Corporal Punishment Essay Synopsis
By: Monika Bakshi
Corporal punishment is a disciplinary act that has generated from the eighteenth hundreds. It has
been used by parents, teachers, and administrative staff upon misbehaved children. The many different
forms of corporal punishment which are implemented are shaking, spanking, slapping, and beating.
There are many horrible affects which corporal punishment contributes to the development of, which the
victim may live with for the rest of their lives. As stated in my thesis paper, the use of corporal
punishment is an ineffective form of discipline because it contributes to aggressive behavioral problems,
teaches violence through abusive force and affects the emotional and mental conditioning of its victims.
The three main arguments which I introduced are that the use of corporal punishment contributes to
aggressive behavior in the future, it will form a repetitive pattern for future generations and the victim
will suffer with self-esteem, emotional and mental issues throughout their life.
Corporal punishment, leads to the anger, resentment and aggression of its victims. In many cases,
those who undergo corporal punishment as a child, develop anger towards his/her implementer and begins
to act out in a form of anger and aggression. According to Marc Maurer, a leading authority in the
criminal justice system and Judith Wallerstein a psychologist and researcher, who conducted a study,
stated that 64% of juvenile delinquents had been punishment during their childhood years with corporal
punishment1
Corporal punishment forms a repetitive pattern for future generations. The anger that the child
received after the disciplinary method was implemented contributes to why many parents may decide to
use corporal punishment on their own children. By applying the same form of discipline on their children,
it gives them some relief from the pain they felt.2 Almost 70% of all individuals who were disciplined
with corporal punishment during their childhood years used it as a method of vengeance in their adult
years.3
Through the use of corporal punishment, the victim may suffer with self-esteem, emotional and
mental issues throughout their life. In a 1999 case of a girl named Kathy Darbyshire, whose parents used
corporal punishment on her as a way of disciplining her for misbehaving. Kathy had corporal punishment
implemented upon her by her father when she was four years old. 38 years later, at the age of 42, Kathy
suffers from an extreme emotional and mental illness. She fears people whenever they try to touch her.
She has been in and out of mental institutions. At the age of seven, she made her first suicide attempt, and
made several more attempts after that. Kathy is distant from those around her and as quoted by Kathy
herself, “I was afraid all the time. I was lonely and very angry. I had no self- esteem. I thought I was
nothing and I still don’t think much of myself.”4
As well as stating the negative affects of the use of corporal punishment upon children, I also
introduced the positive affects of this disciplinary method. Although there are many opposing sides to
1
B.A, Robinson. Child Corporal Punishment: Spanking Results of Studies 1985 to 1995. Aug.2007
<http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin5.htm>
2
Turner, Susan M. Something to Cry about: An Argument against Corporal Punishment of Children in Canada.
(Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2002.) pg.105
3
David, Benatar. Social Theory and Practice. (Michigan: Gale Group, 1998) pg. 96
4
Turner, Susan M. Something to Cry about: An Argument against Corporal Punishment of Children in Canada.
(Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2002.) pg.105
corporal punishment, there are few sides which are in favour of it. The use of corporal punishment may be
an effective way to correct misbehavior and maintain social status. Due to the use of corporal punishment,
children begin to fear their parents and the punishment itself. This fear then causes them to control their
behavior, and watch how they act.5 Murray A. Straus and Michael Donnelly, it has been noticed that some
cases of misbehaving children have been temporarily solved by the use of corporal punishment.
In many cases, corporal punishment betters the lives and futures of families. It helps to control their anger
and learn how to deal with situations in a more mature way.6 Families grow closer together and
relationships develop stronger. It’s also an effective way of teaching a child right from wrong. Corporal
punishment also strengthens the mind, heart and emotions. Due to the implementation of corporal
punishment, a person learns to deal with pain and grow from it. Dealing with a pain like this makes a
person stronger, and a child often believes that if they can survive a pain as strong as the one caused by
corporal punishment, they can survive anything.7
The sources in which I used for my thesis essay were a variety of books, articles and websites.
These sources were written by many psychologists as researchers such as Murray A. Straus, Michael
Donnelly, Judith Wallerstein, Susan Turner, David Benatar etc. The arguments, in which I introduced in
my thesis essay, have been introduced based on evidence and information written by skilled,
knowledgeable and intelligent psychologists etc. I could have included stronger points of evidence in my
paper to prove my arguments better. But the evidence that I did introduce was sufficient evidence to prove
my points.
5
David, Benatar. Social Theory and Practice. (Michigan: Gale Group, 1998) pg. 96
David, Benatar. Social Theory and Practice. (Michigan: Gale Group, 1998) pg. 96
7
David, Benatar. Social Theory and Practice. (Michigan: Gale Group, 1998) pg. 96
6