Parental Corporal Punishment and Its Affects on Children

by Jennifer Wichmann

Social Psychology

Macalester College

Introduction

The argument over the use of Corporal Punishment (CP) as a disciplinary technique has become increasingly controversial over the past decades. While there are many studies focusing on the issue, drawing firm conclusions can be difficult due to the nature of the research. Many studies being performed are retrospective (they look back at the history of subjects to determine what may have caused certain behaviors or lack thereof). In this way, one cannot be sure if the behaviors were caused directly by CP or whether the behaviors were present early on and therefore elicited the response of CP from the child's parents. And so, there are many flaws to be worked out in how CP is researched.

Here you can find information from two major meta-analyses and several supporting studies to give a clear picture of what the scientific community has found. Also, there is a brief summary of the effects that the nearly 25 year ban on CP has had on Sweden, the first country to implement a ban. Finally, I present my personal conclusion on the subject followed by a bibliography of my sources and links to other CP-related websites.