School violence prevention must begin at home – study

MANILA, Philippines — The findings of a new international study challenge the familiar belief that corporal punishment produces more disciplined children, with the lead researcher in the Philippines pointing out that preventing school violence depends on addressing children’s relationships at home and in school.

Dr. Liane Peña Alampay of Ateneo de Manila University said in an Ateneo Breakthroughs discussion that more frequent spanking is linked to greater anxiety and aggression in children over time, stressing that “in no instance does corporal punishment have positive effects.”

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Alampay drew from the Parenting Across Cultures (PAC) research initiative, described as the largest multicultural and longitudinal study of its kind in the world and which included observations of Filipino households.

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Over 15 years, the PAC initiative followed children and their parents in nine countries — some 4,500 families in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the U.S. Alampay examined how parenting shapes child development and how culture influences parent-child relationships.

READ: From Duterte’s 1972 shooting story to Tacloban: School violence in PH

Across the cultures studied, the research found that more frequent physical punishment predicted greater anxiety and aggression. Cultural acceptance of the practice sometimes weakened these outcomes but did not make physical punishment beneficial.

Corporal punishment doesn’t work

“Corporal punishment is often synonymous with discipline” in the Philippines, but Alampay said: “I want to correct that; there are many types and forms of discipline. We need to discipline our children, but in ways that are not harsh or inflicting pain.”

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The research challenged the assumption that warm, accepting parenting is a Western approach unsuited to Filipino families.

Across the nine countries, rejection, neglect and hostility toward a child were consistently associated with later emotional and behavioral difficulties that persisted from ages 7 to 14.

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Children who felt valued and accepted, meanwhile, were protected from aggressive or antisocial behaviors, depression and anxiety in relationships.

Alampay stressed that preventing school violence depends on addressing children’s relationships at home and in school, saying that “rejection or harsh parenting at home can combine with bullying and exclusion in school, leaving distressed young people vulnerable to online groups that encourage violence.”

“Of course, we need to make schools safe spaces, not just safe in terms of cameras and bag searches, but safe with a teacher, safe with classmates,” she said, calling for parenting support and environments where children feel accepted and can trust adults.

Her remarks come amid a series of violent incidents inside schools in the Philippines, including stabbings and shootings involving students and teachers.

String of violent incidents

In June 2026, two students, aged 14 and 15, allegedly opened fire inside San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, killing three students and wounding at least 20 others, according to the incident account provided.

READ: School shooting kills 3 students in Tacloban

Other incidents have involved students attacking classmates or teachers following alleged bullying, disciplinary disputes and personal conflicts.

In January 2023, two students, aged 15 and 16, were stabbed by a 13-year-old schoolmate inside Cauayan City National High School in Isabela.

The suspect reportedly described the attack as self-defense against alleged bullying and beatings.

READ: Student stabs, kills classmate due to bullying

In 2025, a 20-year-old student in Lanao del Sur was arrested after allegedly killing a teacher over a failing grade, while another incident in Nueva Ecija that year left a teenage student and the alleged shooter dead.

While these incidents do not establish that harsh parenting causes school violence, Alampay’s findings highlight the importance of considering children’s emotional well-being and relationships at home and in school when developing violence-prevention measures.

Home responsibilities

The Filipino parents represented in the research were among those reporting the strongest authoritarian attitudes, emphasizing strictness, obedience and respect for authority.

Alampay distinguished this approach from authoritative parenting, which combines rules and expectations with warmth, open communication and recognition of the child’s perspective.

“Moreover, close family ties also emerged as a potential strength,” she said. “Valuing family responsibilities—such as helping in the home, spending time with the family, supporting siblings, and respecting parents—predicted later helpful behavior and, among Filipino participants, protected against the effects of negative parenting by shaping the meanings of parent behaviors.”

This variable, she explained, may be related but not equivalent to “utang na loob (debt of gratitude).”

“How family obligations can bring about positive as well as negative effects among the youth needs further study,” she said.

For Alampay, parenting also reflects pressures outside the home: Financial hardship, unsafe neighborhoods and household instability can strain parents’ well-being and relationships, increasing the risk of harsh parenting.

As a way of putting research into practice, she discussed Masayang Pamilya (MaPa), a Philippine adaptation of the Parenting for Lifelong Health support intervention that aims to promote positive caregiver-child relationships, prevent violence in the home and enhance caregiver and child well-being.

MaPa teaches caregivers practical skills through model scripts, guided practice, illustrated stories and stress management. A randomized controlled trial of MaPa for young children found reductions in child maltreatment that were sustained a year after the program.

For Alampay, the best way to reach parents is through support and empathy rather than judgment.

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“Most parents do not intentionally choose negative parenting. They would like to see their children thrive but do not know how to do it.”

“We are also products of our history and how we were parented; it is all we know,” she added. /dm