re: Quiz to identify who favors corporal punishement`

["Murray A. Straus" <mas2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim:

I inserted my reactions to your comments on the quiz in capital letters.

It is a pleasure to send you a copy of my book.

    Murray

Murray A. Straus, Professor of Sociology
& Co-Director,  Family Research Laboratory
University of New Hampshire,  Durham, NH 03824
Phone:  603 862-2594   Fax:  603 862-1122
E-mail  MAS2@CHRISTA.UNH.EDU

See the Family Research Laboratory web site http://www.unh.edu/frl
for bibliography of books and papers by members of the lab,  conference
announcements,  and information about the lab faculty and research program.

-----Original Message-----
From: James E. Hord. Jr., Ph.D. <DrHord@worldnet.att.net>
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
<CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>
Date: Wednesday, January 13, 1999 9:51 PM

>>DO YOU AGREE OR DISGREE WITH EACH OF THE FOLLOWING
>>
>>1. Spanking is not violence
>>2. It is incorrect to call spanking  "hitting a child"
>>3. Spanking works when other things do not
>>4. If parents don't spank,  they will verbally abuse a child
>>5. Although I am against spanking,  reality says it may sometimes be
>>necessary
>>6. Children should never, ever, be spanked or slapped for purposes of
>>discipline or control
>>
>>Agreeing with any one of  #1 through 5, or disagreeing with #6,  in my
>>opinion, indicates a person who favors spanking.   For those who like
>>parametric methods,  these items might be used to create a continuous
>>variable.
>
>Well, I certainly do not agree with any of the first five.  However, I
>would not endorse #6 with any real enthusiam.  My concerns here is to the
>degree that "we" tend to take extreme positions around this issue which
>seems unjustified from a professional point of view.  My original postings
>on this subject the first time around, were to question if we have research
>evidence of "spanking" being harmful....

I WAS NOT IN ON THE ORIGINAL POSTINGS,  BUT THE EVIDENCE HAS NOW CHANGED
DRASTICALLY BECAUSE OF THE AVAILABILITY OF FOUR LONGITUDINAL STUDIES,  ALL
OF WHICH SHOW THAT, AFTER CONTROLLING FOR THE TIME 1 LEVEL OF MISBEHAVIOR,
THE EFFECT  AT  TIME 2 (2, 4, AND 6 YEARS LATER  DEPENDING ON  THE STUDY) OF
CP AT TIME 1 WAS AN INCREASE IN MISBEAVIHAVIOR.

ONE OF THE THESE FOUR STUDIES FOUND A SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION EFFECT FOR ONE
OF THE MISBEHAVIOR VARIABLES (FIGHTING IN SCHOOL).    THE AUTHORS (WHO WOULD
BE CLASSIFIED AS FAVORING CP ACCORDING TO MY QUIZ,  EVEN THOUGH THEY DENY
IT)  CHOSE TO FOCUS ON THAT VARIABLE  AND TO IGNORE THE STRONG MAIN EFFECT
FOR THE OTHER VARIABLE (A CHILD ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR SCALE).


 Spanking must be operationally
>definable as seperate from "beating" of course, and ah, there's the rub I
>suppose.  However, if psychology takes professional position here, we
>must be able to be heard by our audience.  When a speaker starts off with
>statements such as, "if you've ever spanked, then you've abused" or your

 IN MY OWN PRESENTATION (PUBLICATIONS AND ORAL),  I DISTINGUISE BETWEEN
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND PHYSICAL ABUSE.    I DEFINE CORPORAL PUNISHEMENT AS
AN ACT CARRIED OUT BY A PARENT WITH THE INTENTION OF CAUSING THE CHILD TO
EXPERINECE PHYSICAL PAIN,  BUT NOT INJURY,  FOR PURPOSES OF CORRECTION AND
CONTROL.    TYPICAL EXAMPLES INCLUDE SPANKING ON THE BUTTOCKS AND SLAPPING A
CHILD'S HAND.   THE RESEARCH IN MY BOOK BEATING THE DEVIL OUT OF THEM EVEN
GOES SO FAR AS TO EXCLUDE HITTING A CHILD WITH A HAIR BRUSH, BELT OR PADDLE,
EVEN THOUGHT THAT IS LEGAL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN EVERY STATE IN THE US
PROVIDED THE CHILD IS NOT INJURED.

AT THE SAME TIME,  I BELEIVE THAT,  AS A SOCIETY,  WE NEED TO CHANGE THE
NORMS THAT UNDERLIE MY DEFINITION,  AND DECLARE THAT ANY HITTING OF CHILDREN
IS CHILD ABUSE.   BUT I WANT TO SEE THIS DONE NON-PUNITIVELY,   I.E. HELP,
BUT NOT PUNISHMENT FOR PARENTS WHO SPANK.

>parents were child abusers if you were ever spanked, the audience (who MUST
>protect their own ego systems) turn off.  After that point, the speaker is
>an idiot and every point believed by the speaker is wrong.  That is not
>productive.  If we sit back smugly in our resulting isolation and console
>ourselves by saying, "Well we were right anyway!", than I think we need
>therapy ourselves.
>
>