Why would a 6 year old ask to be punished?

The child is a family member, adopted into our extended family when he was about 6 months old. In the past couple of months he has begun to ask for punishment if he thinks he did something wrong, even if it is an accident or sometimes basically nothing at all. He also says he is "no good" and a "loser." Then his dad told me about one occasion of seeing him slap his own arm several times. I don't think he is being abused at home although I do think his mom is a little too strict with the rules sometimes. Should this be looked into? Could it be abuse or is it more likely to be something like autism?
Thanks.

Yes,
Ask him why he thinks he needs to be punished.
This is very serious. His parental guidance is negatively affecting him. Check into this!
He might also have OCD.

omg yes that definetly needs to be looked into a child shouldnt be thinking they need to be punished talk to his mom and tell her about all of this it could be seriouse im not saying that the mother beats him but maybe they spank him and he feels like they are beating him its a possibility and autism is another and if he could possibly have autism then he def. needs to get checked for it (the younger the better)

Maybe he is just trying to get attention? Hard to say. I have heard of kids doing bad things so that their parents will pay attention to them. I would recommend some type of child therapist or family counselor-They are experienced with this sort of thing. Good Luck!

I don't know, but it does sound suspicious, the child obviously has self esteem issues and has been punished for things to a point that he thinks he deserves punishment for things that were accidents.

However that being said, it may not be abuse, talk to a child worker at the children's aid they would be able to shed more light on it then anyone in Y.A.

Just don't tell them any names or it will open up something that may be uncalled for, ask them under a pretense of curiosity or something similar.

Once you have their input you can decide if you should take further action.

Good Luck, and your right being suspicious, children need our protection.

He is probably just crying out for attention. When my son needs extra attention he will do this. Maybe mom is st rick yet doesn't follow through on her threats and he is testing her. This is what i have experienced in my own world. To be honest i use to slap my self when i screwed up just because of the fact i needed sum punishment and wasnt receiving it. Watch and see if he gets enough positive attention or he feels that this is the way to get it. Major selfesteem problem at any rate.

In my opinion I would definitely look into it. Something is happening to him that warrants a look. He my be being punished so much he does not know when it is an accident or not.