Parents who yell at or hit children, do more harm than good

Jojy Cheriyan MD;MPH

This is a topic widely discussed among child psychologists, pediatricians and other primary care doctors. Even though doctors are required to ask children about parental abuse (verbal and physical) on every visit, most of them do not follow this guideline. Some physicians point out cultural barriers as a cause preventing them to ask about parental abuse, and some doubt if the parents who accompany the teenagers may get upset on questioning. All these are lame excuses, as all health care providers are professionally and ethically bound to ask the children about parental abuse is they see any signs or symptoms of mental health or behavioral problems.

Previous studies have shown that bullying among siblings can also cause mental trauma persisting to future life, same as, with parental abuse.

A recent study on adolescents, conducted by researchers in Rutgers State University, Bowling Green State University and Gwynedd Mercy college , shows that verbal abuse as well as physical abuse can traumatize the children emotionally, leading to depression, behavioral problems and other mental health issues.

This research involved 239 referrals of 11- to 18-year-old youth and their dual-parent families to a non-profit, private community mental health center in a semi-rural Midwest community. All these teens were referred for behavioral problems or mental health problems.

Multiple informants (i.e., adolescents and mothers) were used to assess parental aggression and adolescent behavior problems. More than half of clinic-referred adolescents (51%) experienced severe physical aggression and/or high verbal aggression from one or both parents.

Having a mother who both screamed and hit, increased children's risk for mental health problems (such as anxiety, depression, and rule-breaking behaviors) to an even greater extent than having a mother who was aggressive in only one way.

In other words, the effect of a mother's verbal aggression may be worsened if she also physically hits her child. That may be because teens feel more traumatized and threatened when physical violence is a real possibility. The study showed that these children needed more counseling and behavioral therapy than children who got affected by either one only.

On the other hand, fathers who were verbally abusive affected the adolescents' mental health, regardless of whether the threats were accompanied by physical violence. So father's verbal aggression was consistently linked to teen's behavioral problems, beyond the influence of physical aggression.

The researchers conclude that all primary care doctors should ask for verbal aggression and physical aggression at home, particularly with an adolescent who may be having behavioral or mental health problems.

The study was published on November 17,2013. To read more click here

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