National bans on smacking children have been linked to lower rates of violence among young people.

When parents cannot smack and corporal punishment is banned in schools, the rate of fighting in boys falls by more than two-thirds.

In girls it falls by more than 40 per cent, according to a study of teenagers across 88 countries.

Researchers suggest repeated physical punishment may ‘reinforce aggressive thoughts, emotions and actions’.

Research has found that when parents cannot smack and corporal punishment is banned in schools, the rate of fighting in boys falls by more than two-thirds. In girls it falls by more than 40 per cent (stock picture)

The Government has come under growing pressure to outlaw smacking in the home in England. Wales and Scotland are already due to ban it.

The study was led by McGill University in Canada and published in the journal BMJ Open. The authors say: ‘These results support the hypothesis that societies that prohibit the use of corporal punishment are less violent to grow up in.’

But critics say ministers should not intrude into family life by changing the law, which now allows smacking at home as long as it causes no physical or mental harm.

The study gives Britain as an example of a country with a partial ban on smacking.

These countries, where physical punishment is banned in schools but not homes, have a 56 per cent lower rate of violence among girls, it states, although there is no difference for boys.

Surveys on teenage behaviour were examined for 88 countries to determine if smacking bans altered rates of violence.

The study, which was led by McGill University in Canada, found research that suggested repeated physical punishment may ‘reinforce aggressive thoughts and actions’ (stock picture)

The surveys principally involved children aged 11 to 17 and included a question on whether, and how often, the respondent had been involved in a physical fight over the past 12 months.

Analysis of the responses showed that frequent physical fighting was more than three times as common among boys as girls.

In countries were full bans were in force, the prevalence of physical fighting was 69 per cent lower among young men and 42 per cent lower among young women than it was in countries without any ban.

In countries operating a partial ban, which include the UK, the US and Canada, the prevalence of physical violence was lower only among girls.

This remained the case even when national wealth, murder rates and government programmes to reduce exposure to violence were taken into account.

The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, states: ‘A growing number of countries have banned corporal punishment as an acceptable means of child discipline and this is an important step that should be encouraged, especially in countries that have seen an effective lobby against such prohibitive approaches.’