Parents and carers hitting children as punishment (often called slapping) should be banned in England and Northern Ireland as soon as possible, as it can lead to behavioral problems and poorer exam results, UCL researchers say.
In a new report published by UCL today (Thursday 11 June): Corporal punishment and child outcomes in the UKThe researchers found that, taking other factors into account, children in the UK who experienced corporal punishment at the ages of three, five and seven were 5.7 percentage points more likely to fail to get a grade A* to C (or between 9 and 4) at GCSE, including English and maths, compared to children who did not experience corporal punishment (48 per cent vs. 42.3 per cent).
Similarly, children who experienced corporal punishment at all three ages were 40% more likely to engage in dangerous behavior toward others, such as bullying or hitting, shoving, or shoving someone, at age 14 and 26% more likely at age 17.
Beating children is illegal in Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, but remains legal in England and Northern Ireland. Proposals to make corporal punishment illegal have just been dropped in Northern Ireland, and similar plans were abandoned in England last year. Corporal punishment of children is prohibited in 70 countries around the world.
The new study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and supported by the NSPCC, is the first to focus on UK data on the effects of corporal punishment on children, with previous studies mainly focusing on US data.
Lead author Dr Anja Heilmann (UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health) said: “Our findings support existing evidence that corporal punishment has no benefits and has harmful consequences for children’s development and wellbeing. Our main recommendation is therefore that England and Northern Ireland should follow Scotland and Wales and remove the legal defense to reasonable punishment.”
The decisions taken by MPs in Northern Ireland and last year to abandon plans to outlaw corporal punishment are a huge missed opportunity and a great shame. Children have the right to grow up free from all forms of violence. It cannot be true that children in England and Northern Ireland will have less legal protection from physical harm than adults in 2026. ”
Dr Anja Heilmann, UCL, Epidemiology and Public Health
“Our children must never receive the message that they can force their will on others by inflicting physical pain. Changing the laws of England and Northern Ireland will show that violence will never be tolerated.”
Co-author Dr Becca Lacey, reader in social and life course epidemiology at City St George’s, University of London, and deputy director of the UCL-led Equalise: ESRC Center for Lifecourse Health Equity, said: “Corporal punishment is the most common and socially accepted form of violence against children, including in the UK.”
“As our research shows, the simple truth is that corporal punishment of children has no benefits. Instead, it has a range of harmful short- and long-term consequences for children, including lower academic performance and an increased risk of antisocial behavior in youth.”
“The experience of abolishing the reasonable punishment defense in Scotland and Wales provides valuable insights and learnings for the rest of the UK and beyond.
“Legal reform requires political will, leadership and careful implementation. Once achieved, public receptivity to legal reform is high.”
Although corporal punishment by parents has decreased over time in the UK, it still affects a significant proportion of children in the UK.
The study found that in 2021, one in five 10-year-olds had been subjected to some form of physical punishment.
In this study, the researchers used quantitative and qualitative methods.
This quantitative workstream aimed to investigate the prevalence of corporal punishment in the UK and its association with children’s behaviour, cognition and educational outcomes. This qualitative workstream aimed to explore decision-making processes around law reform in four UK countries and identify transferable learnings.
In the quantitative workstream, much of the analysis used data from the UCL-led Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), a nationally representative longitudinal study tracking the lives of around 19,000 children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002.
They analyzed data collected regularly from 9 months to 17 years of age to examine how corporal punishment was associated with family characteristics and child outcomes over time.
MCS also includes a dataset that links information from the National Pupil Database for UK pupils. These datasets were used to examine whether corporal punishment was associated with educational attainment when children were older.
Regarding risky behavior toward others, the study found that adolescents who experienced some form of corporal punishment in early childhood (ages 3 to 7) were 33% more likely to engage in the following risky behaviors toward others at age 14:
- 35% more likely to have hit, pushed, or shoved someone
- 41% more likely to report sibling bullying
- 26% more likely to report having engaged in cyberbullying
- They are also 25% more likely to report having participated in other bullying incidents than those who have not experienced bullying.
For the qualitative workstream, they interviewed 29 stakeholders across all four UK countries, representing multiple sectors with a professional or organizational interest in the subject of corporal punishment.
Key findings from that workstream included that successful advocacy for law change requires extensive multidisciplinary collaboration, including stakeholders from public health, social care, parent organizations, faith groups and the police. Its implementation in Wales also serves as a useful blueprint for change in England and Northern Ireland.
“This latest UCL report confirms that corporal punishment of children does not improve behavior, but rather leads to a range of negative life outcomes, including those that cost the state money,” said Jess Asato, who will be attending the launch of the report in parliament later today (Thursday).
“The Government must act urgently on the recommendations in this report. Scotland and Wales have already shown there is a viable way forward and now it is time for England to follow.”
Joanna Barrett, deputy director of policy at the NSPCC, said: “It is unacceptable that the law in England and Northern Ireland still allows parents and carers to use corporal punishment on children in the name of discipline.”
“This UCL research shows once again that corporal punishment does not improve children’s behavior and actually has a negative impact on children’s wellbeing, leading to worse outcomes in the future.
“Children in England and Northern Ireland should be protected from assault in the same way as adults, as is already happening in Scotland and Wales. It is time to change the law and abolish the reasonable punishment defense once and for all.”
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