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July 1, 2018American PsychologistOpen Access

The strength of the causal evidence against physical punishment of children and its implications for parents, psychologists, and policymakers.

Elizabeth T. Gershoff Gail S. Goodman Cindy Miller‐Perrin George W. Holden Yo Jackson Alan E. Kazdin

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Key Points

This article aims to evaluate the causal links between physical punishment and negative child outcomes.
Summarized existing empirical research on physical punishment.
Evaluated the strength of causal inference criteria in the literature.
Reviewed cultural, family, and neighborhood context variations.
Physical punishment shows links to harms equivalent to physical abuse.
Evidence indicates negative outcomes for children are consistent across various contexts.
Recommendations made for parents to avoid physical punishment and for psychologists to advocate against it.

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Implication

Review article summarizes harmful effects of physical punishment on child development, suggesting alternatives.

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Cite This Study

Gershoff et al. (2018) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a21cdd4ac0ba3a4f91598b3 https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000327

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