Sunday – 11 Ramadan 1444 AH – 02 April 2023 AD
London: «Asharq Al-Awsat»
A new study finds that corporal punishment and regular yelling at young children increases their risk of permanent mental problems by nearly 50 percent.
According to the British newspaper, The Telegraph, the study was conducted on more than 7,500 Irish children at the ages of three, five and nine.
The researchers found that signs of mental problems were more likely to appear in children who had been subjected to “hostile parenting” at the age of three.
Hostile parenting was defined as repeated harsh treatment and discipline that might be physical or verbal.
This might include, for example, yelling at children regularly, routine physical punishment, isolating children when they misbehave, underestimating their self-esteem, or punishing children unexpectedly depending on the parents’ mood.
The study showed that by the age of nine, one in ten children were in the risk group for mental health problems, 47 per cent of whom had experienced yelling and corporal punishment from their parents.
Girls were more at risk than boys, according to the study.
“We’re not saying parents shouldn’t set strict rules for their children’s behavior, but it is difficult to justify repeated cruelty given the negative effects it may have on mental health,” said Dr. Jennifer Simmonds, who was involved in the study.
“The fact that one out of every 10 children in our study was at risk of developing mental health problems is really concerning, and we need to be aware of the role that parenting may play in that,” she added.
In their study, published in the journal Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, the researchers emphasized that their findings emphasize the importance of doing everything possible to ensure that children are given a warm and positive upbringing, especially if the broader conditions of the society in which they live make those children more vulnerable to health problems. mental.