Researchers examined data from more than 34,000 adults and found that being spanked significantly increased the risk of developing mental health issues as adults. According to their results, corporal punishment is associated with mood disorders, including depression and anxiety, as well as personality disorders and alcohol and drug abuse. They estimate that as much as 7 percent of adult mental illness may be attributable to childhood physical punishment, including slapping, shoving, grabbing, and hitting. The study reports that spanking ups the risk of major depression by 41 percent, alcohol and drug abuse by 59 percent, and mania by 93 percent, among other findings.

When I was younger, I was spanked once. Once. The reason why so low? Because I learned my lesson. I did something bad — I bit my dad’s hand while he was driving. He pulled over and spanked me. We were two minutes from my house and when we got home, I looked in a mirror and saw a handprint on my ass. I asked my dad why my butt cheeks were all red and he said, “It’s the FFOD. The Five Fingers Of Death. And any time you do something bad, you’ll see the FFOD.” I never saw the FFOD again. But what worked for me didn’t work for my sister as she was, as my dad would say, a wild child, and now that we’re adults and functioning members of society, neither of us, to the best of my knowledge, are depressed or alcoholic drug users.