Scientific research that worries parents: Shouting causes great harm

A study carried out in the United States revealed that yelling at children causes damage similar to physical and sexual abuse. The study stated that verbal attacks on children had a negative effect in later years.

The study also revealed that children who were verbally attacked by their parents at a young age were at higher risk of self-harm, drug use, and going to prison. Experts say parents who call their children “stupid” increase their children’s risk of self-harm and drug use: “Raising your voice harshly at children is a form of attack and has great harm,” they said.

SAYING “YOU ARE LAZY” CAUSES HARM

Research published in the medical journal Child Abuse & Neglect said: “Such attacks affect the child’s development and have an effect equivalent to sexual and physical assault.” Professor Shanta R. Dube, who led the research, said: “Children generally don’t realize that they are being harmed when they are criticized and told ‘you’re lazy’ and ‘you’re stupid.'”

The British newspaper The Guardian also shared details of an investigation recently published in BMJ Open. In the study, “Those who were exposed to verbal attacks used drugs twice as much as those who were not verbally attacked. Furthermore, the risk of these people going to prison is twice as high.”