Physical Punishment Linked to Mental Disorders
The American Academy of
Pediatrics strongly opposes striking a child for any reason. Parents’
Place offers suggestions and options to physical punishment in the form
of positive discipline guidelines, encouraging emotional connectivity to
your child, and a close knit community that supports and encourages
parents to trust their instincts, yet question traditionally held
beliefs that may not apply to their family.
A new study by Tracie O. Afifi, Natalie P. Mota, Patricia
Dasiewicz, Harriet L. MacMillian and Jitender Sareen published on July
2, 2012 in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics,
“Pediatrics”, explores the connection between harsh physical punishment
and multiple mental disorders.
Currently the parent/caregiver’s right to use physical
punishment has been abolished in 32 nations not including the United
States and Canada. Previous literature has indicated that physical
punishment is related to higher levels of aggression, lower levels of
internalizing morals and overall mental health. This study specifically
studies how harsh physical punishment affects a child through
adulthood.
The study reviewed the responses of 34,652 adults over 20
years old living in households in the United States. After adjusting
for sociodemographic variables and family history of dysfunction, the
results showed that harsh physical punishment (i.e. pushing, grabbing,
shoving, slapping, hitting, spanking) in the absence of more severe
child maltreatment (i.e. physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse,
physical neglect, emotional neglect, exposure to intimate partner
violence) was associated with increased odds of mood disorders, anxiety
disorders, alcohol and drug abuse/dependence and several personality
disorders.
Each family is unique. Every family faces challenges as a
child grows and develops. It is Parents’ Place hope that each family
will conscientiously follow a parenting path that speaks to the customs
and beliefs of that individual family while still honoring and
respecting the whole child as a member of our human community.
No comments:
Post a Comment