Unfortunately, corporal punishment is still perceived to be an acceptable means of parenting despite the conflicting evidence. Studies from the 1990s have found that up to 90% of parents were practicing spanking and corporal punishment as a means of admonishment. These punishments can also become a gateway for abuse.
Maltreatment of children has lasting effects. It is an impetus for long-term behavioral and health-related issues, and this in turn leads to significant economic hardship as well. It’s necessary that we consider the impacts that this has as on not just our children, but the generations following.
Clearly corporal punishment is a prevalent and serious issue that needs to be addressed. Numerous studies have indicated that the prevalence of corporal punishment is still significant, regardless of the evidence that such behavior has lasting and traumatic ramifications. Childhood maltreatment may manifest itself through a multitude of forms – whether it be direct abuse or neglect, the results are often damaging. Listed below are varying types of child maltreatment partitioned by their frequencies; note that neglect is the broadest encompassing category, whether it be physical, psychological, or emotional in nature:
This reflects on children’s need for compassionate guidance and discipline. The need for modern role models can be observed through the shockingly high prevalence of traumatic life events reported by the survey population below:
Additionally, child abuse is having economic impacts in addition to devastating social ramifications. Coping with child abuse may cost in the thousands, much like the cost of addictive behaviors or teen pregnancy. The diagram below shows the approximated lifetime costs of each of the aforementioned behaviors:
Moreover, the aforementioned behaviors are often a byproduct of corporal punishment and the maltreatment of children. The figure below maps the frequency of problems reported by individuals with varying ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) scores. The results clearly suggested a link between ACE scores and varying problems later in life:
Therefore, we believe that the solution to many prevalent problems today is to focus on the values that we uphold. There is a clear cut correlation between abusive childhood experiences and problems manifesting later in life. As such, it’s important that we consider the wellbeing of children during their developmental years.
Gathered below are a collection of additional posts addressing the motivating data behind this project: