Harsh Physical Punishment is Associated with Mood and Other Disorders
Physical punishment of children has long been a controversial subject. A 2012 article by Afifi et al. in the journal Pediatrics suggests that having experienced harsh physical punishment during childhood is associated with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse and dependence, and personality disorders in adulthood.
In this study harsh physical punishment included pushing, grabbing, shoving, slapping, or hitting. Participants who had experienced more severe maltreatment in childhood (including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, and exposure to violence between intimate partners) were excluded from the study, and the results were adjusted for sociodemographic variables and family history of dysfunction, suggesting that physical punishment was the mediator of these effects.
