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Banning Corporal Punishment of Children

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A Position Paper
Association for Childhood Education International

Sureshrani Paintal
Sureshrani Paintal is Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education,
Chicago State University, Chicago, Illinois.

Since 1982, the Association for Childhood Education International
(ACEI) has sought to "promote the inherent rights, education, and
well-being of all children in home, school, and community." Consistent
with its overall mission, another major goal of the Association is to
"facilitate desirable conditions, programs, and practices for children
from infancy through early adolescence."

For the past 10 years, ACEI has actively supported the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the most highly
ratified human rights agreement in history. The Convention is important
because it serves to focus attention on children's issues and it
provides the legal basis for improving the living conditions for
children worldwide. The Convention seeks to establish certain minimum
standards that all governments that sign the doctrine agree to follow,
which guarantee a child's basic needs, protections, and freedoms.

Article 19 of the Convention specifies that State Parties (i.e.,
governments that ratify the Convention) must take appropriate measures
to protect children from "all forms of physical or mental violence,
injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or
exploitation." In most countries/states, laws are already in place that
spell out what kinds of discipline are considered excessive or abusive.
Although the Convention does not specifically address what forms of
discipline should be used in the home, it strongly supports parents
providing nonviolent guidance and direction to their children. In
school, administrators are expected to take into account the child's
"human dignity" and eliminate any discipline practices that may cause
physical or mental harm.

Enduring Needs of Children
Childhood is a unique and critical stage of life. Children the world
over share the same basic needs for safety, health, nurturance, and
dignity. ACEI is committed to supporting children's development;
respecting individual differences; helping children learn to live and
work cooperatively; and promoting children's physical and mental
health, self-worth, resiliency, education, academic competence,
self-control, and responsibility. Corporal punishment conflicts with
these goals and has no place in any child's life.

Definition of Corporal Punishment
Corporal punishment can be defined as a painful, intentionally
inflicted (typically, by striking a child) physical penalty
administered by a person in authority for disciplinary purposes.
Corporal punishment can occur anywhere, and whippings, beatings,
paddlings, and flogging are specific forms of corporal punishment
(Cohen, 1984).

Worldwide Initiatives for Banning Corporal Punishment
Education, as well as legislative and legal reforms, are crucial to
ending corporal punishment on a worldwide level. In 1979, Sweden became
the first country in the world to ban all corporal punishment of
children. By passing their no corporal punishment law, Sweden set a
good example for other nations. Furthermore, Sweden bolsters the law by
providing funds for a massive education campaign and designating
extensive support services to minimize family stress and conflict.
While the Swedish government primarily relies upon the pedagogic effect
of the legal prohibition, offenders are subject to criminal prosecution
(Bitensky, 1998). Eight European countries have followed the Swedish
example: Denmark, Norway, Finland, Austria, Cyprus, Italy, Croatia, and
Latvia (EPOCH-USA, 1999a).

Other countries making progress toward banning corporal punishment of
children through legal and/or educational campaigns are Germany,
Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Namibia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Korea,
and the United Kingdom (EPOCH-USA, 1999b).

In the United States, however, corporal punishment of children in the
schools is legal in about half the states, and "reasonable" corporal
punishment of children by their parents or guardians is legal in every
state except Minnesota (Bitensky, 1998). Prohibition of corporal
punishment in family day care, group homes/institutions, child care
centers, and family foster care varies according to state laws
(EPOCH-USA, 1999b).

Consequences of Corporal Punishment
Accumulated research supports the theory that corporal punishment is an
ineffective discipline strategy with children of all ages and,
furthermore, that it is often dangerous. Corporal punishment most often
produces in its victims anger, resentment, and low self-esteem. It
teaches violence and revenge as solutions to problems, and perpetuates
itself, as children imitate what they see adults doing. Research
substantiates the following consequences of corporal punishment:

