Spanking children: evidence and issues |
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Authors: | Alan E. Kazdin Corina Benjet |
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Affiliation: | Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut (A.E.K.), and National Institute of Psychiatry, Mexico City, Mexico (C.B.) |
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Abstract: | Whether or not to spank children as a discipline practice is controversial among lay and professional audiences alike. This article highlights different views of spanking, key conclusions about its effects, and methodological limitations of the research and the resulting ambiguities that fuel the current debate and plague interpretation. We propose an expanded research agenda to address questions about the goals of parental discipline; the role, if any, that punishment plays in achieving these goals; the effects and side effects of alternative discipline practices; and the impact of punishment on underlying developmental processes. |
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Keywords: | spanking children punishment parent discipline |
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