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Author Topic:   Spanking Kids Increases Risk of Sexual Problems as Adults, New Research Shows
goatgirl
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posted March 18, 2008 04:34 PM           Edit/Delete Message
http://www.naturalchild.org/research/spanking_problems.html

Spanking Kids Increases Risk of Sexual Problems as Adults, New Research Shows

February 28, 2008

DURHAM, N.H. -– Children who are spanked or victims of other corporal punishment are more likely to have sexual problems as a teen or adult, according to new research presented today by Murray Straus, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire.

Widely considered the foremost researcher in his field, Straus presented his new research findings at the American Psychological Association’s Summit on Violence and Abuse in Relationships: Connecting Agendas and Forging New Directions held Feb. 28 and 29 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda, MD.

Straus analyzed the results of four studies and found that spanking and other corporal punishment by parents is associated with an increased probability of three sexual problems as a teen or adult:
• Verbally and physically coercing a dating partner to have sex.
• Risky sex such as premarital sex without a condom.
• Masochistic sex such as being aroused by being spanked when having sex.

“These results, together with the results of more than 100 other studies, suggest that spanking is one of the roots of relationship violence and mental health problems. Because there is 93 percent agreement between studies that investigated harmful side effects of spanking, and because over 90 percent of U.S. parents spank toddlers, the potential benefits for prevention of sexual and relationship violence is large,” Straus says.

“Furthermore, because other research shows spanking is not more effective than other discipline methods, there is no need to expose children to the harmful effects of spanking. We can help prevent mental health problems and relationship violence from happening by a national health policy recommending never spanking,” he says.

Coerced Sex

A survey of more than 14,000 university students in 32 nations found that 29 percent of the male and 21 percent of the female students had verbally coerced sex from another person. Coerced sex involves insisting on sex when the partner does not want to, or threatening to end the relationship if the partner does not have sex.

The percentages of those who physically forced sex were much lower: 1.7 percent of the men and 1.2 percent of the women said they had used physical force, such as holding down the partner or hitting a partner to make them have sex.

“The most important finding of this study is that each increase of one step on a four-step measure of corporal punishment was associated with a 10 percent increase in the probability of verbal sexual coercion by men and a 12 percent increase in sexual coercion by women,” Straus says. “The relation of corporal punishment to physically forcing sex was even stronger. Each increase of one step in corporal punishment was associated with a 33 percent increase in the probability of men forcing sex and a 27 percent increase in the probability of women doing this.”

Risky Sex

In the second study, Straus analyzed the same sample of university students, but focused on whether they had insisted on sex without using a condom. Straus found that 15 percent of the men and 13 percent of the women had insisted on sex without a condom at least once in the past year.

Using the four-step corporal punishment scale, Straus found that of the group with the lowest score on the corporal punishment scale, 12.5 percent had insisted on unprotected sex. In contrast, 25 percent of students in the highest corporal punishment group engaged in this type of risky sex.

The third study analyzed data on 440 students in a New Hampshire high school. The students were divided into five groups, ranging from those who were never spanked to those whose parents used corporal punishment even when they were 13 years old and older. The study evaluated eight indicators of risky sex, such as more than one sex partner.

Straus found that students who had experienced corporal punishment had engaged in more risky sexual behavior than students who had not been spanked. From this study, Straus concludes that corporal punishment weakens the bond between the child and the parents. He believes that this alienation from parents may make teenagers less likely to avoid sex and less likely to follow safe sex practices.

Masochistic Sex

In the fourth study, Straus asked 207 students at three colleges about whether they had ever been sexually aroused by masochistic sex: imagining that they were being tied up when having sex, engaging in rough sex, or by spanking, and if they had been sexually aroused by actually doing these three things.

"The core idea of this study is that being spanked by loving parents confuses love with violence, which increases the probability that violence will be part of making love,” Straus says.

The study found that 75 percent of students who had been spanked a lot by their parents were sexually aroused by masochistic sex. In contrast, 40 percent of students who had never been spanked were interested in masochistic sex.