* Children whose parents use corporal punishment to control
antisocial behavior show more antisocial behavior themselves over a
long period of time, regardless of race and socioeconomic status, and
regardless of whether the mother provides cognitive stimulation and
emotional support (Gunnoe & Mariner, 1997; Kazdin, 1987; Patterson,
DeBaryshe, & Ramsey, 1989; Straus, Sugarman, & Giles-Sims, 1997).
* A consistent pattern of physical abuse exists that generally
starts as corporal punishment, and then gets out of control (Kadushin &
Martin, 1981; Straus & Yodanis, 1994).
* Adults who were hit as children are more likely to be depressed
or violent themselves (Berkowitz, 1993; Strassberg, Dodge, Pettit, &
Bates, 1994; Straus, 1994; Straus & Gelles, 1990; Straus & Kantor,
1992).
* The more a child is hit, the more likely it is that the child,
when an adult, will hit his or her children, spouse, or friends (Julian
& McKenry, 1993; Straus, 1991; Straus, 1994; Straus & Gelles, 1990;
Straus & Kantor, 1992; Widom, 1989; Wolfe, 1987).
* Corporal punishment increases the probability of children
assaulting the parent in retaliation, especially as they grow older
(Brezina, 1998).
* Corporal punishment sends a message to the child that violence is
a viable option for solving problems (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz,
1980; Straus, Sugarman, & Giles-Sims, 1997).
* Corporal punishment is degrading, contributes to feelings of
helplessness and humiliation, robs a child of self-worth and
self-respect, and can lead to withdrawal or aggression (Sternberg et
al., 1993; Straus, 1994).
* Corporal punishment erodes trust between a parent and a child,
and increases the risk of child abuse; as a discipline measure, it
simply does not decrease children's aggressive or delinquent behaviors
(Straus, 1994).
* Children who get spanked regularly are more likely over time to
cheat or lie, be disobedient at school, bully others, and show less
remorse for wrongdoing (Straus, Sugarman, & Giles-Sims, 1997).
* Corporal punishment adversely affects children's cognitive
development. Children who are spanked perform poorly on school tasks
compared to other children (Straus & Mathur, 1995; Straus & Paschall,
1998).

Alternatives to Corporal Punishment

* Set firm, consistent, age-appropriate, and acceptable limits. For
example, although a 5-year-old child may be able to resist the urge to
touch things, it is not reasonable to expect that a 2-year-old will be
able to handle such limits. Therefore, parents may need to childproof
their homes to protect breakable items, and to keep chidren away from
dangerous objects.
* Teach children conflict resolution and mediation skills,
including listening actively, speaking clearly, showing trust and being
trustworthy, accepting differences, setting group goals, negotiating,
and mediating conflicts.
* Reason and talk with children in age-appropriate ways. Verbal
parent-child interactions enhance children's cognitive ability.
* Model patience, kindness, empathy, and cooperation. Parents and
teachers should be aware of the powerful influence their actions have
on a child's or group's behavior.
* Provide daily opportunities for children to practice rational
problem solving, and to study alternatives and the effect of each
alternative.
* Encourage and praise children. A nonverbal response such as a
smile or a nod, or a verbal response such as "good" or "right" not only
provides incentives for accomplishment, but also builds primary grade
children's confidence.
* Allow children to participate in setting rules-and identifying
consequences for breaking them. This empowers children to learn how to
manage their own behavior.
* Provide consistency, structure, continuity, and predictability in
children's lives.
* Encourage children's autonomy-allow them to think for themselves,
and to monitor their own behavior, letting their conscience guide them.

Strategies for Parents, Schools, and the Community

* Expose children to a variety of sources-including the Internet,
television, movies, radio programs, puppet shows-that model
alternatives to corporal punishment.
* Provide parents with information on child development and
behavior management through workshops, mentoring, conferences, library
books, newsletters, brochures, flyers, and bulletin board materials.
* Make parents aware of parenting classes that stress behavior
management strategies as alternatives to corporal punishment, or make
parenting courses available at school.
* Provide education classes for couples that recently have become
parents.
* Improve preservice and inservice programs for teachers,
principals, and other school staff that teach techniques for building
better interpersonal relations, positive guidance in the classroom, and
new strategies for maintaining student interest.
* Help establish ties between the school and community through
mental health and family counseling programs to support families in
stress.
* Ensure increased collaboration among community programs serving
young children and their families.
* Develop a comprehensive and unified system of advocacy on behalf
of children.

Possible Statute for Banning Corporal Punishment of Children
Bitensky (1998) has proposed a statute that integrates the prohibition
of corporal punishment with criminal liability. This draft statute
emphasizes the pedagogical thrust of the prohibition, downplays the
repercussive role of the law, and embodies aspects of approaches
adopted by those countries that have banned corporal punishment of
children. EPOCH-Worldwide reports specific legal reforms enacted in
Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden
(EPOCH-USA, 1999a).

Organizations Committed To Ending Corporal Punishment
EPOCH-Worldwide
(Ending Physical Punishment of Children Worldwide)
Peter Newell or Penelope Leach
77 Holloway Road, London N7 8JZ
Telephone: 0171 700 0627
Fax: 0171 700 1105
E-mail:
EPOCH-Worldwide is a multinational federation committed to ending
corporal punishment of children through education and legal reform.

CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE
EPOCH-USA
NATIONAL COALITION TO ABOLISH CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS
Nadine Block, Director
155 W. Main Street, #100B
Columbus, OH 43215
Telephone: 614-221-8829
Fax: 614-228-5058
URL: www.StopHitting.org
The Center for Effective Discipline (CED) is a nonprofit organization
that provides educational information to the public on the effects of
corporal punishment and on alternatives to its use.
EPOCH-USA is the American affiliate of EPOCH-Worldwide, a multinational
federation committed to ending corporal punishment of children through
education and legal reform.
The National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools
(NCACPS), an organization whose members are both individuals and
organizations, shares information on the progress of banning corporal
punishment with the public and the media.

ISPCAN
(The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and
Neglect)
200 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60601
Telephone: 312-578-1401
Fax: 312-321-1405
http://ispcan.org
E-mail:
ISPCAN's mission is to support individuals and organizations working to
protect children from abuse and neglect worldwide. It supports
international efforts to protect the rights of the child

Prevent Child Abuse America
200 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60604-4357
Telephone: 312-663-3520
www.childabuse.org
Prevent Child Abuse America is a national organization dedicated to
preventing child abuse in all its forms through education, research,
pilot programs, and advocacy.

References and Resources
Berkowitz, L. (1993). Aggression: Its causes, consequences, and
control. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Bitensky, S. H. (1998). Spare the rod, embrace our humanity: Toward a
new legal regime prohibiting corporal punishment of children.
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, 31(2), 354-391.
Brezina, T. (1998). Adolescent-to-parent violence as an adaptation to
family strain: An empirical examination. Manuscript submitted for
publication.
Cohen, C. P. (1984). Freedom from corporal punishment: One of the human
rights of children. New York Law School Human Rights Annual, Volume II,
Part 1
Durrant, J. E., & Olsen, G. M. (1997). Parenting and public policy:
Contextualizing the Swedish corporal punishment ban. Journal of Social
Welfare and Family Law, 19, 443-461.
EPOCH-USA. (1999a). Legal reforms: Corporal punishment of children in
the family as reported by EPOCH-Worldwide. [On-line]. Available:
www.StopHitting.org
EPOCH-USA. (1999b). U.S. progress in ending physical punishment of
children in schools, institutions, foster care, day care and families.
[On-line]. Available: www.StopHitting.org
Gelles, R. J., & Edfeldt, A.W. (1986). Violence toward children in the
United States and Sweden. Child Abuse and Neglect, 10, 501-510
Greven, P. (1991). Spare the child: The religious roots of punishment
and the psychological impact of physical abuse. New York: Knopf.
Gunnoe, M. I., & Mariner, C. L. (1997). Toward a
developmental-contextual model of the effects of parental spanking on
children's aggression. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine,
151, 768-775.
Haeuser, A. (1992). Swedish parents don't spank. Mothering, 63, 42-49.
Hyman, I. A. (1995). Corporal punishment, psychological maltreatment,
violence, and punitiveness in America: Research, advocacy and public
policy. Applied & Preventive Psychology, 4, 113-130.
Hyman, I. A. (1997). The case against spanking. San Francisco:
Jossey-Boss.
Julian, T. W., & McKenry, P. C. (1993). Mediators of male violence
toward female intimates. Journal of Family Violence, 8, 39-56.
Kadushin, A., & Martin, J. A. (1981). Child abuse: An interactional
event. New York: Columbia University Press.
Kazdin, A. E. (1987). Treatment of antisocial behavior in children:
Current status and future directions. Psychological Bulletin, 102(2),
187-203.
Kirchner, J. T. (1998). Childhood spanking and increased antisocial
behavior. American Family Physician, 57(4), 798.
Myles, B. S., & Simpson, R. L. (1998). Aggression and violence by
school age children and youth: Understanding the aggression cycle and
prevention/intervention strategies. Intervention in School and Clinic,
33(5), 250-262.
Patterson, G. R., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsey, E. (1989). A
developmental perspective on antisocial behavior. American
Psychologist, 44(2), 329-335.
Pete, S. (1998). To smack or not to smack? Should the law prohibit
South African parents from imposing corporal punishment on their
children? South African Journal of Human Rights, 14, 431-460.
Rohner, R. P., & Cournoyer, D. E. (1994). Universal and cultural
specifics in children's perceptions of parental acceptance and
rejection: Evidence from factor analyses within eight societies
worldwide. Cross Cultural Research, 28, 371-383.
Sternberg, K. J., Lamb, M. E., Greenbaum, C. D., Dawud, S., Cortes, R.
M., Krispin, O., & Lorey, F. (1993). Effect of domestic violence on
children's behavior problems and depression. Developmental Psychology,
29, 44-52.
Strassberg, Z., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994).
Spanking in the home and children's subsequent aggression toward
kindergarten peers. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 445-461.
Straus, M. A. (1991). Discipline and deviance: Physical punishment of
children and violence and other crimes in adulthood. Social Problems,
38, 133-154.
Straus, M. A. (1994). Beating the devil out of them: Corporal
punishment in American families. San Francisco: New Lexington Press.
Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (Eds.). (1990). Physical violence in
American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145
families. New Brunswick, NJ: Transactions.
Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Steinmetz, S. K. (1980). Behind closed
doors: Violence in the American family. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Straus, M. A., & Kantor, K. G. (1992). Corporal punishment by parents
of adolescents: A risk factor in the epidemiology of depression,
suicide, alcohol abuse, child abuse and wife beating. Durham, NH:
University of New Hampshire, Family Research Laboratory.
Straus, M. A., & Mathur, A. K. (1995, April). Corporal punishment and
children's academic achievement. Paper presented at the annual meeting
of the Pacific Sociological Society, San Francisco.
Straus, M. A., & Paschall, M. J. (1998). Corporal punishment by mothers
and child's cognitive development: A longitudinal study. Paper
presented at the 14th world conference of sociology, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada. Durham, NH: Family Research Laboratory, University of New
Hampshire.
Straus, M. A., Sugarman, D. B., & Giles-Sims (1997). Corporal
punishment by parents and subsequent antisocial behavior of children.
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 155, 761-767.
Straus, M. A., & Yodanis, C. L. (1994). Physical abuse. In M. A. Straus
(Ed.), Beating the devil out of them: Corporal punishment in American
families (pp. 81-98). San Francisco: New Lexington Press.
Turner, H. A., & Finkelhor, D. (1996). Corporal punishment as a
stressor among youth. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 155-166.
UNICEF. (1997, June). UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
[On-line]. Available: www.unicef.org/crc/conven.htm
Weiss, B., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (1992). Some
consequences of early harsh discipline: Child aggression and a
maladaptive social information processing style. Child Development, 63,
1321-1335.
Widom, C. S. (1989). The cycle of violence. Science, 244, 160-166.
Wolfe, D. A. (1987). Child abuse: Implications for child development
and psychopathology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

