I believe that physically punished can become violent adults. That does not nece

Question

I believe that physically punished can become violent adults. That does not necessarilymean that they will. I know this because I was spanked in my childhood and I am not a violent individual. I think it would be a good idea to define violent. The lexical definition of violent is using or involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. Typically when I think of a violent adult i think of someone who is violent without rationale. According to Dr. Gershoff, In the United States, studies show that approximately 65% of adults approve of physical punishment and about 50% of families use physical punishment to discipline children. Yet, research documents that physical punishment is associated with increases in delinquency, antisocial behavior, and aggression in children, and decreases in the quality of the parent-child relationship, children’s mental health, and children’s capacity to internalize socially acceptable behavior. Adults who have been subjected to physical punishment as children are more likely to abuse their own child or spouse and to manifest criminal behavior (Gershoff, 2008). These numbers support the theory that physically punished children have a higher probability to grow into more violent adults.

Explanation / Answer

Witnessing family violence can cause a child to grow up violent or may not cause a child to grow up violent. It depends from person to person. A child who witnesses violence may not likely grow up to be violent because watching violence in the family can make the child very submissive. A child is most likely to withdraw and not exhibit emotions. They may not be very good at expressing their emotions which includes anger. However, there is a possibility of the child growing up violent because the child imitates the behaviour learnt. He is more likely to grow up to be violent because he witnessed family violence and learnt the behaviour which was observed.

Tom grew up in a family where his father was an alcoholic. His father used to come back home drunk every night. Tom's mother would put him to sleep, but Tom could hear his father yelling and screaming in the other room. His father would sometimes throw things around or beat his mother up. Most days Tom would witness his father beating up his mother. This led Tom to withdraw himself and keep his emotions in control. He never exhibited any emotion because he did not want to be like his father.

In the same situation above, Tom could have as well been violent growing up as he often witnessed violence in his family. It indeed depends from person to person.

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