35.2 THE SILENT EFFECT OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN IN RURAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS: HELPING SCHOOLS UNDERSTAND THE TRAUMA

Abstract

According to the most recently published data from the US Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), more than 92,479 children were physically punished at schools in 2015-2016. Corporal punishment in schools is legal in 19 US states, but not much is known about the impact on children who live in rural communities. The United Nations highlighted a correlation between corporal punishment and other types of violence and proposed a ban on corporal punishment of children “as a key to prevent all forms of violence in societies” (United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child [UNCRC], 2006). Despite increasing research in corporal punishment, limited data are available about the prevalence, nature, and role of the corporal punishment of children in US rural public schools. The goal of the presentation includes an overview of the factors affecting the learning performance of children who seek mental health services in rural areas, the impact of corporal punishment, and interventions offered by school-based mental health services to assist with their healing. Using PubMed and PsycINFO, the presentation will provide a review of literature on the effects of adverse childhood experiences on learning ability, with a focus on corporal punishment in US public schools, and the evidence to support trauma-sensitive school interventions. The produced articles will be evaluated for quality. The presenter’s own clinical experience will be incorporated via case vignettes. Increased understanding of the challenges faced by children exposed to corporal punishment in rural communities, as well as factors that can help prevent and minimize poor outcome in the academic environment, will assist child and adolescent psychiatrists to offer effective therapeutic interventions by facilitating the engagement of teachers. The exposure to corporal punishment in schools can be a traumatic childhood event. Although rural communities present many challenges to engaging children in mental health assistance, child and adolescent psychiatrists are in the unique position to help the children who experience corporal punishment in the academic setting by educating and suggesting evidence-based treatments to the schools, which frequently are the children’s main structured support system.