http://stoptherod.net/research.htm

Psychiatric and addiction: Dr. Harriet McMillan of McMaster University
in Hamilton, ON Canada led a six-person team which studied the possible
association between childhood spanking and subsequent behavior problems
in adulthood. 3 They based their study on data collected as part of a
1990 population health survey by the Ontario Ministry of Health of
10,000 adults in the province. Five thousand of the subjects had been
asked questions about spanking during childhood. Unlike many previous
studies, the researchers deleted from the sample group anyone who
recalled being physically or sexually abused. This left adults who had
only been spanked and/or slapped during childhood. Incidences of adult
disorders we
Adult disorder
Never spanked
Rarely spanked
Sometimes/often spanked
Anxiety
16.3%
18.8%
21.3%
Major depression
4.6%
4.8%
6.9%
Alcohol abuse or addiction
5.8%
10.2%
13.2%
More than one disorder *
7.5%
12.6%
16.7%
* More than one disorder included illicit drug abuse, addictions &
antisocial behavior.

Their results were published in the Canadian Medical Journal for
1995-OCT. 4 They reported that "there appears to be a linear
association between the frequency of slapping and spanking during
childhood and a lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorder, alcohol abuse
or dependence and externalizing problems."
http://www.nospank.net/adctn.htm
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/161/7/805

************************************************** **********************
Degree of physical punishment


Never
Rare
Moderate
Severe
Extreme
Violent inmates
at San Quentin
0%
0%
0%
0%
100%
Juvenile
Delinquents
0%
2%
3%
31%
64%
High School
drop-outs
0%
7%
23%
69%
0%
College
freshmen
2%
23%
40%
33%
0%
Professionals
5%
40%
36%
17%
0%
Taking part in this survey we 200 psychologists who filled out
anonymous questionnaires, 372 college students at the University of
California, Davis and California State University at Fresno, 52 slow
track underachievers at Richmond High School. Delinquents were
interviewed by Dr. Ralph Welsh in Bridgeport, Connecticut and by Dr.
Alan Button in Fresno, California. Prisoner information was by courtesy
of Hobart Banks, M.S.W., counselor of difficult prisoners at San
Quentin Penitentiary, San Quentin, California.
http://www.naturalchild.org/research...unishment.html

