Children subjected to severe discipline from an early age would present a higher risk of developing mental disorders, and this, in the long term. This is revealed by a new British study, which invites health professionals and teachers to be attentive to the influence of parental education on a child showing signs of poor mental health.
The perfect parent does not exist, but there is today a debate on the different styles of education submitted to children, between parental authoritarianism, centered on the needs of the parent(s), and so-called positive education, on the contrary adapted to the needs. of the child. Two opposite styles, between which an education halfway between authority and benevolence interferes. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and University College Dublin wanted to examine the consequences of strict, even particularly severe, discipline on the mental health of children, from an early age.
Conducted with 7,507 Irish children from the longitudinal study “Growing up in Ireland“, this work cross-checked two types of data: those relating to the mental health of children at the age of 3, 5 and 9 years, and those concerning the style of parental education given to children at the age of 3 years. : warm parenting, consistent parenting, or so-called hostile parenting. According to the researchers, this latter style of education “involves severe and frequent treatment and discipline, which may be physical or psychological”. For example, in this case, children may be subjected to frequent yelling, regular physical punishment, isolation when misbehaving, and even damage to their self-esteem.
A risk multiplied by 1.5
Published in the journal Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, the results establish a link between harsh or hostile discipline and long-term mental health problems. More accurately, it shows that children subjected to this type of education at the age of 3 were 1.5 times more likely to develop mental health symptoms than the researchers call “high risk” at the age of 9. The scientists say they have studied two types of symptoms: internalized, which can manifest as anxiety disorders or social isolation, and externalized, which can take the form of aggressive behavior or hyperactivity.
“Our findings underscore the importance of doing everything possible to ensure that parents are supported to give their children a warm and positive upbringing, particularly if other circumstances put these children at risk of poor outcomes. in mental health. Avoiding a hostile emotional climate at home will not necessarily prevent the onset of mental health problems, but it will likely help”, says Jennifer Symondsassociate professor at University College Dublin, and co-author of the study.
Warm but not limitless
Faced with this observation, the researchers believe that it is important for health professionals and teachers to ensure the influence of parental education on a child who may present with mental health problems, just as it may be necessary that the parents are supported in this specific case. However, scientists do not intend to question an education setting rules and limits for children. “We’re not suggesting for a moment that parents shouldn’t set strict limits on their children’s behavior, but frequent harsh discipline is hard to justify, given the implications for mental health.”says Ioannis Katsantonis, doctoral researcher affiliated with the University of Cambridge.
As such, the researchers also observed that warm parenting was not necessarily associated with a greater likelihood that children would fall into the category “low risk” regarding mental health issues. Something which, according to the researchers, could be linked to the fact that education is not the only factor to be taken into account in the development of such disorders. Gender, physical health, and socioeconomic status are also important criteria.
(ETX Daily Up)