Educational methods Beaten children more aggressive

Educational methods: Beaten children become more aggressive

05/03/2014

As previous research has shown, spirited children are beaten by their parents more often than quiet ones. This causes the little ones to become even more aggressive, resulting in more punches. A study from the US has now clarified how this vicious circle arises and why it is wrong to beat children.

Spirited children are beaten more
Although most parents know that they should not beat their kids, many of them often shake hands. In particular, children with an exuberant temperament and impulsive or aggressive behavior must take more punches than quiet ones, as research has shown. This leads to a vicious circle: Because of the violence used, children often become aggressive and therefore receive even more beatings. When parents are asked why they slap their offspring, they often give the answer: „My child is just difficult.“ What motivates parents to beat their children and what effect this has on the child's development in the long term has now been investigated in a comprehensive study by US scientists at Columbia University. The researchers published their findings in the journal „Journal of Youth and Adolescence“.

Long-term study in the USA
The research team headed by Professor Michael MacKenzie of Columbia University's School of Social Work, New York, has collected data from just under 1,900 families with a total of more than 5,000 children from the University of New York „Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study“ evaluated between 1998 and 2000 in 20 major US cities. The parents had first participated shortly after the birth of their child and then again when the children were one year, three, five and nine years old. They were asked whether their child was rebellious, did not follow the rules or was aggressive and whether it would be beaten.

Over half of parents beat their children
According to the researchers, 28 percent of parents said they had already beaten their child in their first year of life. In the third year of life, there were already 57 percent and thus more than half of the legal guardians, who at least occasionally slipped his hand. The rate then decreased slightly, to 53 percent in the fifth and 49 percent in the ninth year. It was striking that it was in every age group, that children, by their parents than „difficult“ were described, often had to take blows. In their study, the scientists also identified various risk factors that could lead to increased flogging and correspondingly aggressive behavior of the children. For example, as Professor MacKenzie and colleagues reported, these include parent drug abuse, parental authority violence, a father's imprisonment, and a low maternal intelligence quotient.

Violence causes a spiral of devils
It was also striking that children who had already experienced physical violence at the age of one year, ie at an age when one can not really speak of bad behavior, subsequently developed more behavioral problems and were subsequently beaten even more frequently. By beating at this young age will most likely be unleashed a vicious spiral. Blows cause further aggression and they lead to more punches. As the scientist said, parents who succeed in responding to anger, helplessness, and exhaustion in a way other than beating their raging child would in any case have a better chance of having a slightly aggressive child. In dicey situations, family help can help them. No one has to be ashamed of taking such a step. No one concerned with the subject would claim that raising a child was an easy task. (Ad)