Harsh physical punishment can affect an individual mentally and physically. It is related to child maltreatment in childhood and intimate partner violence in adulthood. Harsh physical punishment consists of pushing, grabbing, shoving, hitting, and slapping. Afifi and colleagues stated that experiencing physical maltreatment in childhood with or without other forms of child maltreatment may make physical violence seem acceptable and may increase the likelihood of violence continuing into intimate partner relationships in adulthood. Child maltreatment includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical and emotional neglect, exposure to intimate partner violence, and intimate partner violence in adulthood (Afifi, Mota, Sareen, & …show more content…
This study examines the data from the Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The authors claim that there is a relationship between those issues; stating that physical punishment will lead to child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (Afifi et al., 2017). Overall, the study validated that harsh physical punishment is associated with child maltreatment and intimate partner violence. In the survey, 16.7% of the respondents reported that they had experienced harsh physical punishment, which includes being pushed, grabbed, shoved, hit, and/or slapped before the age of 18 by a parent or another adult in the household (Afifi et al., 2017). The data in this study show the relationships between harsh physical punishment and child maltreatment. Harsh physical punishment is associated with an increased likelihood of having experienced all types of child maltreatment, with an adjusted odds ratio range of 1.6 to 26.6 (Afifi et al., 2017). The data also show the relationships between harsh physical punishment and intimate partner violence in adulthood. Harsh physical punishment is also associated with an increased likelihood of intimate partner violence perpetration, victimization, and reciprocal intimate partner violence, with an adjusted odds ratio range of 1.4 to 1.7 (Afifi et al., 2017). The results of the study …show more content…
Having social workers talk to families and suggesting solutions is important for this problem. First, the social worker will define physical punishment. Then, they will talk to the parents of each family and explain the risk of violence in a household, such as affecting a child's physical and mental health. As families are informed of the consequences of violence, solutions would be presented. Educating parents the authoritative parenting style and encouraging parents to follow this method is the start to a healthy family. In order to further encourage parents to use this method, social workers and volunteers will present studies conducted by researchers to show the effectiveness of this style. For the overall wellness of a child, informing parents of the authoritative parenting style is the best solution to prevent violence in the family. This method is also a model for children in later adulthood as they establish their own families. It will encourage them to practice this method to their children, which will be beneficial to the overall wellness of their