UCL Study Ties Smacking to 5.7-Point GCSE Failure Rise and 33% More Risky Behavior
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 10
UCL Study Ties Smacking to 5.7-Point GCSE Failure Rise and 33% More Risky Behavior
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 10
Summary
19,000 UK children tracked from ages three to seven showed physical punishment was linked to worse later outcomes, with researchers saying smacking "does no good whatsoever."
7,559 English pupils matched to GCSE records were 5.7 percentage points more likely to miss five A*-C passes including English and maths if they had been smacked.
14-year-olds exposed to physical punishment in early childhood were 33% more likely to engage in risky behaviour such as bullying, and one in five 10-year-olds had been physically punished in 2021.
England and Northern Ireland still allow smacking, unlike Scotland and Wales, and UCL urged both to ban it; England's education department said it has no plans to change the law.
The study was observational and could not prove causation, a limitation critics said matters because child development is shaped by multiple factors.