NCJ Number
136109
Date Published
1991
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Telephone interviews were conducted with 6,002 families who were studied as part of the 1985 National Family Violence Survey. The data collected were used to investigate the theory that physical punishment by parents of adolescents is a risk factor for later violence and mental health problems.
Abstract
The specific measures were: physical punishment in the family of origin, wife assault, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and drinking behavior. Nearly 50 percent of the sample recalled physically punishment during their adolescence; this figure agreed with research using contemporaneous reports by parents. The analysis controlled for confounding factors including low socioeconomic status. The results indicated that children of parents who used physical punishment ran a higher risk later in life of depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, alcohol abuse, physical abuse of their own children, and wife beating. Three major limitations to the study were identified. The first was that the physical punishment data were based on recall. Second, subjects who reported physical punishment may have suffered from abusive parenting which was outside the scope of this study. Finally, the finding refer to physical punishment during adolescence and do not consider physical punishment experienced as a toddler or young child. The results should be replicated using longitudinal data. If confirmed, these findings would indicate the need for a national campaign to reduce or eliminate all use of physical punishment. 1 table, 4 figures, and 29 notes