This year, APA released its first-ever resolution on physical discipline by parents, laying out the research showing that spanking and other forms of corporal punishment are ineffective and potentially dangerous. The resolution recommends that parents seek out other forms of discipline to shape their children’s behavior.
It was the first APA resolution on childhood discipline practices since 1975, when the association issued a resolution against corporal punishment in schools and other institutions, says Lauren Fasig Caldwell, JD, PhD, the director of APA’s Children, Youth and Families Office.
Now APA’s Div. 37 (Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice) is developing research-based resources on the negative effects of corporal punishment for different target audiences, including parents, teachers and pediatricians.
APA is also speaking out on discipline outside the home. Federal statistics show that corporal punishment and harsh discipline in schools disproportionately affect children of color and children with disabilities (U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-258, 2018opens in new window).
“Our advocacy focuses on and highlights the need for more behavioral counseling and services in schools,” says Leo Rennie, an APA senior legislative and federal affairs officer. APA is supporting the bill H.R. 1109 and its companion bill S. 1122, which aim to expand access to school-based comprehensive mental health services via Department of Health and Human Services grants. APA staff also briefed Congress in June about data on implicit bias and racial disparities in discipline.
