Use of spanking exacerbates aggressive child behavior

A mother's affection after she spanks her child does little to diminish the negative impact of the act, a new University of Michigan study finds.

"There is a common belief that spanking that occurs in a positive parent-child relationship will not be harmful to children," said Shawna Lee, an assistant professor at the U-M School of Social Work.

"We were able to test that belief in this study. Spanking predicted worse, not better, child behavior over time, regardless of how warm mothers were with their children."