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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3447048/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/great-kids-great-parents/201404/why-physical-punishment-does-not-work
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/great-kids-great-parents/201806/physical-punishment-and-violence
"Physical punishment is a serious public health problem throughout the world, and it profoundly affects the mental health of children and the societies in which we live. In the United States, studies show that approximately 65 percent of adults approve of physical punishment, and about 50 percent of families use physical punishment to discipline children.
Yet, research documents that physical punishment is associated with increases in delinquency, antisocial behavior, and aggression in children, and decreases in the quality of the parent-child relationship, children’s mental health, and children’s capacity to internalize socially acceptable behavior. Adults who have been subjected to physical punishment as children are more likely to abuse their own child or spouse and to manifest criminal behavior (Gershoff, 2008).
Spanking is a euphemism for hitting. One is not permitted to hit one’s spouse or a stranger; such actions are defined as the crime of assault. Nor should one be permitted to hit a small and more vulnerable child. Hitting a child elicits precisely the feelings one does not want to generate in a child: distress, anger, fear, shame, and disgust.
Studies show that children who are hit identify with the aggressor and are more likely to become hitters themselves—that is, bullies and future abusers of their own children and partners. They tend to learn to use violent behavior as a way to deal with stress and interpersonal disputes. [...]
Physical punishment has been defined as “the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience bodily pain or discomfort so as to correct or punish the child’s behavior” (Gershoff, 2008, p. 9).
This includes: spanking, hitting, pinching, squeezing, paddling, whipping, ”whupping,” swatting, smacking, slapping, washing a child’s mouth with soap, making a child kneel on painful objects, and forcing a child to stand or sit in painful positions for long periods of time. [...]
There appear to be many reasons underlying humans physically punishing their children.
-Efforts to socialize and discipline the children; to get behavioral compliance, for reasons of safety, protocol, and right/wrong as the parent sees it; to tie the child close to the parent using pain, fear, and shame
-Feelings of frustration, fatigue, distress, anger, and shame
-Not being aware of the short-term and long-term damage physical punishment creates in the child himself/herself and in the parent/child relationship
-The ambivalence humans feel toward children—both love and hatred. Donald Winnicott, in a classic paper, “Hate in the Countertransference” (1949), noted over 15 (conscious and unconscious) reasons why parents might hate their children. [...]
The data documenting the associations between physical punishment and psychopathology and sociopathy are compelling. They can no longer be overlooked. Pioneering research has been conducted in this area over the past decade by Gershoff, Bitensky, Straus, Holden, Durrant, and others.
Gershoff (2008, 2002) examined hundreds of studies and presented the results of the meta-analyses of the association between parental physical punishment and child and adult outcomes. She found that, in childhood, physical punishment was positively associated with aggression, delinquent and antisocial behavior, and being the victim of physical abuse.
It was negatively associated with the quality of the parent-child relationship, mental health, and more internalization (child’s internalizing of socially acceptable behavior); and associations with immediate compliance were mixed. When measured in adulthood, physical punishment was positively associated with aggression, criminal and antisocial behavior, and adult abuse of one’s own child or spouse; physical punishment was negatively associated with mental health.
Gershoff (2008, 2002) also summarized the various demographic and risk factors which are more likely to be associated with the use of physical punishment: being single, separated, or divorced; excessive stress from negative life events; maternal depression; lower income, education, and job status; southern part of the United States; and conservative religious beliefs and affiliation. [...]
The data documenting the associations between physical punishment and psychopathology and sociopathy are compelling. They can no longer be overlooked. Pioneering research has been conducted in this area over the past decade by Gershoff, Bitensky, Straus, Holden, Durrant, and others.
Gershoff (2008, 2002) examined hundreds of studies and presented the results of the meta-analyses of the association between parental physical punishment and child and adult outcomes. She found that, in childhood, physical punishment was positively associated with aggression, delinquent and antisocial behavior, and being the victim of physical abuse.
It was negatively associated with the quality of the parent-child relationship, mental health, and more internalization (child’s internalizing of socially acceptable behavior); and associations with immediate compliance were mixed. When measured in adulthood, physical punishment was positively associated with aggression, criminal and antisocial behavior, and adult abuse of one’s own child or spouse; physical punishment was negatively associated with mental health.
Gershoff (2008, 2002) also summarized the various demographic and risk factors which are more likely to be associated with the use of physical punishment: being single, separated, or divorced; excessive stress from negative life events; maternal depression; lower income, education, and job status; southern part of the United States; and conservative religious beliefs and affiliation. [...]
