The psychological effects of spanking in childhood.

A review of scientific research reporting on the effects of spanking.

We have all heard the saying: "A spanking in time takes away a lot of nonsense". Nothing could be further from the truth.

The psychological effects of spanking are many and so important are many and of such great importance that this matter should not be taken lightly. With this article we will be able to see the details of some of the repercussions that can have to carry out this type of conducts.

What are the psychological effects of punishing children with spanking?

When speaking of the psychological effects of punishing with spanking many people enter into a kind of debate about the pros and cons of using these punitive measures in the educational process of the children. However, there is no such debate. The point is very simple: neither spanking nor any other form of physical punishment is in any way justified in any case..

Starting from this premise, we can now analyze the different psychological effects of spanking, knowing beforehand that they will be negative. Some people might think that the method, although controversial, works, since the child ceases the undesired behavior when encountering this punishment, but this is a false efficacy, since the effects have very little effect.

Moreover, even if this efficacy were greater (which it is not), it would still not be a reason for debate, since it cannot be used as an excuse to carry out a practice that is neither legal nor ethical, and also generates a series of important consequences. In this sense, the discussion is no longer relevant.

The psychological effects of spanking can originate through different processes. In the following points we will be able to learn about some of the most important ones, which will help us to be more aware of the importance of avoid at all costs these forms of punishment in the education of children.whatever the context in which it is taking place.

The justification of violence

The first question we can ask ourselves is the example we as parents are setting for our children.. Beyond what we try to instill in them with our words, if we choose to reprimand some of their attitudes with a slap or other verbal punishment, the underlying message will be clear: violence is justified in some cases.

This statement may come as a shock, but the reality is that in we often underestimate the power of learning that occurs in children through example, and even more so if it comes from their most important reference figures, such as their parents or guardians. and even more so if it comes from their maximum reference figures, such as their parents or guardians. Therefore, if we settle a conflict with a spanking, it is likely that the child will decide to end his or her next argument with schoolmates with a push.

One of the best known psychological experiments is that of the so-called Bobo doll, carried out by psychologist Albert Bandura. This study, carried out at Stanford University, put a group of children in a situation in which they observed an adult hitting a dummy and then leaving the room. Another group of children did not observe this aggressive behavior.

The results were clear: the members of the group that had observed the violent behavior were much more likely to imitate the violent behavior. were much more likely to imitate such behaviors.They also hit the Bobo doll just as they had seen the adult researcher do moments before. Therefore, we can get an idea of the danger of the normalization of violence within the psychological effects of spanking children.

The attachment figure

We were talking about the influence of reference figures on children. And it is that the parents are not a mere reference for the smallest, but they also represent the figures of attachment, that is to say, they are the people with whom they establish the bond of attachment.Therefore, they will tend to seek their company and feel anxious when they are away. But this relationship goes beyond physical proximity; it is just as important, if not more so, on the emotional level.

The attachment figure will transmit the security that the child needs when he/she perceives that he/she is close to a potential threat. But, what happens when precisely this threat comes from the same people who are supposed to represent their safety and it is in the form of a spanking? We would be facing another of the psychological effects of punishing with spanking, since this behavior would generate a dissonance in the child.

This incongruence is given by the situation of having received a physical punishment by the child. having received physical punishment from his own parents, the figures that will always represent the emotional protection that the child needs. the child needs. Faced with this contradiction, the child could develop a disorganized or insecure attachment, depending on how frequent these situations are and their context.

The child would be confused by the possibility that his or her main source of security sometimes also becomes a threat. In addition, it could also affect their self-esteem and self-concept, and may even generate thoughts such as: "He hits me because I'm bad, I deserve it".

Its correlation with mental disorders

A University of Manitoba study that analyzed more than 34,000 cases in the U.S. adult population uncovered an intriguing correlation: there were significantly more cases of mental disorder in one form or another in those who were regularly spanked as children. regularly during their childhood. It would therefore be one of the psychological effects of spanking to be taken into account.

Some of the mental illnesses that were most frequently observed in the population studied were those of a depressive or anxious nature, substance abuse such as drugs or alcohol, or personality disorders. And not only that. In complementary studies at the same university, they also discovered that this correlation was also observed between spanking and a lower development of IQ and even with antisocial traits and aggressiveness.

It is not possible to establish causality between having been spanked during childhood and having developed this series of problems in adulthood, but there is a correlation, which is reason enough to focus on this issue and investigate what other cause or set of causes, such as a particular parenting style, may be promoting the emergence of these difficulties.

In conjunction with the points we have seen above, it would appear that punishment of a physical nature and what it entails could be risk factors that would facilitate the future appearance of psychological illnesses and/or aggressive attitudes. and could also hinder proper cognitive development. On the other hand, an assertive parenting style that promotes secure attachment would be a protective factor and therefore would have the opposite effect.

Meta-analysis findings

In 2016 the University of Texas published a meta-analysis to study the psychological effects of spanking punishment in a cumulative sample of over 160,000 children. After an extensive analysis of this massive amount of data, the authors concluded that indeed, these corrective measures in education do indeed have negative consequences for children.. However, they suggest that these effects are less intense than we might think.

It is important to distinguish between punishment by spanking and other physically aggressive behaviors that may even involve the use of objects or beatings. It is evident that the second case has other much more serious connotations and therefore these cases escape the behavior we are analyzing here and to which the authors of the meta-analysis refer. In any case, as we saw at the beginning of the article, slapping is not justified in any way.

What became clear to the researchers was that there was an association between spanking and subsequent negative psychosocial effects on children.. But in addition to these unfortunate consequences, they also found that on a practical level it was also ineffective in preventing the child from extinguishing the behavior that the parents had tried to stop by spanking.

La conclusión es clara: los azotes no son útiles para evitar las conductas indeseadas de los niños y además tienen efectos psicológicos negativos, por lo que jamás, en ninguna situación, se debe recurrir a este comportamiento.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Afifi, T.O., MacMillan, H.L. (2011). Resilience following child maltreatment: A review of protective factors. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.
• Afifi, T.O., Mather, A., Boman, J., Fleisher, W., Enns, M.W., MacMillan, H., Sareen, J. (2011). Childhood adversity and personality disorders: results from a nationally representative population-based study. Journal of psychiatric Research. Elsevier.
• Gershoff, E.T., Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2016). Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and new meta-analyses. Journal of family psychology.
• Straus, M.A., Sugarman, D.B., Giles-Sims, J. (1997). Spanking by parents and subsequent antisocial behavior of children. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.