The Physical Punishment in the Emerging of Children Aggressive Behaviours

The focus of the present study is the exploration of factors related to physical parental punishment and the display of aggression among school-age children. The study was conducted in Tirana and Durres with children of seven elementary schools, in a total of 830 children of the group-age 7 to 11 years old. Our aim is to identify the differences between physically punished children and physically non-punished children in the emergence of aggressiveness in general, identification of forms of aggression that exhibit the physically punished children, identification of gender differences in the manifestation of forms of aggression in physically punished children. We used the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scales (Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz & Osterman, 1992) and four questionnaires were designed to collect information from the child whether the parents were involved in these forms of punishment or not. The results of the study showed that there were differences in the display of aggressiveness among physically punished children and physically non-punished children; there was also a tendency for physically punished children to exhibit a higher level of Direct Aggression. Findings also emerged in terms of gender differences in the appearance of aggressiveness in physically punished children. The conclusions highlight the role played by the physical punitive factor in the emergence of aggressive behaviour in children. In this context, the role of parental patterns and what they transmit to the child should be taken into account by the authoritarian figures that are in daily contact with the child - parents or teachers.