ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the extent to which age, gender, and class that are related to the incidence and chronicity of physical punishment and physical abuse of children. David W. Moore and Murray A. Straus found that parents who approved of slapping a child who talked back to them had a much higher rate of severe violence than other parents. Introducing gender of child, gender of parent, and occupational class into the analyses had no important effect on the patterns found for age. Physical punishment is frequent for young children and decreases as the child matures. The incidence and chronicity of normatively approved physical punishment against children may have important implications for understanding and preventing physical abuse, that is, violence that exceeds the culturally permissive level. For physical abuse, the rate is higher for mothers than for fathers. Officially reported cases of physical abuse suggest that when children are assaulted, the attacks are not isolated incidents.
