NCJ Number
112430
Date Published
1987
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study compares the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) for four groups of maltreating parents including abusing and neglecting parents, spouses of abusers and neglectors, and parents who were referred for treatment for other reasons.
Abstract
The two self-report instruments were administered to 87 randomly selected parents recruited from a community agency specializing in intervention with maltreating parents. Of the total sample, 33 (37 percent) were perpetrators of either physical abuse or mixed physical and sexual abuse, 17 (20 percent) were perpetrators of neglect, 19 (22 percent) were spouses of either abusers or neglectors, and 18 (21 percent) were referred for other reasons. The subjects represented the lower end of the socioeconomic stratum, with approximately 72 percent earning yearly incomes of less than $15,000. Findings indicate that parents who were self-referred or referred due to high risk obtained significantly higher scores than other groups on several abuse potential and parenting stress measures. The confirmed neglectors obtained significantly lower scores than the other groups on several of the outcome variables. Classification rates for the recommended CAP abuse potential cutoff score were substantially lower than reported in previous research. The two measures appeared to be tapping similar constructs, but also measuring unique aspects of the subjects' functioning. Results are discussed in terms of salient issues in the measurement of maltreating parents. Tabular data and 7 references. (Author abstract modified)