13. More physical abuse of children
14. More drug abuse
15. More sexual coercion and physically-forced sex [...]
Are there studies of outcomes in countries that have prohibited physical punishment? One such investigation was conducted in Finland by Österman et al. and published in 2014. This was 28 years after the complete ban on physical punishment of children in Finland.
Two findings stand out from this study of over 4,500 people. First, greater amounts of physical punishment were associated with greater alcohol abuse, depression, mental health problems, divorce, and suicide attempts.
Second, and perhaps most strikingly, the decline in physical punishment was associated with a similar decline in the number of murdered children. Additional studies of countries banning physical punishment have shown a significant decrease in adult approval of physical punishment. [...]
Internationally, there is increasing consensus that the physical punishment of children violates international human rights laws. Several United Nations treaties address violence towards children, with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC or the Children’s Convention, adopted in 1989) presenting one of the most comprehensive cases regarding the prohibition of physical punishment of children. [...]
The American Academy of Pediatrics concludes: “Corporal punishment is of limited effectiveness and has potentially deleterious side effects. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents be encouraged and assisted in the development of methods other than spanking for managing undesired behavior” (Am. Acad. Ped., 1995, p. 723).
There are two core alternatives that stand out, and these are driven by feelings-language-cognition connections. The first involves the idea of using words instead of actions, and the second focuses on the behaviors of the parents/caregivers.
Use words to explain your feelings.
Use words to label your child’s feelings.
The influence of language begins long before the child can talk (Vivona, 2013). There is great benefit in listening to and talking with your child (Katan, 1961).
Set a good example.
These identification processes—preverbal and verbal—are among the most important factors in the formation of character structure and psychological health (Gedo, 2005).
Act and talk as you would want your child to act and talk. Your child strives to be like you."
"If we truly want a less violent society, not hitting our children is a good place to start."
-Paul C Holinger, Physical Punishment—and Violence - A serious public health problem, 27 juin 2018: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/great-kids-great-parents/201806/physical-punishment-and-violence
Les châtiments physiques contre les enfants : un problème majeur de santé public.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/great-kids-great-parents/201404/why-physical-punishment-does-not-work
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/great-kids-great-parents/201806/physical-punishment-and-violence
"Physical punishment is a serious public health problem throughout the world, and it profoundly affects the mental health of children and the societies in which we live. In the United States, studies show that approximately 65 percent of adults approve of physical punishment, and about 50 percent of families use physical punishment to discipline children.
Yet, research documents that physical punishment is associated with increases in delinquency, antisocial behavior, and aggression in children, and decreases in the quality of the parent-child relationship, children’s mental health, and children’s capacity to internalize socially acceptable behavior. Adults who have been subjected to physical punishment as children are more likely to abuse their own child or spouse and to manifest criminal behavior (Gershoff, 2008).
Spanking is a euphemism for hitting. One is not permitted to hit one’s spouse or a stranger; such actions are defined as the crime of assault. Nor should one be permitted to hit a small and more vulnerable child. Hitting a child elicits precisely the feelings one does not want to generate in a child: distress, anger, fear, shame, and disgust.
Studies show that children who are hit identify with the aggressor and are more likely to become hitters themselves—that is, bullies and future abusers of their own children and partners. They tend to learn to use violent behavior as a way to deal with stress and interpersonal disputes. [...]
Physical punishment has been defined as “the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience bodily pain or discomfort so as to correct or punish the child’s behavior” (Gershoff, 2008, p. 9).
This includes: spanking, hitting, pinching, squeezing, paddling, whipping, ”whupping,” swatting, smacking, slapping, washing a child’s mouth with soap, making a child kneel on painful objects, and forcing a child to stand or sit in painful positions for long periods of time. [...]
There appear to be many reasons underlying humans physically punishing their children.
-Efforts to socialize and discipline the children; to get behavioral compliance, for reasons of safety, protocol, and right/wrong as the parent sees it; to tie the child close to the parent using pain, fear, and shame
-Feelings of frustration, fatigue, distress, anger, and shame
-Not being aware of the short-term and long-term damage physical punishment creates in the child himself/herself and in the parent/child relationship
-The ambivalence humans feel toward children—both love and hatred. Donald Winnicott, in a classic paper, “Hate in the Countertransference” (1949), noted over 15 (conscious and unconscious) reasons why parents might hate their children. [...]