Seventy percent of child abuse cases begin as spanking.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/info-u/families/BE712.html

Spanking can lead to more bad behavior by children
http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0405/Sept13_04/24.shtml

A 1985 study of 1,000 families by family violence researcher Murray
Straus found that parents inflicted nearly twice as many severe, and
nearly four times as many total, violent acts on their teenage children
than the other way around. 51 Other studies indicate Straus' findings
may be conservative. A 1988 survey of 1,146 parents found that 80
percent of the children under age 10, two-thirds of the
10-14-year-olds, and one-third of the 15-17 year-olds were hit or
struck by their parents within the previous year. Parents are nearly
four times more likely to commit simple assault, and twice as likely to
commit severe or aggravated assault, against their teenage children
than the other way around. Two thousand to 5,000 children are killed by
their parents every year, with most called "accidents."52
http://nospank.net/males.htm


J. Durrant, University of Manitoba, Canada. "Trends in Youth Crime and
Well-Being Since the Abolition of Corporal Punishment in Sweden."
Youth & Society, 2000 Vol. 31, No. 4, 437-455 Found that Swedish youth
have been less involved in crime, alcohol and drug use, rape, and have
lower suicide rates since the 1979 ban on spanking in Sweden.
http://yas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/31/4/437

R.C. Herrenkohl, M.J. Russo, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA.
"Abusive Early Child Rearing and Early Childhood Aggression." Child
Maltreatment, 2001 6, 3-16. This research study found hitting children
is associated with increased aggression in those children.
http://www.lehigh.edu/~insan/soc_ma/gradfac.htm
http://nospank.net/lehigh.htm

H. MacMillan, McMaster, The Canadian Centre for Studies of Children at
Risk, University in Hamilton, Ontario. "Slapping and spanking in
childhood and its association with lifetime prevalence of psychiatric
disorders in a general population sample." Canadian Medical
Association Journal, October 5, 1999; 161:805-809 This study found
increased rates of drug and alcohol problems, anxiety disorders,
externalizing problems, and depression among adults who had been
spanked as children. Even those who were rarely spanked showed higher
levels of these problems than never spanked subjects.
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/abstr...e2=tf_ipsecsha


E. Bachar, L. Canetti, Omer Bonne, Atara Kaplan DeNour, Arieh T.
Shalev, Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Medical Center,
Jerusalem, Israel. "Physical punishment and signs of mental distress
in normal adolescents." Adolescence, 1997, Winter; 32(128):945-58.
Greater physical punishment was found to be associated with increased
psychiatric symptoms and lower self-esteem.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...t_uids=9426816

Allen, D. M., & Tarnowski, K. J., Department of Psychology, Ohio State
University, Columbus, Ohio. "Depressive characteristics of physically
abused children." Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 17(1), 1-11.
1989 Found that children who are hit suffer more from depression,
lower self-esteem, and greater hopelessness about the future.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

M.A. Straus, Richard Gelles, Family Research Laboratory, University of
New Hampshire. "1985 National Family Violence Survey." American Family
Data Archive, Volume I, 32. 1985 Found that physical violence between
family members is more frequent than believed.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin5.htm

J.D. Bremner, S.M. Southwick, D.R. Johnson, R. Yehuda and D.S. Charney,
National Center for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, West Haven VA
Medical Center, CT. "Childhood physical abuse and combat-related
posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans." American Journal
of Psychiatry, 150:235-239 1993 Found that Vietnam vets who were hit
as children were more likely to experience posttraumatic stress
disorder.
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/...ract/150/2/235

M.D. Haskett, J.A. Kistner, Department of Psychology, North Carolina
State University, Raleigh, NC. "Social interactions and peer
perceptions of young physically abused children." Child Development,
Oct;62(5):979-90 1991 Found that children who are hit tend to be
avoided by other children, and were viewed by teachers as more
behaviorally disturbed.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

E.P. Slade, L.S. Wissow, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Baltimore, MD.
"Spanking in early childhood and later behavior problems: a prospective
study of infants and young toddlers." Pediatrics, May; 133(5):1321-30
2004 Found that children who are spanked frequently were substantially
more likely to have behavior problems in school.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q..._uids=15121948

D.B. Bugental, G.A. Martorell, V. Barraza, Department of Psychology,
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA. "The hormonal costs of
subtle forms of infant maltreatment." Hormonal Behavior,
Jan;43(1):237-44 2003 Found that infants who are spanked showed high
hormonal reactivity to stress, which may alter the functioning of the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in ways that, if continued,
may foster risk for immune disorders, sensitization to later stress,
cognitive deficits, and social-emotional problems.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q..._uids=12614655

