Straus describes the extent to which ordinary parents in the United States use legally permissible corporal punishment, and reveals new and sometimes startling research on the harmful side effects on their children. It is based on new studies of a nationally representative sample of over 7,000 families on the prevalence and trends in use of corporal punishment, and is a key contribution to the new field of development criminology. It will be an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners in sociology, criminology, social problems, social psychology, development studies in education and psychology, and family policy.