According to research published in the Archives of Disease in
Childhood, mother’s are more that twice
as likely to use smacking to discipline her child if they face a mix of
depression and violent arguments with a partner compared to women who
only deal with one of the two factors.
Researcher Michael Silverstein (Boston University School of Medicine,
Boston, MA) and colleagues from the United States studied about 13,000
mother and child pairs who participated in the Kindergarten Cohort of
the
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort. The sample is
designed to be nationally representative of US children who attended
kindergarten in 1998 -1999. Researchers assessed depression in mothers
and they asked mother a series of questions to determine whether
disagreements with a partner led to
hitting and throwing objects at one another. Teachers supplied
information about the behavior of children.
Of the entire sample:
Over 10,000 women were not categorized as depressed or
experienced home violence.
1,700 were depressed without home violence.
About 500
reported home violence but were not depressed.
236 women were both depressed and exposed to violence at
home.
The authors found that:
About 25% of the mothers who were neither depressed nor
exposed to violence reported that they smack their children.
About 33% of those who were depressed OR
exposed to violence smack their children.
About 50% of those who were depressed AND exposed to
violence smack their children.
Mothers
who were not depressed but who violently argued with their partners
were almost 50% more likely to use force to discipline children,
depressed mothers alone were about 60% more likely to smack. These
compare with mothers who were both depressed and who had argued
violently with their
partners - they were 2.5 times as likely to smack their children. The
findings held even after controlling for the behavior of the children.
According to several studies, regular smacking early in the
life of a child
may increase their propensity to assume maladaptive behaviors as
adults. However, the use of smacking as a form of discipline
remains a hotly debated topic.
Silverstein and colleagues conclude that: "Our study offers further
evidence for the combined adverse effects of maternal depression and
violence exposure on the children of affected women. Our data suggest
that these common, and potentially modifiable, risk factors are more
apt to affect whether or not a mother uses smacking to discipline her
children than they are to affect the frequency of smacking. Although
the relationship between parent and child-level factors relative to
punishment practices is complex, our data suggest that meaningful
associations between maternal depression, violence exposure and
smacking persist in the face of varying child behaviours."
The
relationship between maternal depression, in home violence and use of
physical punishment: what is the role of child behaviour?
M Silverstein, M Augustyn, R Young, B Zuckerman
Buy generic viagra Archives of Disease in Childhood (2008).
doi: 10.1136/adc.2007.128595
Click
Here to View Journal Web Site
Written by: Peter M Crosta
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Generic zithromax pills no prescription | Buy cialis without prescription | Buy generic clomid
December 4th 2008 Uncategorized
