A new research by scientists in the US, suggests that there is a relationship between spanking your kid and an increased risk of mental health problems.
According to destinyconnect.com, the research was conducted by a team of scientists at the University of Texas and the University of Michigan analysing data collated over five decades on more than 160 000 children,
Findings from the study posit that spanking has adverse long-term unintended consequences on a child’s mental health, their social behaviour and cognitive ability later on in life.
“Spanking children to correct misbehaviour is a widespread practice, yet one shrouded in debate about its effectiveness and even its appropriateness. The meta-analyses presented here found no evidence that spanking is associated with improved child behaviour and rather found spanking to be associated with increased risk of 13 developmental outcomes,” the researchers were quoted as saying in the report.
It further adds that spanking a kid has some negative outcomes such as increased aggression, heightened anti-social behaviour, lower cognitive ability, a more negative relationship with parents, increased internalising as well as externalising of problems and lower self-esteem.
They added that there is no evidence that spanking does any good for children and all evidence points to the risk attached to it.
Parents are advised to take into consideration the negative effects of spanking before doing it.
“If spanking is part of your discipline and it is done on a consistent basis and the child can predict it, then it is good. If the child knows that if they break a window or lie, their parents will spank them because they’ve done so before, that is good,” Sandton-based clinical psychologist Candice Cowen said in an interview with Destiny.
Parents were also advised to make it clear to their child why they are spanking them.
“If the child doesn’t understand why they are getting a spanking, they might rebel,” parents were warned.
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