicipline of kids need to be administered consistantly and without anger. Should I have just screamed at them all the time. Sit them in the corner for hours. Balance lady.

Hopefully your birth parents not only refrained from spanking, but also taught the kids that they DID keep to be respectful and non-judgmental. Your "idiot" parents who DID raise, feed, clothe, and nurture you surely did not. Idiots indeed.

I and most of the people in my family were spanked, and we are perfectly happy, healthy, successful, fully functioning intelligent members of society. There are MANY factors that could account for the researchers' findings. And actually, some of the worst people I know -- haughty, disrespectful, entitled, immoral "princes" and "princesses" -- were NOT spanked. We could also argue the other side of the coin, that many parents who do not spank also neglect to discipline in other ways, and often end up with horrible bully children who grow up to be entitled bully adults.

Mary, I'm going to say this with as much love as I can, but you may have been a victim of domestic violence, and discipline may have not been administered in a proper way to you, but there ARE proper ways to do things. And from what I've heard in discussing this subject with folks is that there are people who grew up with real abuse, not proper discipline, and go all the way to the left with the never-hit-a-child crowd. But in spite of what we went through ourselves, we can not just throw something away because it wasn't properly done or administered on ourselves by our parents. Where my parents were wrong in their spanking was that they, like other parents, would spank us and then leave us alone to cry. They would also spank us out of anger. Children should NEVER be spanked out of anger.

First, parents should lay down and teach the rules to the children. Second, parents should make sure that the children understand the rules. Third, parents should make clear what the punishments are for breaking the rules. Fourth, when a child breaks the rule, the parent needs to explain and talk about it with the child and make sure that the child did it intentionally or willfully before administering any discipline. Fifth, IF the transgression was willful, then the parent needs to talk to the child about the punishment, affirm love for the child, administer the discipline, then give hugs and continue to affirm love for the child. This is a stable, functional, proper way. Unfortunately, it is hard to teach this to parents and it's also hard to stick with it. It's very involved, isn't it? It takes time and effort to work with the child, which unfortunately a lot of parents don't want to do.

I believe you have it backwards. If a child can not cope with a 'normal' spanking, they sure as heck will not be able to cope with the real world, as the real world is harsh and unforgiving. And, yes, some kids can be dealt with with simple things like time out and other such politicaly correct measures. But, I would be willing to bet the majority can not be and take advantage of it. "Hey, son. You just killed the neighbors cat. Go to your room!!!" OMG, that is harsh. I will not have anything to do but watch TV, listen to music, play on the computer, or text my GF. I better not kill anything else..

My parents made it very clear from the first spanking that it was "for my own good." It hurt enough to make me want to avoid it happening again but didn't make me think they hated me. I could much more easily believe that kids who are constantly told they are "no good" or "useless" would fulfill the prophecy (indeed, I could cite several examples from experience). I could also buy that regular clouts round the head wouldn't do too much for the brainpower but I cannot believe that an appropriate spanking used as a teaching tool is going to clip points off anyone's IQ.

Right, lfite. Was is really spanking? How was it administered? What types of offenses? There are MANY variables. TOO many. And the new makers-of-chaos are determined to continue pushing for adults with no boundaries - and chaos.

You might want to rethink your argument.  The word is "ridiculous".

to think these are probably the same scientists who made the studies on "zombies", yes zombies. i cant take these "studies" seriously anymore. there is a study on studies, if that makes any sense to people. Why not research more on cancer,dengue fever, the COMMON COLD even, than these idiotic things!...honestly our tax dollars at work....

A CASE FOR SPANKING

both reflective and executive functions are involved in things like problem solving, impulse control, the ability to reflect on one's actions and understand the feelings of others; these are skills we want our children to develop and that we hopefully teach them through effective limit setting. The development of these functions, which occurs in the frontal lobe, is impaired when a child's limbic system is overly activated as the result of intense, anxiety producing experiences. This is part of why children who are abused can have problems with executive and reflective functioning (can have problems - but don't always). It is possible that spanking children does not impair the develop of these functions severely, as abuse might, but spanking does make children anxious, and it certainly does not help facilitate executive and reflective functioning. Here is a clear piece of scientific, medical research that bolsters claims that spanking is not as effective as other means of limit setting and discipline when it comes to teaching children necessary cognitive and emotional skills. Again, this does not mean spanking is always bad. It just means it may have outgrown its uses. (Alice)

Fear is an important survival psychological mechanism, Alice ... (in Wonderland?). When my father yelled stop at me as I was running across the road to meet him at the age of 8, I didn't ask why. I stopped, because I had good reason to fear that tone. It saved my life! Parents cause pain and a little fear by spanking. The real world is far more brutal it causes ruined lives, maiming and even death.

I think this explains the apparent anomaly that as spanking declines as a form of discipline, children seem to become progressively more undisciplined. Is it not true that the incidence of drug use, teenage pregnancies, and run ins with the law seems to be increasing and occurring at an earlier age?

"Executive and reflective functioning" sounds very nice and academic, but suppose that kind of functioning is applied to crime and other forms of social dysfunction, like robbing people of their 401K's? What's the good of that? Spanking functions at a much lower level than execution and reflection. It hammers home one very useful lesson: that the real world doesn't argue with you, or give time-outs. The real world can hurt or kill you in a tenth of a second, if you do not carefully observe the basic rules of survival. That is as true today as it was when we were threatened by wild animals and hostile neighbors at every turn. Nowadays the hostile neighbors themselves seem to have turned into wild animals.

How is it that these studies you cite seem to be conducted in isolation with no reports as to how they correlate with the bottom line: better grades, better performance on aptitude tests, less rebellious children to their own detriment, fewer social dysfunctions such as pregnancies drug use and crime? How do these tests apply to representative populations in the long run? What is the bottom line?

As a mother of a 5 and 7 yr old I just want to thank you for being a voice of reason on here. I spank my children (both boys) and tell them exactly the same thing. The world does not and will not care how cute, smart, or funny you are if you do not have basic survival skills. The abilty to listen, follow directions, and treat people with respect.

interesting that you believe man has evolved to become more civilized and thus spanking is less civilized. I guess we could argue that with regards to life in general. Isn't it amazing how people have come to accept and live together in peace. What we just came out of a century where there was more wars then any time in history. But of course those wars are less barbarac. Instead of hand to hand with crude weapons we could annihalate thousands with one device. Man hasn't evolved to a better place. Technology hasn't made him more civilized. Its made life easier in some respects but to say we have become civilized is just plain nonsense. Thousands of years and we are no different except for technology. If everything including man is to improve through evolution something happen along the way to set that back. Besides Evolution as it has always been is a theory. Similar to the study we are discussing.