NCJ Number
234529
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2011 Pages: 199-209
Date Published
March 2011
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study reports on the development and initial validation of a new analog task, the Parent-Child Aggression Acceptability Movie Task (P-CAAM), which is intended to assess respondents' acceptance of parent-child aggression, including both physical discipline and physical abuse.
Abstract
Across the two independent samples used to develop and evaluate the P-CAAM, the P-CAAM demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and construct validity, showing mild to moderate association with both self-report and analog measures. Participants who indicated increased acceptance of physical discipline and physical abuse on the P-CAAM also reported greater approval of physical discipline, greater use of and escalation of physical discipline, harsher parenting styles, and higher child abuse potential on two separate measures. This assessment concludes that the P-CAAM analog apparently is a promising alternative and/or supplement to conventional self-report measures, as it assesses attitudes regarding the acceptability of parent-child aggression in a way that is less likely to be influenced by social desirability. The development of alternatives to self-report measurement may lead to clarification of theoretical models of abuse in ways that contribute to improvements in intervention programming; analogs may also be a useful means for assessing intervention outcomes. The two independent samples used to develop and evaluate the P-CAAM were an undergraduate sample of psychology students (n=147), who were involved in the initial piloting of the task, and a separate sample of normative parents (n=70) who participated in an additional assessment of P-CAAM validity. 2 tables and 50 references