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Panel members Dorothy O. Lewis, Murray A. Straus, and Gail E. Wyatt concur with the recommendations in Chapter 10 and the Summary of this report and wish to propose the following additional recommendation:
The United States has significantly more violent crime than either Western Europe or Canada. Its homicide rate alone is many times those of Great Britain and Canada. Homicide is the second leading cause of death among teens in the United States and the leading cause of death among black male teenagers in the United States. This raises questions about the relationship between societal violence and child maltreatment. Does a violent environment encourage maltreatment? To what extent does having been a victim of maltreatment contribute to societal violence? Are societal violence and maltreatment correlates or consequences of other factors? Thus, research on the possible relationship of societal violence and child maltreatment should be encouraged and supported.
Dorothy O. Lewis and Murray A. Straus wish to propose a second additional recommendation:
There is evidence that harsh parenting practices, specifically corporal punishment, are associated with aggressive styles of adaptation. Research is needed to learn more about the relationship of different forms of corporal punishment to the development of aggressive, abusive practices. Research is also needed on the relationship of escalating corporal punishment to actual child abuse.
March 23, 1993