E.A. Stormshak, K.L. Bierman, R.J. McMahon, L.J. Lengua, Department of
Applied Behavior and Communication Sciences, University of Oregon,
Eugene, OR. "Parenting practices and child disruptive behavior
problems in early elementary school." Journal of Clinical Child
Psychology, Mar;29(1):17-29. 2000 Found that spanking and physical
aggression by parents were associated with elevated rates of all child
disruptive behavior problems, especially aggression. Parenting
practices contribute to the prediction of oppositional and aggressive
behavior problems.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q..._uids=10693029

M.A. Straus, J.H. Stewart, Family Research Laboratory, University of
New Hampshire, Durham, NH. "Corporal punishment by American parents:
national data on prevalence, chronicity, severity, and duration, in
relation to child and family characteristics." Clinical Child and
Family Psychology Review, June;2(2):55-70 1999 Found children are hit
more often, and more severely, than is commonly perceived, or even
recommended, by pro-spankers. 35% of infants, and 94% of 3-4 year
olds, and over half of 12 year olds experience corporal punishment
(slapping, spanking on the buttocks with or without an object,
pinching, and shaking).
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/CP36.pdf

M.A. Straus, V.E. Mouradian, Family Research Laboratory, University of
New Hampshire, Durham, NH. "Impulsive corporal punishment by mothers
and antisocial behavior and impulsiveness of children." Behavioral
Science Law, 1998 Summer;16(3):353-74 Found that parental spanking and
slapping is associated with increased antisocial behavior and
impulsiveness in children. The more corporal punishment experienced by
a child, the more likely the child will engage in antisocial behavior
and to act impulsively, despite high maternal nurturance.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...t_uids=9768466

M.A. Straus, D.B. Sugarman, J. Giles-Sims, Family Research Laboratory,
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, and Texas Christian
University, Fort Worth, TX. "Spanking by parents and subsequent
antisocial behavior of children." Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 1997
Aug;151(8):761-7. Found that children who are spanked are more
aggressive 2 years later.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...t_uids=9265876
or http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/CP64E.htm

M.A. Straus, M. Paschall, Family Research Laboratory, University of
New Hampshire, Durham, NH. "Corporal punishment by mothers and child's
cognitive development: A longitudinal study." Research on a nationally
representative sample of 960 children presented at the 14th World
Congress of Sociology, Montreal, Canada, Aug.1, 1998. Spanking found
to be associated with lowered cognitive development, and lower IQs.
http://64.233.161.104/u/unhsites?q=c...&cd=1&ie=UTF-8


E.E. Whipple, C.A. Richey, School of Social Work, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, MI. "Crossing the line from physical
discipline to child abuse: how much is too much?" Child Abuse and
Neglect, 1997 May;21(5):431-44 Found that "relative exposure" to
spanking is positively related to greater risk for child abuse.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...t_uids=9158904

Gershoff, E. T., National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia
University, New York, NY. "Corporal Punishment by Parents and
Associated Child Behaviors and Experiences: A Meta-Analytic and
Theoretical Review." Psychological Bulletin, 2002 Jul;128(4), 539-579
Found that corporal punishment of children was related to decreased
internalization of moral rules, increased aggression, more antisocial
behavior, increased criminality, weakened parent-child relationships,
decreased mental health outcomes, increased adult abusive behaviors,
and increased risk of being victimized in abusive relationships in
adulthood. This study is an analysis of 88 research studies on
corporal punishment of children.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/?id=PUNISH.PSY

J. L. Sheline, B.J. Skipper, W.E. Broadhead, Department of Community
and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC. "Risk
factors for violent behavior in elementary school boys: have you hugged
your child today?" American Journal of Public Health, 1994
April;84(4):661-3 Found that parents of violent boys were more likely
than those of matched control students to use spanking for discipline.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...t_uids=8154575

C.E. Joubert, University of Alabama, Florence, AL. "Antecedents of
narcissism and psychological reactance as indicated by college
students' retrospective reports of their parents' behaviors."
Psychological Report, 1992 Jun;70(3 Pt 2):1111-5 Higher psychological
reactance (feeling threatened) scores on the Narcissism Personality
Inventory and the Hong Psychological Reactance Scale correlated with
more spanking by fathers.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...t_uids=1496079

