What does spanking do to kids? The case against hitting is settled

The moment Augsburg University professor Christina Erickson almost lost it with her young daughters sent her on a journey to answer the question: What does spanking do to our kids, and why does our society accept it?

A 1957 study established the link between children who are hit at home and antisocial behavior and aggression, Erickson said. "The more you're spanked, and the harsher you're spanked, the more aggressive you are. As kids age, this lands them in all the things we don't want for our teenage kids — school delinquency, crime, aggressiveness toward other people," she said. "They look like they deserve another spanking, and that's the evil treadmill that parents can get on and struggle to get off."

Decades after that study, researchers found that adults who had been spanked at least monthly were more likely to assault their spouses. Spanked kids also tended to show higher rates of depression as adults.

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