The data documenting the associations between physical punishment and psychopathology and sociopathy are compelling. They can no longer be overlooked. Pioneering research has been conducted in this area over the past decade by Gershoff, Bitensky, Straus, Holden, Durrant, and others.
Gershoff (2008, 2002) examined hundreds of studies and presented the results of the meta-analyses of the association between parental physical punishment and child and adult outcomes. She found that, in childhood, physical punishment was positively associated with aggression, delinquent and antisocial behavior, and being the victim of physical abuse.
It was negatively associated with the quality of the parent-child relationship, mental health, and more internalization (child’s internalizing of socially acceptable behavior); and associations with immediate compliance were mixed. When measured in adulthood, physical punishment was positively associated with aggression, criminal and antisocial behavior, and adult abuse of one’s own child or spouse; physical punishment was negatively associated with mental health.
Gershoff (2008, 2002) also summarized the various demographic and risk factors which are more likely to be associated with the use of physical punishment: being single, separated, or divorced; excessive stress from negative life events; maternal depression; lower income, education, and job status; southern part of the United States; and conservative religious beliefs and affiliation. [...]
The data documenting the associations between physical punishment and psychopathology and sociopathy are compelling. They can no longer be overlooked. Pioneering research has been conducted in this area over the past decade by Gershoff, Bitensky, Straus, Holden, Durrant, and others.
Gershoff (2008, 2002) examined hundreds of studies and presented the results of the meta-analyses of the association between parental physical punishment and child and adult outcomes. She found that, in childhood, physical punishment was positively associated with aggression, delinquent and antisocial behavior, and being the victim of physical abuse.
It was negatively associated with the quality of the parent-child relationship, mental health, and more internalization (child’s internalizing of socially acceptable behavior); and associations with immediate compliance were mixed. When measured in adulthood, physical punishment was positively associated with aggression, criminal and antisocial behavior, and adult abuse of one’s own child or spouse; physical punishment was negatively associated with mental health.
Gershoff (2008, 2002) also summarized the various demographic and risk factors which are more likely to be associated with the use of physical punishment: being single, separated, or divorced; excessive stress from negative life events; maternal depression; lower income, education, and job status; southern part of the United States; and conservative religious beliefs and affiliation. [...]
13. More physical abuse of children
14. More drug abuse
15. More sexual coercion and physically-forced sex [...]
Are there studies of outcomes in countries that have prohibited physical punishment? One such investigation was conducted in Finland by Österman et al. and published in 2014. This was 28 years after the complete ban on physical punishment of children in Finland.
Two findings stand out from this study of over 4,500 people. First, greater amounts of physical punishment were associated with greater alcohol abuse, depression, mental health problems, divorce, and suicide attempts.
Second, and perhaps most strikingly, the decline in physical punishment was associated with a similar decline in the number of murdered children. Additional studies of countries banning physical punishment have shown a significant decrease in adult approval of physical punishment. [...]
Internationally, there is increasing consensus that the physical punishment of children violates international human rights laws. Several United Nations treaties address violence towards children, with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC or the Children’s Convention, adopted in 1989) presenting one of the most comprehensive cases regarding the prohibition of physical punishment of children. [...]
The American Academy of Pediatrics concludes: “Corporal punishment is of limited effectiveness and has potentially deleterious side effects. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents be encouraged and assisted in the development of methods other than spanking for managing undesired behavior” (Am. Acad. Ped., 1995, p. 723).
There are two core alternatives that stand out, and these are driven by feelings-language-cognition connections. The first involves the idea of using words instead of actions, and the second focuses on the behaviors of the parents/caregivers.
Use words to explain your feelings.
Use words to label your child’s feelings.
The influence of language begins long before the child can talk (Vivona, 2013). There is great benefit in listening to and talking with your child (Katan, 1961).
Set a good example.
These identification processes—preverbal and verbal—are among the most important factors in the formation of character structure and psychological health (Gedo, 2005).
Act and talk as you would want your child to act and talk. Your child strives to be like you."
"If we truly want a less violent society, not hitting our children is a good place to start."
-Paul C Holinger, Physical Punishment—and Violence - A serious public health problem, 27 juin 2018: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/great-kids-great-parents/201806/physical-punishment-and-violence
Les châtiments physiques contre les enfants : un problème majeur de santé public.
