Introduction

Abstract

Pediatricians routinely advise parents on a wide range of child earing issues. Among the most difficult and controversial topics included in professional guidance is the use of corporal punishment and, in particular, spanking. There are those who believe that corporal punishment contributes to later violence, whereas others believe spanking is a legitimate component of the overall process of discipline. Most of us base our views about the appropriateness and effectiveness of corporal punishment on our own previous experiences when we were disciplined as children and/or how we raise (or plan to raise) our own children. In contrast, advice offered to parents regarding discipline is seldom based on an appraisal of the relevant behavioral literature. Consequently, there is no agreement among the members of the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding the use of spanking. A recent attempt at evolving a policy statement addressing this issue failed to achieve consensus among the members of the Board of the Academy. Thus, disagreement persists regarding whether the Academy should recommend that pediatricians advise parents as to whether they should, or should not, spank their children. And if so, under what circumstances? The planners of this conferences were in search of data-based scientific answers to these questions. Towards this end, recognized investigators were invited to present and discuss research findings, and develop a series of consensus statements reflecting the current state of our scientific knowledge on the short- and long-term consequences of corporal punishment. In February 1996, 24 participants met at the Academy offices in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.