Murray Straus, a researcher at the University of New Hampshire, looked at all kinds of punishment, linking spanking with kicking and burning with a cigarette. The conclusion; teens whose parents punished them in those ways were more likely to engage in risky sex.  Focus on the Family psychologist Bill Maier says Straus didn’t do his homework.

“They don’t take the time to parse out those parents that are actually using spanking appropriately and because they don’t tease that out, and they lump it in with all these other abusive behaviors, there’s really very little research like this can tell us.”

Spanking researcher Robert Larzelere at Oklahoma State University is skeptical as well.  He’s studied the topic for nearly 30 years.

“Certainly corporal punishment gets misused and overused by many parents but that doesn’t mean that each and every use of it is invariably detrimental to children.”

Even though he disagrees with the study Maier makes it clear he is not advocating abuse but appropriate spanking.

“If we look at parents who spank their children rarely, judiciously, only in cases of deliberate defiance, give them one or two swats on the rear end,  follow it up with affection and a gentle verbal correction there is no evidence that, that form of discipline is harmful to a child in any way, shape, or form.”

Straus presented his findings at the American Psychological Association’s Summit Conference on Violence and Abuse in Relationships.