Can spanking cause mental illness

[champatlife]

I wrote an arguement based research paper last year, and I tried to go about it in a nontraditional reasons, and one of the topics was the affect of corporal punishment and the affects of the frontal lobe, there is a lot of compelling research out there, some even made remarks on a child doesnt actually have to be touched, but just witness another child being spanked to cause the changes. My opinion is some are more prone than others to be "rewired" just like not everyone who encounters first hand combat experiences in war or subject to being a victim of a violent crime, there is no telling who might develop ptsd, also it depends on if spankings are used in place of communication etc. There is just so much to factor in and like everything many will break the mold.


And no one asked opinions, but corporal punishment of any sort is illegal in our prison system on men and women who have raped, murdered, and committed heinous crimes against humanity, under the Geneva convention terrorists are protected, butvour children are denied this same right. Doesn't add up to me.

[Hope4More]

Originally Posted by qsefthuko If that were the caseall previous generations would have mental problems. Spankings were normal and almost everyone received spankings. Some how this just doesn't make any sense at all. Even if you don't agree with spankings some how I don't think you believe the past 6000 years all people suffered mental disorders. I didn't read the article just answered the question.

This

[happysmileylady]

Originally Posted by champatlife And no one asked opinions, but corporal punishment of any sort is illegal in our prison system on men and women who have raped, murdered, and committed heinous crimes against humanity, under the Geneva convention terrorists are protected, butvour children are denied this same right. Doesn't add up to me.

Well, that could certainly be turned around, we lock prisoners away behind bars, some of them for 23 hrs a day and only allowed one hour outside a day...in a cage away from everyone else. If any parent did the same thing to a child, they would be arrested and convicted of child abuse, neglect and criminal confinement.

The point is that....rules are different for kids. That's the way life works. Kids and adults are treated differently. People who are 28 can get a drivers license, people who 8 yrs old cannot. People who are 30 can drink alcohol, people who are 10 cannot. People who are 25 can go to work whatever hours they feel like, people who are 5 cannot.


In addition...as the wife of a former prison guard, I can tell you that the type of "corporal punishment" that would be used in a prison, if were allowed, would NOT be a spanking. While "spanking" might be included in the concept of "corporal punishment" as banned by the Geneva convention, I promise that "spanking" as a parent uses it as a disciplinary measure IS VERY MUCH NOT the type of "corporal punishment" that would ever be used in the US prison system.

[mcpforever]

Originally Posted by iris0110 This is what I was just going to post. There are is such a stigma on having a mental illness already let alone in raising a child with a mental illness do we really need to attempt to place blame on a parent? I remember when people truly believed autism was caused by "refrigerator moms" and there are still people out there who think that. Because of the stigma it is hard for parents to reach out and get help for their children, they want them to be "normal" and who doesn't want that for his/her child. Everyone assumes that they have to have "done something wrong" to have caused what happened to their child even if it was a simple matter of genetics. Adding extra blame will not help these children. It will prevent parents from wanting to get help for their children. I am bipolar. I was spanked exactly once and I have a hard time believing that that single spanking has anything to do with the fact that I am bipolar. My father is also bipolar, his father was probably bipolar and his mother was clinically depressed.

This post just gave me warm fuzzies. I reigned myself in on my earlier post, but I was really thinking that if we managed to eliminate all spankings, then we'd have people looking at how often other punishments are used. It would be noticed that people with certain mental illnesses were punished more as children and suddenly time outs and removal of TV time/toys and groundings would become the new taboo. Sometimes it's just not something anyone has any control over.

Originally Posted by rumblepurr http://www.inquisitr.com/267270/dont...oSt4PA4CJKG.01 Apparently its harsh spanking: A recent study conducted by researchers at the Departments of Community Health Sciences, Psychiatry, Family Social Sciences, and Psychology at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada has concluded that harsh physical punishment in the absence of more severe child abuse is associated with an increased risk for mental disorders. For the study, the researchers collected data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions between the years 2004 and 2005. The survey was conducted with a representative US adult population sample. Harsh physical punishment included spanking as well acts of physical force beyond slapping. Physical punishment was distinguished from child maltreatment, which included severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, and exposure to intimate partner violence. According to the study, harsh physical punishment during childhood was linked to an increased likelihood of most lifetime mental disorders including major depression, dysthymia, mania, any mood disorder, specific phobias, any anxiety disorder, and any alcohol and drug abuse or dependence during adulthood. In other words, children who are disciplined with physical punishment including spanking are more likely to suffer from mental disorders as adults. Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/267270/dont...EY9XDprgKdH.99 I don't think they included a smack on the bottom as harsh, but I haven't read the real study yet.

So harsh physical punishment can get spun into spanking and the bolded is what exactly? Alcoholics and other addicts who have underlying conditions that lead to their addictions? Hmmm.

[dancermommy1]

Someone may have already posted this, but here's a little clarity on how "harsh punishment" was defined in the research (this came from Yahoo--not very dependable, but it's a statement from the paper's author)

"We're not talking about just a tap on the bum," study author Tracie Afifi, PhD, of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, explained in a statement. "We were looking at people who used physical punishment as a regular means to discipline their children." However, the analysis excluded individuals who reported more severe maltreatment such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, or exposure to intimate partner violence.

