The primordial violence : spanking children, psychological development, violence, and crime / Murray A. Straus, University of New Hamshire, Emily M. Douglas, Bridgewater State University, Rose Anne Medeiros, Rice University.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Prevalence and social causes of spanking -- The social and scientific context of research on spanking -- Corporal punishment in the United States -- Spanking in world perspective -- There was an old woman who lived in a shoe -- Approval of violence and spanking children -- Spanking and child behavior problems -- Chapter 6:the boomerang effect of spanking -- Impulsive spanking, never spanking and child well-being -- The child-to-mother bond and delinquency -- Spanking and risky sex -- Spanking and human capital -- Mental ability -- College graduation -- Spanking and crime -- What explains the link between spanking and assaulting a partner? -- Assault and injury of dating partners by university students in 32 nations -- Cultural context & the relation of spanking to crime -- Spanking high risk children and adult crime -- Sexual coercion and sexual assault -- Social trends in spanking -- The decline in approval of spanking -- Why everyone spanks toddlers and what to do about it -- Implications for crime and violence in society -- Obstacles to accepting the evidence -- A world without spanking -- References -- Appendix.