Study: Spanking may harm kids mentally

Spanking or slapping your children may increase the odds of their developing mental health issues into adulthood, a study suggests.

Researchers in Canada found that up to 7 percent of a range of mental health disorders were associated with physical punishment during childhood.

"We're not talking about just a tap on the bum," said Tracie Afifi of the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg. "We were looking at people who used physical punishment as a regular means to discipline their children."

Corporal punishment was associated with increased odds of anxiety and mood disorders, including major depression, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, agoraphobia and social phobia. Several personality disorders and alcohol and drug abuse were also linked to physical punishment, the researchers found.

"Physical punishment should not be used on children at any age under any circumstances," Afifi said.

For the study, published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, researchers used 2004-2005 data on about 34,000 people aged 20 or older in the U.S. National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Thirty-two countries prohibit physical punishment of children, but the practice is legal in the United States and Canada. -- HealthDay