Does Spanking = Sexual Problems Later in Life ?
March 3, 2008 by Liz Lewis
Filed under Boys & Girls, Children, Health, Misc., Morning News
Research presented last week to the American Psychological Association seems to indicate that kids who received physical punishments such as spanking from their parents may very well be more likely to have sexual problems later in life.
While there have been many, many studies done that show spanking is detrimental to a childs’ health, this is the first one to make any type of co-relation between spanking and later sexual problems such as coercing a sexual partner, engaging in risky sexual behavior and/or engaging in masochistic sex.
The research is based on studies done by leading domestic abuse researcher Murray Straus. Dr Straus, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire, analysed the results of four studies that were part of the International Dating Violence Study, a survey of more than 14,000 university students at 68 universities in 32 countries.
Straus found that ”…both men and women who had experienced corporal punishment as children were less than 10 percent more likely than those who had not been spanked to verbally coerce sex from a partner.”
But Straus is quick to clarify the meaning of these results, saying that while spanking does appear to increase the chances of sexual problems later in life for some people, it cannot be seen as a ‘one-to-one causation.’ In other words, there is often more at play here than the occasional spanking.
Either way, sounds like yet another good reason to avoid spanking the child…
What do you think?
(source)
It’s a difficult subject to talk about.
Sure, spanking isn’t ethical… But there are different gradations in physical punishment. You could just tap them on the buttocks or give a ’serious’ beating.
Then there’s also different gradations in psychological punishment / disciplining. You can just give your child some kind of a lecture, try to talk to them, OR you could lock them up in the basement for an hour.
Locking up a child to discipline them isn’t any better than a tap on the buttocks. I think.
So you should try to figure out what works best for your child and remains ethical.
If you can’t keep your kid in control, then find some pedagogic guidance. It’s definitely a lot better than resorting to serious physical or psychological punishment. These will both undeniably affect your child’s behavior in the future.
Based on the article I read on it, it sounds like it’s much too vague and un-scientific of a survey to be able to draw any real conclusions. It was a survey of 440 people, all in the same age group (teenagers), … thus pretty much statistically insignificant… and basically all it asked was “do you have risky sex” and “did you get spanked as a kid.” If the teen answered yes to both, they connected the two, even though there could be hundreds of other factors involved. Plus they state themselves that there could be other factors involved and that the way the spanking is done could also be a factor.
This “study,” especially when using it as a source for a blanket “all spanking is bad” argument, should not be read with just a grain of salt, more like a whole silo.
I’m not a parent because I’m only 12, but my friend consistantly gets spanked for the very little mistakes she and her sister makes. I think it’s a very cruel thing to do especially to young children because they are fragile living creatures. Now, I know you might be thinking ‘Well, your a child so of course you don’t like spankings’. Well who does?! When your spanking your child for acting a certain way that you think they should be beaten, think about how you felt when you were little and getting spankings. And just think about how that could really effect your child, not only sexually, as they are saying, but mentally, and physically. You shouldn’t want your child to grow up to be the person with messed up kids and have problems because they were beaten as children. Thank you for reading my quite long coment
Spanking the child really is a controversal issue… with studies indicating one thing and another. Straus was very careful to say in his study results that there is a possibility that those that were spanked ‘could’ have sexual problems later in life but that you could look at the spanking alone as the problem – that there are more issues than just one at play.
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for sharing your opinion…you are very right in saying that parents should think about what they are doing before they do it. And that no one should be beaten.
My father believes that spanking is the solution, it’s NOT!!!!!
So far, I’ve seen some sensible comments, and some comments that reflect the brainwashing done by discredited so-called researchers like Straus. All of his studies were discounted by his professional peers as being opinions without valid scientific basis or properly formulated data. Just follow the money trail, and one can easily see that Straus/ nonsense was paid for (funding grants) by a number of anti-spanking groups, who donated monies or endowed studies that would attempt to validate their erroneous claims.
To be sure, spankings given for the slightest mistake are definitely abusive. Corporal punishment should be retained as a rarely used severe consequence of disobedience. If a parent depends on spanking as a regular facet of child-rearing, than that parent needs professional help, and fast!
However, abusive parents do not invalidate the use of corporal punishment. We don’t ban cars simply because drunk drivers kill people in them, or because some people speed or commit crimes and use getaway cars. The illogical position taken by the so-called experts is just foolishness.
There are other studies, modeled on perfect scientific principles of research, that do show positive aspects as outcomes of spanking…..not beating a child senseless or bloody, just causing a bit of temporary pain to their butts to provoke some contemplation on their part as to the reason for the spanking.
I will have to disagree with this article it sounds like it needs a lot of tweeking and filling in the cracks. I have 2 kids and my eldest is 3, I make her take time out and when she screams at me from the top of her lungs “NO”, wel I give her a spank and tell her to take her time out. I would hate to see what she would be like if I didn’t keep her under control, my other daughter is just and angle. Now I did read what Amanda wrote who has friends that are 12 who get spanked, now there is something wrong with that, once a child is old enough to reason with the spanking should stop. That is when toys, tc computer etc start get taken away. I agree that at that age is too ols and there maybe something else going on in that fanily other then spanking as well that would elicite certain sexual behaviors later on in life? The data seems flawed and the research feels forced and if not negligable? Who am I, just another opinion.
