Editing Spanking (section)

== Effect on children ==
The main reasons parents give for spanking their children are to make children more [[compliance (psychology)|compliant]] and to promote better behavior, especially to put a stop to their children's apparent [[aggression|aggressive]] behaviors. {{citation needed|date=October 2022}} However, research has shown that spanking (or any other form of corporal punishment) is associated with the opposite effect.<ref name="Zolotor2014" /><ref name="AAPSege2018" /> When adults physically punish children, the children tend to obey parents less with time and develop more aggressive behaviors, including toward other children.<ref name="Zolotor2014" /> This increase in aggressive behavior appears to reflect the [[Social learning theory|child's perception]] that hitting is the way to deal with anger and frustration.<ref name="Zolotor2014" /> 

There are also many adverse physical, mental, and emotional effects correlated with spanking and other forms of corporal punishment, including various physical [[injury|injuries]], increased [[anxiety]], [[depression (mood)|depression]], and [[antisocial behavior]].<ref name="Zolotor2014" /><ref name="Development">{{cite journal |last=Gershoff |first=Elizabeth T. |date=September 2013 |title=Spanking and Child Development: We Know Enough Now to Stop Hitting Our Children |journal=Child Development Perspectives |publisher=The Society for Research in Child Development |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=133–137 |doi=10.1111/cdep.12038 |pmc=3768154 |pmid=24039629}}</ref><ref name="MacMillan2017">{{cite journal |last1=MacMillan |first1=HL |last2=Mikton |first2=CR |date=September 2017 |title=Moving research beyond the spanking debate. |url=http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/31256/1/Final%20with%20Abstract_CRM.pdf |journal=Child Abuse & Neglect |volume=71 |pages=5–8 |doi=10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.02.012 |pmid=28249733}}</ref> Adults who were spanked during their childhood are more likely to abuse their children and spouse.<ref name="Zolotor2014" />

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP), [[Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health]] (RCPCH), and the [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (RACP) all recommend that no child should be spanked and instead favor the use of effective, healthy forms of discipline.<ref name="Zolotor2014" /><ref name="AAPSege2018" /><ref name="RCPCHPositionStatement">{{cite web |title=Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Position Statement on corporal punishment |url=http://rcpch.adlibhosting.com/files/Corporal%20Punishment%20Position%20Statement%202009-11.pdf |website=rcpch.adlibhosting.com |publisher=The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health}}</ref><ref name="RACPPositionStatement">{{cite web |title=Position Statement: Physical Punishment of Children |url=https://www.racp.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/physical-punishment-of-children.pdf |website=www.racp.edu.au |publisher=The Royal Australasian College of Physicians}}</ref> Additionally, the AAP recommends that [[primary care provider]]s (e.g., [[pediatrician]]s and [[family medicine]] [[physician]]s)  begin to discuss parents' discipline methods no later than nine months of age and consider initiating such discussions by age 3–4 months.<ref name="Zolotor2014" /> By eight months of age, 5% of parents report spanking and 5% report starting to spank by age three months.<ref name="Zolotor2014" /> The AAP also recommends that pediatricians discuss effective discipline strategies and counsel parents about the ineffectiveness of spanking and the risks of harmful effects associated with the practice to minimize harm to children and guide parents.<ref name="AAPSege2018" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Orentlicher |first=David |date=1998 |title=Spanking and Other Corporal Punishment of Children by Parents: Undervaluing Children, Overvaluing Pain |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2028343 |journal=Houston Law Review |volume=38 |pages=147}}</ref>

Although parents and other advocates of spanking often claim that spanking is necessary to promote [[child discipline]], studies have shown that parents tend to apply physical punishment inconsistently and tend to spank more often when they are angry or under [[stress (psychology)|stress]].<ref name="Guidance">{{Cite journal |author=Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health |date=April 1998 |title=Guidance for effective discipline |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/101/4/723 |journal=Pediatrics |publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics |volume=101 |issue=4 Pt 1 |pages=723–8 |doi=10.1542/peds.101.4.723 |pmid=9521967 |s2cid=79545678}}</ref> The use of corporal punishment by parents increases the likelihood that children will suffer [[physical abuse]],<ref name="Zolotor2014" /> and most documented cases of physical abuse in Canada and the United States begin as disciplinary spankings.<ref name="Gershoff2010">{{cite journal |author=Gershoff, Elizabeth T. |date=Spring 2010 |title=More Harm Than Good: A Summary of Scientific Research on the Intended and Unintended Effects of Corporal Punishment on Children |url=http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/lcp/vol73/iss2/3/ |journal=Law & Contemporary Problems |publisher=Duke University School of Law |volume=73 |issue=2 |pages=31–56}}</ref> If a child is frequently spanked, this form of corporal punishment tends to become less effective at modifying behavior over time (also known as extinction).<ref name="Zolotor2014" /> In response to the decreased effectiveness of spanking, some parents increase the frequency or severity of spanking or use an object.<ref name="Zolotor2014" />