Way a minute! Is this the "alternatives" that anti-spanking zealotS like
Haueser recommended???

Doan


On 15 Nov 2003, Fern5827 wrote:

....Hmmmmm......like trying to legislate when rain falls...........


Psychological Aggression Toward Children Almost Universal in American Fam=
ilies
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Life News (Social and Behavioral Sciences) Keywords
FAMILIES CHILDREN PSYCHOLOGICAL AGGRESSION RESEARCH AMERICAN
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Description

Psychological aggression toward children of all ages is so prevalent in
American family life that it was found in almost all the families studied=
in
new research.


Psychological aggression toward children of all ages is so prevalent in
American family life that it was found in almost all the families studied=
in
new research by Murray Straus, Professor of Sociology and co-Director of =
the
Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire; and Caroly=
n
Field, sociology researcher at Elizabethtown College.

For their article, =E2=80=9CPsychological Aggression by American Parents:=
National
Data on Prevalence, Chronicity, and Severity,=E2=80=9D in the November is=
sue of
Journal of Marriage and Family, researchers Straus and Field studied 991
American parents. Almost all of the parents reported yelling, screaming, =
or
shouting as a method of correction or to control the behavior of the chil=
d.
=E2=80=9CThis means,=E2=80=9D states Straus, =E2=80=9Cthat nearly all par=
ents, regardless of
other demographic characteristics, used at least some psychological aggre=
ssion
as a disciplinary tactic.=E2=80=9D

In their article, Straus and Field note that parents and authorities are
reluctant to label this type of aggression as abuse. One reason for the
reluctance may be the widespread belief that such a label would require
criminal justice or child-welfare intervention. =E2=80=9CNot true,=E2=80=
=9D states Straus.
=E2=80=9CMany less extreme steps to end psychological aggression are poss=
ible,
starting with public service television spots to sensitize parents to the
problem.=E2=80=9D The researchers also disagree with another widespread b=
elief that
the resilient child is not harmed by the occasional instance of psycholog=
ical
aggression. =E2=80=9CThere is no empirical evidence,=E2=80=9D Straus stat=
ed, =E2=80=9Cto indicate
occasional psychological abuse, such as the frustrated parent =E2=80=98bl=
owing off
steam,=E2=80=99 is harmless.=E2=80=9D

Two other common arguments are given for the lack of recognition of
psychological aggression as abuse. The first argument is that even the mo=
st
loving parents will occasionally =E2=80=9Close it.=E2=80=9D Straus and Fi=
eld comment that
this is an explanation for some types of psychological aggression, rather=
than
a justification for this behavior. And, second, there=E2=80=99s the diffi=
cult issue
of when to draw the line between psychological aggression and abuse. =E2=
=80=9CIs it
the 10th time or the 25th time?=E2=80=9D ask the authors. Straus=E2=80=99=
s own opinion is
that, =E2=80=9CAny psychological aggression is abuse the moment it is don=
e.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CThroughout his career,=E2=80=9D states Greer Litton Fox, Profess=
or of Child and
Family Studies at the University of Tennessee, =E2=80=9CMurray Straus has=
opened our
collective eyes to the negative side of family life and forced the Americ=
an
public to come to grips with issues that we might prefer to ignore. Taken=
all
together these data suggest that nearly every child in this country with =
some
regularity has experienced many withering outbursts from parents who were=
angry
or upset, or in response to a child=E2=80=99s misbehavior.=E2=80=9D

When asked where should this research go next, Fox replies, =E2=80=9CTwo =
directions
would seem especially useful. First would be the relationships between pa=
rental
verbal behaviors and the circumstances that elicit them. If we knew how t=
hey
were related, perhaps we could help to reduce the amount of verbal aggres=
sion
parents direct toward children. Second is the effect of parental verbal
behaviors on child outcomes. We need to know in what ways, if any, the ki=
nds of
behaviors identified in this article as parental psychological aggression
affect children. If we know the effects, we are in a better position to
counteract them.=E2=80=9D

Straus and Field agree with Fox=E2=80=99s assessment of future directions=
=2E But
although Straus concludes that researchers need to define levels of aggre=
ssion
and the extent they are tied to unfavorable outcomes for the child, he
stresses, =E2=80=9CI am confident we will find that, because of its negat=
ive
consequences, psychological aggression is unacceptable at any level.=E2=
=80=9D



The Journal of Marriage and Family is a quarterly publication of the Nati=
onal
Council on Family Relations, 3989 Central Avenue NE, Suite 550, Minneapol=
is, MN
55421.

Go to http://www.ncfr.org/about_us/j_press_releases.asp for the full arti=
cle.