Did Getting Spanked Turn You Into a Psychopath? [POLL]

I never believed in corporal punishment when I was bringing up my daughter.

It was much easier to tell my wife to deal with it…and for me to just say, “not good….n.g.!”

That was about the extent of the disciplinary measures I took.

However, when I was growing up, it was another matter entirely.

There was no such animal as a “time out.” “Time out” may have meant, “ma…stop hitting me with a wooden spoon!”

Spanking was a fairly normal ritual among those of my generation.

That’s why I have to question the findings of this report that says spanked kids have higher rates of psych and drug ills later.

According to this:

…a provocative new study that links physical punishment like slapping, hitting or grabbing to anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other disorders down the line.

It found that kids who were spanked or hit sometimes had a greater chance of developing depression, mood disorders, phobias, drug problems or major personality disorders.

The results didn’t impress parents who admitted to swatting their children to keep them in line.

“I think it’s necessary, especially at a younger age,” said Pamela Alvarez, 38, a Staten Island mom of a 11-year-old and a 6-year-old.

“Certainly anything to do with physical touch is a sensitive thing. But if there’s love in the family, if you emphasize that this is a home and that Mommy and Daddy love you, and it’s a safe home environment, then I think it works.”

But Chance Michaels, 40, of Park Slope, Brooklyn, said he won’t hit his three kids, ages 6, 3 and 1.

“I just don’t like corporal punishment. It sets off a cycle of violence,” he said.

In fact, Dr. Victor Fornari, the director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the North Shore-LIJ Health System, said research shows physical punishment doesn’t improve behavior and may make kids more aggressive. Yet studies have found as many as four out of 10 parents spank, and corporal punishment is not outlawed in North America.

Funny how some of us drew the line when it came to disciplining our own kids. Maybe we remember that getting hit with a wooden spoon didn’t do much to get us in line...and we didn't want to see that repeated on our kids.

In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that a lot of the new age methods of getting kids in line (like "time outs)...don't do much!

But the question is: