Coercion and Punishment in Long-Term Perspectives

In a world in which children exhibit levels of violence that are strikingly unchildlike, the question of how to rear children takes on an immediacy for parents and psychologists. Among the issues treated here are whether physical punishment prevents further outbreaks of violent behavior or if there are ways of influencing children so that punishment is not necessary. Drawing upon rich, longitudinal data, the contributors to this volume examine the benefits and costs of coercion and punishment, considering such issues as mental health, antisocial and criminal behavior, substance abuse, and issues related to measurement and prediction. They look at coercion among peers, aggressive behavior in boys and girls, different parenting styles and effects of home context. The volume draws together evidence about coercion and punishment that have appeared in disparate literatures, and it raises questions about easy assumptions regarding them.