The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported that children who are spanked are twice as likely to develop alcohol and drug abuse problems and engage in anti-social behavior when they grow up. They also have a higher rate of anxiety disorders, the study said.
Dr. Harriet MacMillan, lead author of the study, said "There appears to be a linear association between the frequency of slapping and spanking during childhood and a lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorder, alcohol abuse or dependence and externalizing problems.".
Political Agenda?
The reason that the validity of the findings have been questioned by some is due in part to the timing of its release. There is a court case going on in Canada in which the Canadian Foundation for Youth and the Law has launched a constitutional challenge to Section 43 of the Criminal Code, which allows parents to physically discipline children. The case is scheduled to be heard in early December.In fact, Dr. MacMillan said in a news release, "My opinion is that Section 43 should be repealed because I believe it sanctions physical discipline of children."
But an opponent of the court challenge, had a different view. "We're always very suspicious of studies that come from the other side that predictably are looking for anything that could be construed as saying spanking leads to abuse," said Jim Sclater of the traditionalist group Focus on The Family (Canada) Association, which is intervening in the court case.
However, a majority of Canadians, including physicians, still think spanking is sometimes necessary, despite McMaster University's research, said Murray Straus, a leading American researcher on family issues, in a related editorial.
Flawed Premise?
While MacMillan's observation of a "linear association" between spanking and later alcohol and drug abuse may be accurate, the conclusion that alcohol abuse is somehow "caused" by childhood spanking may be flawed in its logic.Other recent studies indicate that alcoholism may be linked to genetic factors and is therefore inherited. If alcoholics and addicts are "born" to become substance abusers, how does childhood spanking enter into the equation?
Could it be that twice as many alcohol and drug abusers were spanked as children because they were budding alcoholics or addicts already exhibiting signs of obsessive-compulsive behavior?
Perhaps the question is not does spanking cause alcohol and drug abuse, but rather do addictive personalities provoke spanking?!
