NPEIV Official Support of APA Resolution on Corporal Punishment

The National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan (NPEIV) is an overarching group of individuals, organizations, agencies, coalitions, and groups that embrace a national, multi-disciplinary and multicultural commitment to violence prevention across the lifespan.

And we applaud the American Psychological Association (APA) for expanding their prior resolution against corporal punishment of children within schools and institutions to include physical discipline of children, specifically recognizing that physical discipline of children by caregivers “can harm children’s mental health and possibly increase their propensity toward aggressive behavior.” The APA’s new resolution reflects the current knowledge of research on the negative impacts of physical discipline and recommends the use of alternative forms of discipline that are associated with more positive outcomes.

Violence is never the answer. There is a clear body of evidence demonstrating the negative effects of corporal punishment on childhood development, including increasing their risk for intimate partner violence in adolescence and as adults. NPEIV joins the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) and similar organizations in encouraging all professionals working with child maltreatment to implement these recommendations within their practice.

NPEIV is committed to reducing interpersonal violence and its consequences through scientific research and application of empirical findings. It is our mission to make the prevention of interpersonal violence a national and international priority and to encourage healthy relationships by linking science, practice, policy and advocacy.

Through our many partnerships and collaborations, it is our vision to end all types of interpersonal violence, for all people, in all communities, at all stages of life. For more information, please visit www.npeiv.org