So, not just a swat on the bottom, but spanking as a regular form of punishment.

Also, the article mentions that the authors found a relationship between spanking and "up to 7%" of patients with mental illness.... so it's not saying everyone who was spanked is mental. Just that there is a risk, so it's worth looking at your parenting decisions and the personality of your child (which hopefully you do anyway) and thinking it through.

When I read this stuff, the people who come to mind are NOT the like-minded moms who are on DS, or the folks I know who do swats on the bottom for egregious discipline issues.... The folks I think of are some of the rednecks around here who just wail on their kids for any little infraction, or who think a smack on the arm/leg/face is the only way to get a kid's attention. Or, perhaps, the Pearls???

[dancermommy1]

Originally Posted by mibarra As for control, what other purpose do most forms of discipline serve? We are trying to control the behavior of our children through punishments, rewards, and consequences.

Well....... I think what most parents are trying to do is DIRECT the behavior of our children and teach them to control their own behaviors.

The type of control the other poster was talking about is a mental handicap. IMO it's very different. For example, your boss at work (if you woh) can attempt to direct your behavior by offering rasies, incentives, or by taking some disciplinary action through write-ups or pay docking, etc... or your boss can attempt to control you by constant threats, yelling, abusive language (eg. "you're stupid" "you don't know how to do your job" " you'll never measure up"). One method is directing, the other is controlling. A truly successful authority figure is able to manage people by directing their actions through motivation, using discipline as only one form of motivation, but also using incentives, encouragement, and helping people realize personal successes. A poor authority figure becomes a dictator who establishes control through fear. It may work in the short term, but mutinies are inevitable...

Funny, it's well established that incentive methods with MAYBE some "light" discipline (e.g. "no" with an unpleasant sound or odor) are far more effective in animal training than corporal punishment. Yet, we fail to transfer that knowledge to humans, who are also animals, and exhibit many of the same behaviors...

[babylove921]

Originally Posted by mibarra Certainly abuse is damaging. But where does spanking become hitting/abuse? Honestly curious. An occasional swat on the butt? What about a swat on the butt for every infraction? The same force swat once the child isn't in diapers? Leaving a handprint? At what point exactly does a spanking turn into hitting? Does doing it from anger or 'with love' matter? As for control, what other purpose do most forms of discipline serve? We are trying to control the behavior of our children through punishments, rewards, and consequences. I personally see very few parents trying to teach anything, just end an undesired behavior, whether it's hitting, biting, running off, not listening, night waking, in my 'real' life I see very few parents who care about the WHY of the behavior or teaching the WHY NOTs, and only care that it stops. It's really very sad.

You wouldn't wanna spank for everything. Its a last resort for major infractions, ex. running out into traffic.
Running out into traffic is an extremely undesired behavior.
I personally would tell my child you can't do that..blah, blah. But if they did anyway, regardless of why, that IMO deserves discipline. Id rather my child be mad at me for a second, then a dead child.
My future spankings will not leave marks. They will be clothed. Only open hands on bottoms. Only once.

[mibarra]

Originally Posted by babylove921 You wouldn't wanna spank for everything. Its a last resort for major infractions, ex. running out into traffic. Running out into traffic is an extremely undesired behavior. I personally would tell my child you can't do that..blah, blah. But if they did anyway, regardless of why, that IMO deserves discipline. Id rather my child be mad at me for a second, then a dead child. My future spankings will not leave marks. They will be clothed. Only open hands on bottoms. Only once.

I agree with you on spankings there. DD1 ran out into the street, and other than me grabbing her shirt and yanking her backwards off her feet, would have been hit by a car. I did spank her. But not everyone does. For many people spanking is the go to discipline method, even if it's a swat on the butt. They get a swat for everything, and a harder spanking for more serious infractions. And then when it comes to using objects, some people hit much harder with an open hand than with a spatula or spoon. My point was most people have a different idea of what constitutes a spanking. One poster made the analogy that spanking and hitting are not the same, just like cheddar and swiss are not the same, while both still cheese. I think that's not necessarily fair, because there is clear delineation between types of cheeses, cars, etc, but no clear delineation between spanking and hitting.

I guess I'm really curious at what point on the continuum people who spank vs. People who don't classify it as abuse, and if there's a difference.

[norrahsmommy]

I believe in spanking when the situation warrants it. BUT- there is a difference in spanking and beating/abuse. Do I think that spanking-not beating- causes mental illness, no. Do I think that beating and abuse causes mental illness-yes.

[norrahsmommy]

The difference IMO is that spanking is not done in anger, it is done with an explanation, in terms the child understands, and that you make sure the child does understand the reason for punishment is a direct consequence for their behavior. Abuse, beatings ect are done in anger, frustration, or in an emotionional state, with no explanation of why the child is being punished. If your child doesn't understand why they are being punished, they will not learn from the consequence, and then it has done no good, because they don't understand and haven't been given opportunity to learn from the mistake.

I was beat as a child, not just spanked, and I remember it was done in anger, no explanation, by one parent, it did nothing to teach me what was done, just that I was bad. When it was explained to me and done with no overflow of emotion, I could see and understand what I had done, and it made a big difference in how I felt about the whole situation.