CORPORAL punishment leaves deep emotional scars on Bahamian youth, according to a new University of the Bahamas study linking childhood beatings to higher anxiety, depression and poor self-control.
The findings could reignite debate in a country where corporal punishment remains widely practised and often defended on biblical grounds, even as growing scientific evidence questions its value and long-term impact.
Researchers urged the government to promote non-violent discipline training for parents and teachers, expand public education on the psychological harms of physical punishment, and modernise legislation to reflect scientific consensus.
The research, conducted by University of The Bahamas professor William Fielding with co-authors from Dartmouth and the US Veterans Hospital System, was published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Bahamian Studies.
Using standardised psychological measures, the team surveyed 454 UB students, most of them women, with an average age of 21.5 years. Participants completed an anonymous online questionnaire assessing their childhood experiences and current mental-health status.
The survey drew on internationally validated instruments, including the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, tools widely used in psychological and neurological research. The study compared those who had experienced corporal punishment as children with those who had not, analysing the results with statistical software to identify differences in mental health, executive functioning, creativity, and personality traits.
The study found that 84.8 percent of respondents reported being physically punished in childhood, and 53.1 percent said it continued into adolescence. Spanking (81.9 percent), whipping (52.4 percent), pinching (49.1 percent), and slapping (42.5 percent) were the most common forms of punishment, and mothers were identified as the main disciplinarians in 80 percent of cases.
Students who endured corporal punishment were significantly more likely to report anxiety, depression, and stress, especially when punishment extended into their teenage years. They also scored lower on measures of executive functioning, skills such as impulse control, organisation, and emotional regulation that are vital for academic and professional success.
The study found that those punished in adolescence showed reduced sensitivity to both reward and punishment, suggesting emotional desensitisation or a blunted ability to respond to feedback.
At the same time, these students self-reported slightly higher levels of creativity and openness to experience. The authors cautioned that these traits likely reflect coping or resilience mechanisms developed under adversity, rather than any positive outcome of corporal punishment.
The researchers described a "dose-response relationship", meaning that the more frequent or severe the punishment, the greater the psychological harm. They concluded that corporal punishment, particularly during adolescence, has enduring negative effects on mood and cognitive control.
Mr Fielding and his colleagues argued that while corporal punishment is still socially accepted and legally permitted in homes and schools in The Bahamas, the evidence no longer supports its use.
They also drew a link between corporal punishment and the country's broader development challenges, suggesting that the long-term effects of fear-based child-rearing could weaken the nation's creative and emotional capacity.
The researchers called for a cultural and policy shift, arguing that eliminating corporal punishment would produce not only healthier individuals but also a more emotionally resilient, creative, and forward-thinking society.