The interaction of parental reasoning and discussion with offspring and physical punishment also was examined, and all analyses were repeated for preschoolers, preadolescents, and adolescents. Results generally support the view that even moderate physical punishment provides a training ground for violence. For each age group, there was a linear relationship between frequency of spanking and child aggression. For preadolescent and adolescent aggression toward the parent, this association depended upon parental use of reasoning, such that spanking had a minimal effect on aggression for frequent reasoners. The combination of infrequent reasoning and frequent spanking was associated with dramatically increased aggression. The direction of the causal influence in these results is, however, at issue. While the study assumed influences of parental behavior on child behavior, it is possible that children who misbehave more, such as by being overly aggressive, may influence their parents to resort to more punishment, including physical punishment. 3 tables and 21 references. (Author abstract modified)