Physical punishment and child outcomes in the UK

This mixed-methods study will examine the impact of physical punishment on children’s health and development.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated that protection from physical punishment is a basic human right of every child. However, physical punishment of children remains common in the UK.

Scotland and Wales outlawed physical punishment in 2020 and 2022. Parents in England and Northern Ireland can claim a defence of ‘reasonable punishment’, effectively legalising the common assault of a child by a parent.

Existing evidence highlights the detrimental impact of physical punishment on children’s health and development, particularly on externalising behaviours. However, much of this research is from the USA and may not be directly applicable to the UK context. This project will address the research gap through a mixed methods study focusing on the UK.

Approach

The research team will be partnering with NSPCC throughout the project.

The project will be completed in three workstreams:

1. Holding workshops throughout the project with groups of diverse children and young people. The aim is to identify key issues and themes around physical punishment. The children and young people will be meaningfully involved in the development of the research design and instruments, interpretation of findings, and the creation of outputs.
2. Using the UK Millennium Cohort Study to examine the impact of physical punishment on a range of child outcomes, whether there are reciprocal associations between physical punishment and outcomes, if changes in physical punishment predict changes in outcomes, and whether outcomes are moderated by child gender or maternal warmth.
3. Conducting interviews with policymakers, professionals, and other stakeholders across all four UK nations. These will explore how law reform was achieved in Scotland and Wales, the expected impact of reform, and barriers to similar reforms in England and Northern Ireland.

Outcomes

Emerging findings will be presented to stakeholders, and additional events will be hosted at the end of the project. The final report will be accompanied by blog posts and podcast episodes.