"What is new about this study is a scientific test of the idea that being spanked as a child inclines people to want to be spanked when having sex, and that this is especially likely to be true when there is a combination of lots of spanking and lots of love," Straus says.

Reducing Spanking

To reduce the use of corporal punishment, Straus recommends that the American Psychological Association, the U.S. Children's Bureau, and other organizations publicize a recommendation that parents should never spank.

“However, to make this work, we need to start by informing professionals who advise parents about the evidence-base for that policy. They need this information to be able to give appropriate information and help to parents about replacing spanking with positive discipline to correct misbehavior,” he says.

Since 1975, the Family Research Laboratory has devoted itself primarily to understanding family violence and the impact of violence in families. As public and professional interest in family violence has grown, so has the need for more reliable knowledge. The lab has tried to fill that need in a variety of ways: through comprehensive literature reviews, new theories, and methodologically sound studies. Researchers at the lab pioneered many of the techniques that have enabled social scientists to estimate directly the scope of family violence.

Straus is the co-director of the Family Research Laboratory and professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He has studied spanking by large and representative samples of American parents since 1969. He is the author of “Beating The Devil Out Of Them: Corporal Punishment In American Families And Its Effects On Children.” He has been president of three scientific societies including the National Council On Family Relations, and an advisor to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Much of his research on spanking can be downloaded from http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2.

Contact: Lori Wright
603-862-0574
UNH Media Relations

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angel_of_hope
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posted March 18, 2008 06:57 PM           Edit/Delete Message
I dunno.

I was spanked as a child and I'm not one for a combination of lots of spanking and lots of love. Or a lil for that matter.

Maybe I'm just not informed enough, not being a parent myself. But I feel that spanking needs to happen every now and then, and not excessivly either. A few good swats to the bum. And they learn. (that's not to say EVERY time they do something wrong, spank them)In today's world parents don't spank their children in fear of Social Services coming after them for child abuse.

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Randall
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posted March 19, 2008 11:32 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message
Interesting article.

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halfsickofshadows
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posted March 30, 2008 01:41 AM           Edit/Delete Message
i have been adamant from the day that my son was born that no form of physical punishment ever be used on him. my husband has never understood why i won't even consider spanking.

this article was really interesting, for a lot of reasons which i don't really need to go into here

i wonder which high school they did the study at? *i went to school, and still live, in new hampshire*

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Dervish
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posted March 31, 2008 09:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dervish     Edit/Delete Message
I don't know...plenty of those sexually abused don't appreciate sex as they get older, so why would those physically abused or spanked want to be abused or spanked as they get older? I could see learning to get into dysfunctional relationships, but that's not the same thing as seeking out punishment as love.

Also, some things just aren't as masochistic as thought. For example, some like spanking in sex not because it hurts or humiliates, but because it feels good, making all the sensations stronger. That is, the exact opposite of masochism. I wonder if this study considered that? I bet they didn't.

And then there's things like this cat...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SF7G9UjVi0

The cat may be weird, but I really don't see that cat as a masochist! (There are a bunch on YT, but not all cats seemed to like it as much as the person recording claimed, and even when the cat seemed ok, or enjoying it, many of the people were annoyingly juvenile about it to downright obnoxious, IMO.)


And the cynical part of me wonders if this study is just another tactic to get more psyche meds sold. Nor am I surprised that the profession that sells that seems so reluctant to do a study on THAT.

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Heart--Shaped Cross
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posted April 18, 2008 10:19 PM           Edit/Delete Message
quote:
• Verbally and physically coercing a dating partner to have sex.
• Risky sex such as premarital sex without a condom.
• Masochistic sex such as being aroused by being spanked when having sex.


These are problems?

