In 1989, a national, random sample of 801 adults was questioned about the punishment they received as children and the way they discipline their own offspring. Analysis revealed that verbal and physical discipline are not substitutes, but, instead, are commonly used together. Parents who yell frequently are the ones most likely to hit frequently, and vice versa. In addition, both physical and verbal violence appear to be transgenerational. Respondents who were spanked (yelled at) frequently as children are more prone to frequently spank (yell at) their own children. Still, most people are able to break out of the transgenerational cycle of punitive child rearing. This outcome may be found particularly among those who consider themselves to have been abused.