I came across this article today and thought it was interesting. Apparently some studies have found a link between being spanked as a child and "risky" sexual behavior later in life. If this is true, should that influence our decisions to use corporal punishment to discipline our children? Check out the article and let Righteous Minds know what you think.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-02-27-spanking_N.htm?csp=34
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Hot Topic: Discipline by Spanking may be "Risky Business"
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1 comment:
This article definetly has eyebrow raising appeal, which is probably why USA Today chose to publish it. As the article warns, this correlation does not infer causation. Spanking children does not cause them to participate in risky sexual relationships. Children who are spanked often are from lower income families. Parents of these children are also more likely to use authoritarian parenting styles and are less likely to participate in reasoning with their children or to thoroughly explain punishments to them (Conger & Donnellan, 2007). It is easy to see why these children may be at a social disadvantage in general. Again, all of these relationships are correlational. My personal opinion is that children who are not socialized properly in the home probably display a variety of maladaptive behaviors, including sexually risky behavior. For related information, check out "An Interactionist Perspective on the Socioeconomic Context of Human Development" by Conger and Donnellan (2007).
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