To appear in Murray A. Straus, The Primordial Violence: Corporal Punishment By Parents,
Cognitive Development, And Crime, Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira press, In Press.
Chapter 14
DEMYSTIFYING THE DEFENSES OF
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT *
Murray A. Straus
Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824
603-862-2594
murray.straus@unh.edu
Contents
A. DEFENSES BASED ON THE PRESUMED
GREATER EFFICACY OF CP
A1. If My Dad Hadn't Taken Me Over His Knee, I
Would Be In Big Trouble Now
A2. Spanking Is Needed As A Back-Up Or Last
Resort
A3. The "Eight Strongest Studies"
Demonstrate "Beneficial Outcomes" Of CP
A4. "Authoritative" Parents Use CP And
Their Children Have The Best Outcomes.
A5. Parents Spank In Countries Such As Japan
That Have Low Crime Rates
B. DEFENSES BASED ON THE BELIEF THAT SPANKING
"IN MODERATION" BY LOVING PARENTS IS NOT HARMFUL
B2. If CP Makes Things Worse, Why Does
Misbehavior Decrease As Children Grow Older?
C. DEFENSES BASED ON PROBLEMS PRESUMED TO
RESULT FROM LESS USE OF CP
C1. Since CP Has Been Abolished In Schools,
Discipline Has Declined And School Violence Is Up
C2. Crime By Youth Is Up Because Parents Are Not
Spanking
C3. No-Spanking Means No Discipline And Children
Running Wild
d. DEFENSES
BASED ON PRESUMED IMPRACTICALITY OF ENDING CP
D1. Low Education Parents Lack the Cognitive And
Linguistic Skills Needed To Avoid CP
D2. Spanking Is Necessary Because Toddlers Don’t
Understand Explanations And Reasoning.
D4 Spanking Is Universal And Can't Be Dealt
With By Policies Or Laws
E DEFENSES BASED ON THE IDEA THAT SPANKING IS
NOT THE REAL PROBLEM
E1. The Real Problem Is Bad Parenting
E2. The Important Issue Is The Overall Pattern
Of Parent Behavior
E 3. The
Link Between Spanking And Mental Health Problems Is Genetic
E 4 Overlap Of Corporal Punishment And Physical
Abuse
F. CULTURAL RELATIVISM DEFENSES
F1. CP Is Not Harmful If It Is Perceived As A
Legitimate Exercise Of Parental Authority
F2. CP Is Appropriate In The Context Of African
American Culture And Life Circumstance.
G. STATISTICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL DEFENSES
G1. Spanking Is A Response To Misbehavior Rather
Than A Cause Of Misbehavior
G2. CP By Itself Has Only A Small Effect And Is
Not Worth Worrying About
G3 There Is No Evidence That “Moderate” CP,
Used Only Rarely, Has Harmful Effects.
G4. We Should
Wait For More Conclusive Research Before Advising Parents To Never- Spank
G5. If All Children Are Spanked, It Is A
Constant and Cannot Explain Anything
G6 Inadequate Controls For Other Variables
G8 The Effect Size Is Too Small To Make A
Difference
G9 Even
Prospective Research Does Not Prove A Causal Relation
G10 The Results May Be Due To Recall Bias
H1 The Bible Tells Parents To Spank
H2 We Should Focus on More Important And
Crucial Threats To Children Such As Poverty And Racism
The preceding chapters make clear that public opinion and an increasing number of parents have shifted away from corporal punishment (CP). As a result, those who conti