Dave Quist featured in Globe and Mail article about child discipline
"Study links spanking to later mental disorders," published in the Globe and Mail
July 2, 2012
| by Tamara Baluja
Using harsh physical punishment to discipline children – including smacking, spanking and shoving – has a strong association with increased risks of mental and personality disorders, as well as drug and alcohol abuse, a new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows.
The study released Monday is the first of its kind to show that physical punishment can lead to these disorders even in the absence of more severe child maltreatment, such as sexual and emotional abuse or neglect. It examined data from the U.S. that tracked 35,000 individuals under the age of 20 from 2004 to 2005, and found that children who said they were spanked were 1.4 times more likely to suffer from depression, 1.98 times more likely to have an antisocial disorder and 2.31 times more likely to have a schizotypal personality disorder.