Corporal punishment bans and adolescent suicide rates: An international ecological study

Abstract

Background: Exposure to corporal punishment during childhood is associated with suicidal behaviors during adolescence. To date, the protective effects of national policies governing the use of corporal punishment have rarely been studied for adolescent suicide outcomes.

Objective: To investigate contemporaneous and lagged associations between national legislation banning corporal punishment and adolescent suicide rates.

Participants and setting: We used population-level administrative and mortality data from 97 countries spanning the years 1950 to 2017.

Methods: Negative binomial models were used to investigate the relationship between the existence of official corporal punishment bans in countries and national adolescent suicide mortality rates and the potential time lag between the enactment of such bans and reductions in adolescent suicide rates.

Results: National policies that permitted corporal punishment in all settings (homes, schools, daycares, and alternative care) were associated with a higher relative risk (RR) for suicide in females aged 15-19 (RR = 2.07, p = .03), as were policies allowing corporal punishment in schools specifically (RR = 2.01, p = .02). Partial bans of corporal punishment and bans of school corporal punishment showed lagged effects on suicide rates which peaked after 12 years for females aged 15-19 and after 13 years for males aged 15-19.

Conclusions: Study findings add to a body of evidence that suggests that official policies banning corporal punishment may promote adolescent health and well-being. The benefits of such policies in terms of reduced risk for adolescent suicide appear to peak approximately 12 to 13 years after enactment of the legislation.

Keywords: Adolescent suicide; Corporal punishment; Laws; Population-level study; Spanking.