Michael Abrahams | A rational look at corporal punishment

The issue of corporal punishment is again topical. Research, carried out over decades, has shown that disciplining children by beating them may do more harm than good. 

But there is a stubborn resistance to accept this by many Jamaicans. People use arguments such as “I was beaten as a child and I turned out fine”, “I beat my children and it works,” and “the Bible says it is okay” to justify beating children. However, these arguments may not be as valid as their proponents might think.

First, when a person says that he or she “turned out fine”, they may not really be “fine”. The incidence of depression and personality disorders in Jamaica has been reported by researchers in the field of mental health to be relatively high, and these conditions often result from childhood trauma. 

Also, many people with mental disorders are unaware that that they are afflicted. They think that they are “fine”, but may be depressed or have narcissistic, paranoid or dependent features, or even be psychopathic, without realising it. And even if they really are “fine”, it may not necessarily be because they were beaten.

Some persons claim that they beat their children and that it works. Hitting usually does put an end to whichever behaviour may be taking place at the time. But the long-term effects on curbing the undesirable behaviours are less consistent. In many cases, children repeat the behaviour, but just make sure that they do not get caught.

And while we might be comfortable believing that repeatedly striking a child is effective, we have no way of knowing what the long-term effects on that child will be. Also, the reason why some children act out is because they have been traumatised, for example, by sexual abuse, and beating them will only worsen their trauma.

Regarding using the Bible to condone the practice, we must be mindful of the fact that since the scriptures were written thousands of years ago, we have come to understand much more about human behaviour. The saying ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ is often used by Christians to defend the beating of children. But just because something is written in a holy book, by someone living in a particular part of the world, at a particular point in time, does not necessarily mean that thousands of years later, people living in a region thousands of miles away should adhere to it. The Bible also says that children who hit or dishonour their parents should be put to death. Are we to do that, too?

The act of disciplining our children is interwoven into our culture. As a comedian, I often incorporate stories of being beaten into my routine, as do several of my peers. At work, while performing ultrasounds on pregnant women, when the foetus is very active, the expectant mothers will sometimes threaten to beat them when they come out. Sometimes, when patients bring small children into my office, and they misbehave, they tell them that I will beat them. With a straight face, I tell them that I will not.

We live in a society that is violent and aggressive. Much of this behaviour has its roots in childhood and how our children are socialised. Traumatised children often grow up into dysfunctional adults who have anger management and other issues, and are more likely to beat their children, sometimes out of frustration. 

If we really love our children, and wish to have a less violent, and more peaceful society, it would be wise to humble ourselves, be honest, and reflect on how we treat them. Even if you are convinced that beating children works, it would be reasonable to explore the possibility of finding better and less traumatic ways of disciplining them.

This is the value of research. The research on the corporal punishment of children did not just start yesterday, but has been taking place for decades. Yes, research can be flawed, and sometimes researchers may have undisclosed conflicts of interest or hidden agendas. 

One way of objectively assessing the validity, or accuracy, of research findings on atopic is to read a meta-analysis of studies on the topic. A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies and will provide an objective assessment of the validity of the research findings. 

The most recent meta-analysis of studies on effects of corporal punishment of children, published in 2016, looked at 50 years of research involving more than 160,000 children. It showed that the more children are spanked, the more likely they are to defy their parents and to experience increased antisocial behaviour, aggression, mental-health problems and cognitive difficulties.

There is a tendency for many people who were beaten as children, or who beat their children, to defensively reject findings such as these. But we ought to be honest. If we have no training in the fields of paediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, anthropology and criminology, it is arrogant to dismiss the findings of those who are trained in these areas and diligently carry out their research.

We should also be honest in how we interpret the findings. The researchers did not say that if you hit your children you will destroy them, or that they will turn out to be crazy. They simply speak of an increased risk of children having certain issues later in life when they are disciplined in this way.

You may have been beaten and are unscathed, but your child may not be as lucky. Don’t you want the best for your child?

- Michael Abrahams is a gynaecologist and obstetrician, comedian and poet. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or tweet @mikeyabrahams.