Four studies reviewed by researchers at the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire-Durham concluded that children who were spanked as a form of discipline were more likely to develop sexual problems as adults.

Murray Straus, co-director at the FRL suggests that children whose parents spanked, slapped, hit or threw objects at them may have a greater chance of physically or verbally coercing a sexual partner, engaging in risky sexual behavior or engaging in masochistic sex, including sexual arousal by spanking. In addition, 90 percent of U.S. parents spank toddlers, according to Straus.

“It increases the chances of sexual problems,” though “it’s not a one-to-one causation,” Straus said quoted by the USA Today.

The study revealed that 90 percent of U.S. parents spank toddlers.

After 30 years of studying corporal punishment, Straus concluded, “parents should never, ever spank because, although it does work, it’s no better than non-hitting methods that don’t have harmful side effects. If there was an FDA for spanking, they’d say use an alternative that doesn’t have harmful side effects.”

This analysis appears to be the first to link spanking with sexual problems, said Elizabeth Gershoff, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, who reviewed 80 years of spanking research in 2002 in the APA’s Psychological Bulletin. However, Gershoff wanted to add that even though many parents spank their children, future problems often depend on how the children process the experience and whether they ultimately equate love with physical pain.

John DeLamater of the University of Wisconsin is skeptical about the findings, saying linking sex and spanking is a big leap.

“It’s probably one of many elements that might contribute to sex problems or risky sex, but it’s a long leap,” he said.

This is not the first study on how people are influenced by violence while children. A 1999 study done by the Ontario Health Supplement revealed that Canadian adults who were slapped or spanked during their childhood had a greater tendency to develop anxiety disorders, alcohol abuse or dependence and externalizing problems.

Straus presented the studies on Thursday at the psychological association's Summit on Violence and Abuse in Relationships in Bethesda, Maryland, organized by the American Psychological Association.