Editing Violence (section)

=== Child-rearing ===
While studies showing associations between physical punishment of children and later aggression cannot prove that physical punishment causes an increase in aggression, a number of [[Longitudinal study|longitudinal studies]] suggest that the experience of physical punishment has a direct causal effect on later aggressive behaviors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Durrant |first1=Joan |last2=Ensom |first2=Ron |date=4 September 2012 |title=Physical punishment of children: lessons from 20 years of research |journal=Canadian Medical Association Journal |volume=184 |issue=12 |pages=1373–77 |doi=10.1503/cmaj.101314 |pmid=22311946 |pmc=3447048}}</ref> Cross-cultural studies have shown that greater prevalence of [[corporal punishment]] of children tends to predict higher levels of violence in societies. For instance, a 2005 analysis of 186 [[pre-industrial society|pre-industrial societies]] found that corporal punishment was more prevalent in societies which also had higher rates of homicide, assault, and war.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045300461.html "Corporal Punishment"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031091526/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045300461.html |date=2010-10-31 }} (2008). ''International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences''.</ref> In the United States, [[domestic corporal punishment]] has been linked to later violent acts against family members and spouses.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gershoff, E.T. |date=2008 |title=Report on Physical Punishment in the United States: What Research Tells Us About Its Effects on Children |location=Columbus, OH |publisher=Center for Effective Discipline |url=http://www.phoenixchildrens.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/principles_and_practices-of_effective_discipline.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127213730/http://www.phoenixchildrens.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/principles_and_practices-of_effective_discipline.pdf |archive-date=2016-01-27 |access-date=2015-12-15 }}</ref> The American family violence researcher [[Murray A. Straus]] believes that disciplinary [[spanking]] forms "the most prevalent and important form of violence in American families", whose effects contribute to several major societal problems, including later domestic violence and crime.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Straus Murray A | year = 2000 | title = Corporal punishment by parents: The cradle of violence in the family and society" (PDF) | url = http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/CP62.pdf | journal = Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111110040441/http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/CP62.pdf | archive-date = 2011-11-10 }}</ref>