Shouting at Teenage Children Can Lead to Depression: Study

Yelling at teenage children can have the same negative outcome as hitting them, a latest research cautions.

Parents who shout at their children for their misbehavior increase the risk of depression and aggressive behavior in them, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan found.

"Shouting cannot reduce or correct their problem behavior," said Ming-Te Wang, an assistant professor of education and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and a co-author of the study. "On the contrary, it makes it worse."

The researchers studied 976 families with children aged 13 and 14. Nearly half the families were European American, 40 percent were African American and others were from different ethnic groups.

The study found that parents who scolded their children at the age of 13 put them at risk of  depression between the ages 13 and 14.  Around 45 percent of mothers and 42 percent of fathers admitted they used harsh words and shouted at children. These children also showed behavioral problems such as misbehaving at school, stealing or fighting and lying to parents.

"This is one of the first studies to indicate that parents' harsh verbal discipline is damaging to the developing adolescent," said Wang. "The notion that harsh discipline is without consequence, once there is a strong parent-child bond--that the adolescent will understand that 'they're doing this because they love me'--is misguided because parents' warmth didn't lessen the effects of harsh verbal discipline. Indeed, harsh verbal discipline appears to be detrimental in all circumstances."

He further explained that shouting at children during their teenage years can be harmful because "adolescence is a very sensitive period when (kids) are trying to develop their self-identities." This makes them feel incapable, worthless and useless hurting their self-image.