Physical Punishment in Childhood and Adolescence: Related Factors and Outcomes

Physical punishment (PP) of children is banned in > 50 countries, motivated by ethical arguments as well as empirically ascertained negative effects in adulthood. There is ample social pressure against PP in Sweden.

How common is a history of PP among randomly selected Malmö adolescents, is PP explained by certain social background factors and/or individual characteristics, and how do physically punished individuals differ with respect to antisocial outcomes at age 18.

Participants (N = 518, a 20% sample of children born in Malmö 1995) responded to a comprehensive self-report questionnaire in three waves, age 15, 16 and 19.

PP was reported by appr. 20% of the participants. Several differences were observed between participants who experienced PP and those who did not. These differences can be summarized as follows: parents' country of birth, the importance of religion, conflicts with parents, poor bonding with family, exposure to antisocial peers, perceived victimization by peers and teachers, victimization from crime, and difficulties with certain aspects of self-regulation.

In spite of being illegal, PP is relatively common. There were some significant associations suggesting differences between those exposed to PP and the others, but no serious effects at age 19, except violent behaviour for boys.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40653-025-00725-x.