On Mon, 11 Oct 1999, David wrote:
>
> Some of these concerns are addressed by the analytical approach
> taken--a logistic regression. You can see the full text of the
> article (disclaimer: I've only skimmed it; such was my eagerness
> to share it with TIPS) at
>
> http://www.cma.ca/cmaj/vol-161/issue-7/0805.htm
> Slapping and spanking in childhood and its association with lifetime
> prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a general population sample
> CMAJ 1999;161(7):805-9
Thanks David. It's amazing how much is on-line these days, isn't it?
The discussion includes a critically important disclaimer, its
significance disguised by its sciencebabble mode of presentation:
"In addition, the cross-sectional nature of the survey precludes
comment on the causal role of slapping and spanking for psychiatric
disorder."
Translation: this is only a correlation, so we can't say squat about
causation.
But you'd never have guessed it from the accompanying editorial, "Is
it time to ban corporal punishment of children?" (answer is "yes")
and certainly not from the breathless news report on the study.
-Stephen
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at:
http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
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