Smacking children tied to lower GCSE scores and antisocial behaviour, study finds

You smacked your child because you care? You want them to behave, to be respectful, to learn right from wrong. You think a little smacking is okay, because you turned out okay, didn’t you? But discipline and punishment aren’t the same thing.A groundbreaking study from University College London suggests that smacking can lower a child’s grades and also lead to antisocial behaviour. Many countries have outlawed the physical punishment of children, and the researchers urged that it should be banned in England and Northern Ireland as well.The researchers found that hitting children (often referred to as smacking) by parents or caregivers as a form of punishment is linked to behavioural problems and worse exam results. The new study looked at the outcomes of physical punishment of children in the UK. They found that children in England who were physically punished at the ages of three, five and seven were 5.7 percentage points more likely not to achieve five GCSE grades A* to C (or between nine and four), including English and Maths, compared with children who hadn’t experienced it (48 per cent versus 42.3 per cent).They also found that children who were hit at all three ages were 40 per cent more likely to engage in risky behaviours towards others, such as bullying or having hit, shoved or pushed someone, aged 14, and 26 per cent more likely aged 17.Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have banned it. Seventy countries worldwide have outlawed the physical punishment of children. But in England and Northern Ireland, the law still permits what science has long condemned. The new report now shows the devastating cost of it. This research is the first to focus on UK data relating to the impact of physical punishment on children. Previous studies have mostly looked at data from the USA.“Our findings corroborate previous evidence that physical punishment has no benefits and is linked to detrimental outcomes for children’s development and wellbeing. Therefore, our main recommendation is that England and Northern Ireland should follow Scotland and Wales and remove the legal defence of reasonable punishment. The decisions by lawmakers in Northern Ireland, and last year in England, to drop plans to outlaw physical punishment are a huge missed opportunity and deeply disappointing,” lead author Dr Anja Heilmann (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) said.“Children have the right to be brought up free from all forms of violence. It cannot be right that, in 2026, children in England and Northern Ireland have less legal protection from physical harm than adults. Our children must not receive the message that we can enforce our will on others through inflicting physical pain. Reforming the law in England and Northern Ireland would signal that violence is never acceptable,” Dr Heilmann added.Physical punishment in no form is beneficial for children. In fact, it can be dangerous. Beyond lower exam scores, it can encourage antisocial behaviour.“Physical punishment is the most common and socially accepted form of violence against children, including in the UK. The simple truth, as our research shows, is that physically punishing a child has no benefits. Instead, it is associated with a range of shorter- and longer-term detrimental outcomes for those children, including increased risks of poorer educational attainment and adolescent antisocial behaviours,” co-author Dr Becca Lacey, Reader in Social and Lifecourse Epidemiology at City St George’s, University of London, and Deputy Director of the UCL-led Equalise: ESRC Centre for Lifecourse Health Equity, said.“The experience of abolishing the defence of reasonable punishment in Scotland and Wales provides valuable insights and lessons for the rest of the UK and beyond. Reforming the law requires political will and leadership, and careful implementation. Once achieved, societal acceptance of law reform is high,” she added.Though physical punishment of children has reduced over time in the UK, it continues to affect a substantial proportion. One in five 10-year-olds endures physical punishment in some way, according to 2021 data.The researchers also found that adolescents aged 14 who had experienced any physical punishment in early childhood (ages 3–7) were 33 per cent more likely to have engaged in risky behaviours towards others, including:“This latest report from UCL confirms that physically punishing children does not improve behaviour and is instead linked to a range of poor life outcomes, including ones which cost the state money. The Government must act on the recommendations of this report urgently. Scotland and Wales have already shown there is a way forward that works. Now it is time for England to follow,” MP Jess Asato, who is due to attend the report’s launch in Parliament later today (Thursday), said.“It is unacceptable that in England and Northern Ireland the law still allows a parent or carer to physically punish a child in the name of discipline. This UCL research shows yet again that physical punishment does not improve children’s behaviour and in fact has an adverse impact on their wellbeing and links to poorer outcomes in the future. As is already the case in Scotland and Wales, children in England and Northern Ireland should be afforded the same protection from assault as adults. It’s time to change the law and remove the defence of reasonable punishment once and for all,” Joanna Barrett, Associate Head of Policy at the NSPCC, added.