letter in today's NY times on effects on boys of corporal punishment

[Eli Newberger <newberge@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear friends,

Today's NY Times has my letter sent in response to their news article on

the Baumrind study.  Here's the text they edited down.  The full letter
I sent appears below.

Kind regards to all,

Eli
http://www.elinewberger.com

To the Editor:
    Re ``Findings Give Some Support To Advocates of Spanking'' (news
article, Aug. 25):
    Parents, of course, have to let children know that it is they who
are
in charge.  But when they enforce their dominance with violence -- and
spanking is violence -- it telegraphs the message that violence is both
acceptable and effective.
     For boys, who are more likely to be spanked severely, a large body
of
research indicates that the pain and powerlessness translates to
a   propensity to be violent themselves.
    At that moral nexus between behavioral alternatives, too often males

default to violence. To build better character in boys, we need urgently

to
reduce the number  of violent scripts offered at home, in the media and
in
social institutions like school and organized athletics.
ELI H. NEWBERGER, M.D.
Brookline, Mass., Aug. 27, 2001
The writer is the author of a book on boy's character development.

letter as I emailed it:

To the editor:

Not only is the Baumrind study flawed by small numbers and inadequate
controls, but she does not deal with the most important implications of
spanking for character development, particularly for boys.

Parents, of course, have to let children know that it is they who are in

charge.  But when they enforce their dominance with violence -- and
spanking is violence -- it
telegraphs the message that violence is both acceptable and effective.

For boys, who are more likely to be spanked severely, a large body of
research indicates, the pain and powerlessness translates to a
propensity to be violent themselves.

We males are wired to locate ourselves high in dominance hierarchies or
pecking orders. We often respond to personal experiences of
powerlessness by needing to be controlling and dominant over others.
One sees this often in clinical work with male victims of child sexual
abuse and with men who have witnessed their mothers' abuse in childhood.

Perhas the most important part of character development for a boy is to
become able to control himself and to respect the needs and rights of
the people around him..  At that moral nexus where boys have to chose
between behavioral alternatives -- where character manifests itself --
too often males default to violence, in the service of control of
others.

To build better character in boys, we need urgently to reduce the number

of violent scripts offered at home, in the media, and in such social
institutions as school and organized athletics.  Spanking is where much
of our trouble with male violence begins.

Eli H. Newberger, M.D.