A study from the University College London (UCL) suggested that smacking children as a form of punishment is associated with lower academic performance in adolescence and a higher likelihood of risky teenage behaviour. The researchers said that the findings add to global evidence that physical punishment has no benefits and instead correlates with harm across education, behaviour, and development.
According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), researchers from the UCL studied the impact physical punishment had on 19,000 children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002 at the ages of three, five, and seven.
Prof Anja Heilmann, lead researcher and associate, said that the research found smacking "does not help children" and all the effects of the findings "were in the direction of a harmful outcome".
As part of the research, the team reviewed 7,559 GCSE students in England against the National Pupil Database to determine how they scored in their exams. It was observed that those who had been smacked saw the likelihood of them failing to get five pass grades (A* to C) at GCSE level, including English and Maths.
A GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) is an academic qualification taken by students aged 14 to 16 to mark the end of compulsory secondary education in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The study also found that 14-year-olds who had experienced physical punishment in early childhood were 33 per cent more likely to engage in risky behaviours, including bullying.
The BBC noted that researchers compiled results from questionnaires completed by families of children who had been physically punished. However, their analysis could not prove a direct link between smacking and the results, as other factors might have influenced a child's life over the research period.
As per the report, Scotland became the first part of the UK to outlaw physical punishment of under-16-year-olds with a ban on parents smacking their children becoming law in 2020. Wales followed suit in 2022 but in Northern Ireland and England it is still legal.
The UCL study also found that one in five 10-year-olds had been physically punished in some way when monitored in 2021 and mothers with higher education levels were less likely to use physical punishment.