C.E. Joubert, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL. "Self-esteem
and social desirability in relation to college students' retrospective
perceptions of parental fairness and disciplinary practices."
Psychological Report, 1991 August;69(1):115-20 College women were
found to view their parents as being less fair if they had been spanked
by them as children.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...t_uids=1961778

D. Levinson, Yale University, New Haven, CT. "Physical punishment of
children and wife beating in cross-cultural perspective." Child Abuse
and Neglect, 1981 5: 193-195 Found that societies in which physical
punishment of children is rare or infrequent, the existence of wife
beating is also rare.
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/CP33y-ID33.pdf


D. Yankelovich, DYG, Inc., sponsored by Civitas, Zero to Three, and
Brio Corporation. "What Grown-Ups Understand About Child Development: A
National Benchmark Survey" written about in the New York Times, October
24, 2000. This national survey of 3,000 adults found that about 60% of
parents spank, even though they concede the punishment is ineffective.
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/devnews.htm

M.T. Teicher, Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program, McLean
Hospital, Belmont, MA. "Wounds that time won't heal: The neurobiology
of child abuse." Cerebrum, vol.2, no.4:Fall 2000. Found a higher
incidence of abnormal EEG tests (measure of brain waves) in adults who
had been hit as children, and impaired brain development.
http://www.dana.org/books/press/cere...ll00/index.cfm (scroll down
to "Wounds...")
http://www.mclean.harvard.edu/Public...hild_abuse.htm

J.F. Geddes, G.H. Vowles, A.K. Hackshaw, C.D. Nickols, I.S. Scott, H.L.
Whitwell, Department of Histopathology and Morbid Anatomy, Royal London
Hospital, Whitechapel, London, UK. "Neuropathology of inflicted head
injury in children: II. Microscopic brain injury in infants." Brain,
200l 124:1299-1306 Found that babies can be injured and killed from
even mild shaking or hitting, primarily from damage to the part of the
brain that controls breathing.
http://brain.oupjournals.org/cgi/con...rnalcode=brain

M.A. Straus, Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire,
Durham, NH. "Spanking teaches short-term lesson, but long-term
violence." Project NoSpank, July 24, 1999. Research of statistics
revealed that the US states that permit the most legal corporal
punishment of children are the states with the most homicides committed
by children. http://nospank.net/straus7.htm

M.A. Straus, Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire,
Durham, NH. "Family Training in Crime and Violence." Crime and the
Family, 1985. A study of 1,000 families found that parents inflicted
nearly twice as many severe, and nearly four times as many total,
violent acts on their teenage children than the other way around.
http://nospank.net/males.htm

L.R. Huesmann, L.D. Eron, M.M. Lefkowitz, L.O. Walder, Institute for
Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. "The
stability of aggression over time and generations." Developmental
Psychology, 1984, 20, 1120-1134. Aggressive children often become
aggressive adults, who often produce more aggressive children, in a
cycle that endures generation after generation.
http://nospank.net/greven.htm

D. Button, M. Katz, B. King, A. Simpson, D. Figuaroa, California State
University, Fresno, CA. "Some Antecedents of Felonious and Delinquent
Behavior." Research presented at the Western Psychological Association,
Portland, OR, April 1972. Juvenile delinquents were found to have
parents that used a lot of physical punishment.
http://nospank.net/dewitt2.htm

A.A. Haeuser, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "Swedish parents
don't spank." Mothering, Spring 1992. Harsh beatings of children are
much less common since the passage of the 1979 law against corporal
punishment of children. The law has also facilitated earlier reporting
and intervention. Violent crimes have decreased, and adults are
considerably more optimistic about Sweden's children than a decade ago.
Few minor infractions have been reported by spiteful neighbors or
children, putting to rest the speculation that such a law would create
chaos by turning minor parental infractions into government cases.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...63/ai_12024682

M. Main, C. George, University of California, Berkeley. "Responses of
Abused and Disadvantaged Toddlers to Distress in Agemates."
Developmental Psychology, May 1985, p.407. Toddlers raised with
violent treatment showed no empathy to others and exhibited violent
behaviors to other toddlers. http://nospank.net/tots.htm

T.G. Power, M.L. Chapieski, University of Houston, TX. "Childrearing
and impulse control in toddlers: A naturalistic investigation."
Developmental Psychology, 1986 22:271-275. Toddlers who were observed
to be subject to mild physical punishment were more likely to ignore
maternal prohibitions, to manipulate breakable objects, and to show low
levels of nonverbal competence 7 months later, than toddlers who were
not hit.
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Hom...00000b80058a26

