How to be a less ‘hostile parent’ – as report finds links with long-term mental health risk for children

Researchers have found that lots of shouting and harsh discipline can have a lasting harmful impact. By Imy Brighty-Potts.

Hostile parenting can have long-term impact (Alamy/PA)

Hostile parenting and harsh discipline leads to an increased risk of lasting mental health problems in children, a new report has found.

According to researchers from the University of Cambridge and University College Dublin – who looked at data from 7,500 children – parenting that involves frequently shouting at, isolating, and physically punishing young children, left them 1.5 times more likely to be at “high risk” of developing poor mental health by age nine.Of the children in the study, about 10% were found to be in a high-risk band for poor mental health, which included symptoms of anxiety, aggression, and social withdrawal.

“The fact that one in 10 children were in the high-risk category for mental health problems is a concern and we ought to be aware of the part parenting may play in that,” said Ioannis Katsantonis, a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.