Parental Cognition, Emotions, and Behaviors Associated With the Risk of Psychological Maltreatment of Preschoolers

• NCJ Number: 207295
• Journal: Journal of Emotional Abuse Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: 2004 Pages: 1-25
• Author(s): Claire Malo; Jacques Moreau; Claire Chamberland; Sophie Leveille; Catherine Roy
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 26 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using semistructured interviews with 45 mothers and 13 fathers, this study identified parental cognitions, emotions, and behaviors that might increase the risk for the psychological maltreatment of preschool children.

Abstract

Parents were asked to envision a typical episode with their child that was particularly difficult to manage. Parents were asked to discuss the causes of the episode, the emotions involved, their own and the child's reactions, strategies used to calm themselves, and their assessment of their reactions during the episode. Content analysis was performed on the parents' responses, and categories of findings were subjected to a multiple correspondence analysis procedure. Forty-one different parental behaviors were reported by the mothers and fathers. Of the 45 mother-child dyads analyzed, 33.3 percent were deemed at risk for psychological abuse of the child and 8.9 percent for psychological neglect. The presence of 15 variables distinguished 80 percent of the mother-child dyads for which a risk of psychological maltreatment was present. The risk for psychological maltreatment was greater when the mother was over 23 years old and the child was female. A female child was likely to be subject to greater structure and supervision. Other factors that increased the risk of psychological maltreatment of the child were swearing, verbally or physically rejecting the child, confining the child, threatening to hurt the child, or finally letting the child have his/her way. Risk also increased when mothers reported lingering anger and fear of being judged negatively by others after the episode. In the father-child dyads, there was a risk of psychological abuse in 36.6 percent of cases and a risk of psychological neglect in 10 percent of cases. Factors that increased risk were lack of self-control, failure to attempt calming the child, and persistence in making the child comply with parental demands. The authors caution that these findings are exploratory and do not constitute predictors of psychological maladjustment/neglect for preschool children. 4 tables and 95 references