P.M. Bays, C.D. Frith, S.S. Shergill, D. Wolpert, University College
London, England; and Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park,
London, England. "Two Eyes for an Eye: The Neuroscience of Force
Escalation." Science, Vol.301, Issue 5630, 187, 11 July 2003. Test
subjects were found to increase levels of physical pushing force by an
average of 38% each turn, when asked to return, in equal force, the
pushing they received from their partners. People are not good judges
of how much physical force they are using, typically using
significantly more force than they believe they are using.
http://nospank.net/n-k95r.htm

G. Margolin, E.B. Gordis, Department of Psychology, University of
Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. "The effects of family and
community violence on children." Annual Review of Psychology, 2000
Vol.51:445-479. Children's exposure to violence can disrupt typical
developmental trajectories through psychobiological effects,
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cognitive consequences, and peer
problems.
http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/...psych.51.1.445

A.M. Graziano, J.L. Hamblen, W.A. Plante, Department of Psychology,
State University of New York at Buffalo, NY. "Subabusive violence in
child rearing in middle-class American families." Pediatrics, Oct.
1996; 98:845-848 Found that 85% of parents surveyed expressed moderate
to high anger, remorse, and agitation while administering corporal
punishment to their children, and say they would rather not spank if
they had an alternative in which they believed. This refutes the
common admonishment to parents to refrain from spanking in anger.
http://www.nospank.net/aap.htm
http://www.childhood.org.au/download...%20paper .pdf
http://www.beachpsych.com/pages/cc62.html 1-800-422-4633 or
1-888-463-6874 to order an issue.



"Spanking... increases the rate of street entries by children", wrote
Dr. Dennis Embry in a letter to Children Magazine.

Since 1977 I have been heading up the only long-term project designed
to counteract pedestrian accidents to preschool-aged children.
(Surprisingly, getting struck by a car is about the third leading cause
of death to young children in the United States.)

Actual observation of parents and children shows that spanking,
scolding, reprimanding and nagging INCREASES the rate of street entries
by children. Children use going into the street as a near-perfect way
to gain parents' attention.

Now there is a promising new educational intervention program, called
Safe Playing. The underlying principles of the program are simple:

1. Define safe boundaries in a POSITIVE way. 'Safe players play on
the grass or sidewalk.'
2. Give stickers for safe play. That makes it more fun than playing
dangerously.
3. Praise your child for safe play.

These three principles have an almost instant effect on increasing safe
play. We have observed children who had been spanked many times a day
for going into the street, yet they continued to do it. The moment the
family began giving stickers and praise for safe play, the children
stopped going into the street.

Dennis D. Embry, Ph.D.
University of Kansas
Lawrence Kansas http://www.neverhitachild.org/


Robert E. Larzelere is the director of research at Boys Town, NE, and a
skeptic of the anti-spanking position. He analyzed what he considered
to be the eight strongest studies of corporal punishment (CP). 8 He
found that they showed that spanking and other forms of violence short
of actual abuse had "beneficial outcomes." However, the study seems
almost without value when closely examined:

bullet
Seven of the eight studies measured only the child's short term
compliance to the parent's request. There is probably a consensus among
therapists, child psychologists, researchers and parents that spanking
does make the child behave, at least for a little while. What these
studies did not examine are the long-term effects of spanking observed
by other studies: increasing non-compliance by the child, increased
anti-social behavior with other children, and long range emotional and
addictive problems as an adult. It is worth noting that in five of the
seven cases, the effectiveness of spanking was compared to alternative
methods of discipline. Spanking offered no advantages.

bullet
The eighth study did show long-term beneficial results from spanking.
However it dealt only with a single child who had a severe conduct
disorder, and who might be suffering from schizophrenia. Thus, one
cannot extrapolate the study's results to the general population of
children. In addition, most of the study dealt with training the mother
to reinforce the child's positive behaviors and to be more confident
and consistent in issuing commands to the child. One might speculate
that an equivalent or even better beneficial result might have been
observed if the spanking were replaced by an alternative form of
discipline.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin5.htm

Other helpful links:
http://nospank.net/physpun.htm
http://se-web-01.rb.se/shop/Archive/...king%20law.pdf
http://www.stophitting.com/disathome...itChildren.php
http://www.stophitting.com/disathome...ertificate.php
http://www.parentinginjesusfootsteps.org/articles.html
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/discipline.html
http://www.infidels.org/library/hist...unishment.html
http://www.nospank.net/donahue.htm
http://hosting.uaa.alaska.edu/afrhm1.../DV_Train.html
http://nospank.net/resrch.htm
http://www.thelaboroflove.com/forum/nancy/spank.html