In July 2019, France became the 56th country in the world to ban “ordinary educational violence”, whether physical or psychological. In theory, spanking is therefore prohibited on French territory: when this sanction is repeated, the juvenile judge can be seized and the case can end up in court.
Yes, but here it is: many parents continue to spank their children. A new study carried out by Florida State University (in the United States) will perhaps change their minds: American researchers have found a link between the number of spankings are received during childhood and the risk of developing depression or anxiety.
Corporal punishment affects children’s neurons
For 2 years, American researchers followed a group of 149 children aged 11 to 14 at the start of the observation: in particular thanks to electroencephalography (EEG) , they determined that children who received corporal punishment (including spanking) had an increased risk of developing depression or anxiety in adolescence.
More specifically, this work shows that corporal punishment has an impact on the neural networks found in the brain: over time, children who are victims of “ordinary educational violence” grant more importance to their mistakes, and appreciate less the rewards obtained. Hence an impact on their mental health.
Source : Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
