ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the idea that one possible side effect of corporal punishment is an increased chance later in life of being depressed and of having suicidal thoughts. It examines the idea that the harmful psychological effects of being physically attacked by a parent are not restricted to the sort of severe attacks that are labeled as physical abuse. Depression is one of the most common mental health problems, requiring clinical intervention for one out of every hundred people, or about a million Americans annually. Social scientists have paid little attention to the possibility that hitting children causes depression in them as adults. Thinking about suicide is obviously important because of the potential lethal consequences, but it is also important theoretically. The Greven's theory that corporal punishment increases the risk of depression later in life was tested using information on the almost 6,000 participants in the second National Family Violence Survey.
