Is ending child abuse a necessary step to ending animal abuse?

[bEt]

From

This Is What Happens When You Hit Your Kids

Physically disciplining children has dramatic impact on both parent and child.

www.psychologytoday.com

"A large meta-analysis of studies on the effects of punishment found that the more physical punishment children receive, the more defiant they are toward parents and authorities, the poorer their relationships with parents, the more likely they are to report hitting a dating partner or spouse. They are also more likely to suffer mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse problems, and less likely to empathize with others or internalize norms of moral behavior."

I underlined the underlined parts.

Could suffering abuse at the hands of adults or peers set up a road block to a young person's innate ability to connect to the compassion they need to adopt a vegan outlook?

 

[Emma JC]

Interesting thoughts / conclusions. I look at my own family as I am 16 - 8 years younger than my siblings and I know that the older ones received more corporal punishment that I did as the much beloved 'baby' of the family. My older brother and sister definitely have more issues relating to others although they are still loving and kind. I received a lot more love and affection, especially from my dad, and I am the only vegan.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Brian W]

We have to be careful when interpreting the results because often the "more physical punishment" is within families who are unloving in many other ways too and the child can pick the whole scenario up as the normal way to behave. My own upbringing was very loving but also included physical punishment. I think the punishment was sometimes unnecessary, but it made me take my parent's authority seriously. I don't resent it, and if I were a parent, I would rather give a quick light slap on the leg than frustrate the child for days past the misdeed by "grounding" them. I have never had a problem with authority in principle but I feel very strongly when authority is abused, but that is just normal, not the result of any punishment. I think with many studies like this, people are prone to seeing what they want to see instead of looking carefully at why the figures are what they are.

 

[Tom L.]

.......
Could suffering abuse at the hands of adults or peers set up a road block to a young person's innate ability to connect to the compassion they need to adopt a vegan outlook?

I definitely see how this could be possible. I personally don't think children are necessarily robots who can be molded and "programmed" by parents, teachers, peers, etc. Although I wasn't abused by relatives or other children, I have rather strong introvert tendencies, so I sometimes have greater-than-average difficulty understanding people or "fitting in". I don't think this is anyone's "fault"; I keep in mind that others may be put off by my idiosyncrasies, and that they may have just as much trouble understanding me sometimes. They and I usually have mutually beneficial, harmonious interactions.

BUT.... I have to admit that I usually feel more at-ease dealing with animals (unless they're obviously hostile). This was almost certainly a factor in my above-average concern for animals, and my increasingly-radical change of diet.