New York ? After analyzing six decades of expert research on corporal punishment, a psychologist says that parents who spank their children risk causing long-term harm that outweighs the short-term benefit of instant obedience.

The psychologist, Elizabeth Gershoff, found links between spanking and 10 negative behaviors or experiences, including aggression, anti-social behavior and mental health problems.

The one positive result of spanking that she identified was quick compliance with parental demands.

“Americans need to re-evaluate why we believe it is reasonable to hit young, vulnerable children, when it is against the law to hit other adults, prisoners and even animals,” Gershoff writes in the new edition of the American Psychological Assn.’s bimonthly journal.

Her analysis, one of the most comprehensive ever on the topic of spanking in America, was accompanied in the Psychological Bulletin by a critique from three other psychologists.

They defend mild to moderate spanking as a viable disciplinary option, especially for children 2 to 6, but advise parents with abusive tendencies to avoid spanking altogether.

Gershoff, a researcher at Columbia University’s National Center for Children in Poverty, spent five years on her project, analyzing 88 studies of corporal punishment conducted since 1938. The studies tracked both the short- and long-term effects of spanking on children.

Gershoff stopped short of endorsing a legal ban on parental corporal punishment, saying the United States was unlikely to emulate a group of European countries in taking that step. However, she urged parents who spank to reconsider their options.

“When they’re in a situation where they’re considering spanking, think of something else to do leave the room, count to 10, and come back again,” Gershoff said in an interview Tuesday. “The risk is just too great.”

Several major national organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have taken an official stand against corporal punishment by parents.

The psychological association has not taken a stance, although it is on record as opposing corporal punishment at schools and other institutions.