There is an article in the 99/00 Annual Additions in Child Growth and
Development that addresses this issue (pp. 156-159). Interestingly, the
article cites research challenging the notion that spanking psychologically
damages children, relying primarily upon a review by Robert E. Larzelere.
Further, "Larzelere's review revealed that no other discipline technique -
including time out and withdrawal of privileges - had MORE beneficial results
for children under 13 than spanking..."
I haven't read the original review by Larzelere, just this little review of
reviews. This does not address the ethical side of the dielmma either,
which we seem to be mixing into the "scientific" side. The data on spanking
are plagued with methodological flaws and, often, hidden agendas. I would
like to add that, Mr. Sylvester's posts, though admittedly strange sometimes,
do bring up the issue of context into these debates. As a raging
contextualist, I believe it is perfectly possible that the effects of
spanking and other behaviors may vary by context, just as attachment and
other constructs do. Violence may be absolute, but the definition of
violence varies by culture.
RJ