Suzana, thanks for weighing in on this issue. I agree with you in that the data does seem flawed and quite far fetched.
But I like to find studies like this to put out to the readers to see what they think. For every study that says one thing, there is always another study that says something else.
Thanks for your input. Your opinion is important.
Application of pain to the buttocks of a child in order to obtain compliance is nothing more than an inherited bad habit. The publish facts are indeed true. There are plently of people who can attest to the reality of the sexual dangers in “spanking” children. As I’m not sure listing websites is OK, I can guarantee anyone googling “spanking can be sexual abuse” will have absolutely no problem finding evidence.
Read:
Plain Talk About Spanking
by Jordan Riak
The Sexual Dangers of Spanking Children
by Tom Johnson
NO VITAL ORGANS THERE, So They Say
by Lesli Taylor, M. D. and Adah Maurer, Ph. D.
British Psychological Society, “Report on Corporal Punishment in Schools” (1980)
Johann Heinrich Meibom, physician, 1629
just a tiny handful for a start.
It’s a bit late to weigh in on this discussion, but what the heck, I will anyway. The subject of spanking has always been of particular interest to me because my viewpoint is slightly different. I warn you that my viewpoint will upset some people. If you do not wish to read about sexuality, please stop at this paragraph.
I was spanked as a child — mostly by teachers, rather than my parents — and I found it to be sexually arousing. Of course, I didn’t understand at the time that that sensation was sexual arousal. But I learned about it later on and was able to recognize it. Those feelings began at around the age of 9. By the age of 11, I had learned to masturbate, and the primary source of arousal for me was the thought of being spanked. I was very embarrassed when I realized what I was doing, and I thought I was a freak (of course, I told no one about it).
As an adult, I practiced both spanking and bondage in my sex life. I have absolutely no doubt that that stems from my childhood. And please let me assure you, I am NOT alone. Many many people are aroused by spankings but too embarrassed to talk about it. You can’t walk into a single sex shop in the United States without finding spanking implements. Where do people think that starts?! Heck, 90% of the corporal punishment pornography even involves having one person play-acting the bad little girl being spanked. The pornography even includes the talking-to that the parent might give the child prior to spanking — all of that becomes part of a sexual experience.
Please understand that physical violence can and often will be interpreted as sexual. It makes no difference what your intentions are (none of the teachers who spanked me were sadistic — none of them intended it as a sexual act). Some people experience that form of physical sensation as sexual.
I’m opposed to spanking because if I’d been given a choice, I would have preferred for my sexuality to develop more “normally.” I would like it I *weren’t* aroused by masochistic sex. But there’s nothing I can do about that — it became part of who I am. I will always find it arousing.
Sure, it’s only a small percentage of folks who find that sexually stimulating, but it’s large in sheer numbers. There are many many many people like me. And very few of us willing to talk about it publicly. One of those “dirty little secrets.”
I’m a normal, upstanding citizen. Work hard, pay my taxes, have good friends, etc. I am not some sicko. I’m just someone who experienced spanking differently than the norm. I want people to know that this happens. Take it under consideration and consider alternative ways of disciplining your child.
I do not have children. If I ever do, I will not spank them or allow them to be spanked. I would file a lawsuit against a school if my child were spanked. I can and would find other methods of discipline, bringing in help from therapists or counselors as needed. The risks of that type of discipline are too great.
Thanks for reading.
Sidony
i just wanted to add that i have the same issue as sidony and there is no doubt in my mind that in some people for some reason spanking at a young age causes sexual arousal rather than discipline. i have Asperger’s syndrome and bizarrely don’t like being touched by other people and don’t feel sexual arousal towards other people and yet somehow i can remember feeling what i now know to be sexual arousal to being spanked when i was 5 years old maybe even younger. a lot of my early memories are of people hitting me. because of my Asperger’s i find it difficult to express emotion and can’t even talk to my psychologist about this problem because i really find it too painful. i definitely believe that the bible is wrong and i think that as parents you have a responsibility to respect the fact that your kid might not be able to describe the feeling you give them when you spank them so you idiots think you are punishing your kids when actually you are sexually arousing them but they can’t tell you because they don’t
anyway as i was saying… your young kids won’t know how to tell you what they’re feeling because they don’t understand what that feeling is. the people who wrote the bible didn’t have the benefit of modern psychological understanding. there are lots of practices carried out in ancient times that have since been abolished because time has taught humans lessons. i don’t know how high the risk is of this happening but it is a real risk and one that parents have a duty to protect their kids from. its so confusing being like this and i can’t even talk about it to my psychologist because im so ashamed of it. in a way i despise my parents for it. there’s nothing i can do to get rid of it and i can’t even act on it because i foot have the social skills to do so.