The UCL study also found physically punished children were more likely to struggle in school
The study, using data from 19,000 children born in the UK in the early 2000s, also found that teenagers experiencing physical punishment in early childhood were markedly more likely to bully siblings and others or engage in cyberbullying.
The effects of smacking appeared most immediately in behaviour problems among infants, while repeated experience of physical punishment at ages three, five and seven was associated with lower literacy.
Transference has been known for decades, at least
And not just transference – children learn how to relate to the world from their parents.
If their parents relate to them with violence, they will learn to relate to the world with violence.