Further, the research results also indicated that the negative outcomes associated with corporal punishment were increased in children with difficult temperaments. On the basis of those data, the researchers concluded that, contrary to other studies supporting the use of normative corporal punishment, that form of discipline is a causal factor in perpetuating behavior problems among children. Relevance to the Issues and Implications

The findings of the study are highly relevant to the issue of whether or not any use of corporal punishment is appropriate and beneficial. The researchers suggest several specific implications: First, that despite the relatively small magnitude of negative consequences, they might be substantially detrimental to society taken in the aggregate with respect to the total amount of deviant and criminal conduct to which they may contribute. Second, to whatever extent parents may still choose to resort to corporal punishment, the implication of this study is that the existence of difficult temperaments in children should militate strongly against that decision.

Mulvaney, M.K. And Mebert, C.J. "Stress Appraisal and Attitudes Towards Corporal

Punishment as Intervening Processes Between Corporal Punishment and Subsequent Mental Health." Journal of Family Violence, Vol. 25; (2010): 401

Summary

This article reported the results of research on the relative effects of parental use of corporal punishment on older adolescents. More specifically, the results pertained to the negative outcomes with respect to mental health of children. Its results were interpreted to suggest that the attitude of children about the issue of the use of corporal punishment by their parents and the relative degree of threat posed from their perspective were both more determinative of negative outcomes than the actual use or frequency of corporal punishment. According to the data, children who hold strongly negative opinions about the use of corporal punishment are more likely to suffer emotionally from being subjected to it than children who accept that their parents' use of corporal punishment may be appropriate. Similarly, the data indicated that idiosyncratic temperament such as sensitivity to emotionally negative responses to corporal punishment also play a significant role in the likelihood of negative mental health outcomes. Finally, the research...

On one hand, its results were consistent with prior research suggesting that normative corporal punishment may not necessarily be associated with negative outcomes. On the other hand, it suggests that the reverse may be true depending on idiosyncratic factors and that those factors (i.e. children's attitudes about corporal punishment and natural temperament and emotional sensitivities) should be considered even in the event that the weight of research supports the contention that corporal punishment is not necessarily detrimental to children.
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