Research shows corporal punishment is associated with negative outcomes in offspring. These negative outcomes can present themselves during childhood and emerging adulthood. One negative consequence can be alcohol abuse. The consequences of alcohol abuse in emerging adults are reasons to research corporal punishment’s effects to support positive parental discipline. The current study examined the relationship between past-year corporal punishment and alcohol abuse in the emerging adulthood population. Results of the current study showed corporal punishment was correlated positively with alcohol use, externalizing problems, and authoritarian parenting style, and negatively correlated with maternal authoritative parenting style and permissive parenting style. Males reported higher amounts of paternal corporal punishment and higher amounts of alcohol consumption. Finally, it was determined that risk factors for alcohol abuse included male gender, Caucasian ethnicity, and positive history of family alcohol abuse, and that psychopathology mediated the relationship between corporal punishment and alcohol use and abuse.

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