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lechien
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posted April 19, 2008 10:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for lechien     Edit/Delete Message
hmm, while i think it can be an important research result, i think it might also have the effects from the general environments children grow up in?

for example in the united states people tend to be hyper-sensitive with hitting in general. but in europe and asia, it is almost part of natural human interaction. i was really surprised when i hit my american boyfriends, both jokingly and in a fit of outrage, they acted like our relationships were over...!!

also years and years ago spanking children were more accepted everywhere. but do our grandpas and grandmas all have these problems...?

also i agree with Dervish on the third one, being spanked (or even be slapped in the face) as a way to be aroused isn't necessarily masochistic...? i don't see it as a "problem" on contrary, what's wrong with being a masochist...? on contrary, my mother was really against hitting me when i was growing up, but... i must confess i do enjoy exploiting a couple of the symptoms listed above...

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Randall
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posted April 21, 2008 08:40 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message
Interesting.

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Fluke
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posted October 07, 2008 06:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Fluke     Edit/Delete Message
This reminds me of the classic "men with thin moustaches are more likely to get ulcers" statement. That doesn't in any way suggest that having a thin moustache will cause an ulcer.....
Facts and studys are a funny things, you can make them suggest almost anything you want...
What you have here is a study that focuses on one factor, one part of a BIG picture, and this one fact, taken completely out of any other context is then connected with a number of "problems", portraying them as a cause and effect thing.
I will not go into detail about what I think about this kind of "study", but I am not particularly impressed.

And just for the records, I don't support corporal punishment.

Another thing that irks me about this research is the suggestion that being aroused by e.g. spanking is somehow a problem/wrong/bad. A significant number of people that are aroused by spanking were not spanked as children, myself included.
And even if you were spanked as child, and are aroused by spanking as an adult, that is still OK... Jeez...

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LEXX
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posted October 07, 2008 08:09 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LEXX     Edit/Delete Message
There may be something to it. Also forced prolonged parental/adult to child aggressive ticking can affect a child negatively. I was tickled until laughing until I cried and begged it to stop and shrieked gasping for my breath and almost passing out and or vomiting. It left me unable to cry or laugh until a breakdown at age 18. Or accept closeness that was not sexual...no tickling..very serious..me in control usually.
As for being slapped or hit..yes, for me that puts any relationship to an end. It is one of my big no no rules. One hits or slaps..goodbye. Same for hair pulling. My hair is not some sexual "handles" nor my body a slapping/punching bag. Spanking for sexual reasons grosses me out the same as those with diaper/infantile/fecal fetishes.

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CrimsonChyld
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posted October 16, 2008 06:53 PM           Edit/Delete Message
I don't like to spank either. Boy there have been times when I'm tempted to. But I give light swats.. just enough to get his attention. He's almost 9 now, so this hardly works anymore, but when he was a toddler, just a light pat would get his attention.
And there is a difference in good and bad timing. You shouldn't spank your child if you yourself are upset. Then you're sending the wrong message out. Never spank your child in anger. If you're upset, send them to their room for a while or take a time out of your own (I've done that before). Then when you are ready and they are cooled off enough, discuss the proper punishment. I like to let my son come up with ideas for his own punishment. It gives him a sense of control over the situation and at the same time, accept responsibility.


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DepTaurus
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posted July 19, 2009 07:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for DepTaurus     Edit/Delete Message
i always thought that it made kids when there adults physcologically messed up.

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katatonic
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posted July 26, 2009 04:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for katatonic     Edit/Delete Message
i found a short sharp smack worked, as above, to get my daughter's attention and interrupt her going off into the screaming meamies - once! the second time it took TWO smacks and i thought, this is how child abuse begins, you need more and more to get their attention...that was the last time i hit her! there are other ways...

whether it turns into strange sexual hangups i don't know - i was spanked once and never forgot it or the "lesson" attached, but i never got into masochistic (or sadistic) practices in bed! but it WAS only once!

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Randall
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posted November 23, 2009 02:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message
*bump*

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"I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -C.S. Lewis

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Dervish
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posted November 25, 2009 09:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dervish     Edit/Delete Message
Randall, is there a rhyme & reason to your bumping all the threads you do? If so, what is it? Or is it just random?

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