PREDICTION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT - MEASURES TO IDENTIFY PARENTS' POTENTIAL (FROM CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT - ISSUES ON INNOVATION AND IMPLEMENTATION - V 2, 1978, BY MICHAEL L LAUDERDALE, ET AL - SEE NCJ-59285)

• NCJ Number: 59296
• Author(s): M KNIGHT; M DISBROW; H DOERR
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 11 pages
• Corporate Author: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

MEASURES FOR THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF PARENTS WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR ABUSING OR NEGLECTING CHILDREN WERE STUDIED TO ENABLE PREVENTION BY A MULTIDISCIPLINARY STAFF.

Abstract

A CONCEPTUAL MODEL WAS DEVISED THAT HAD THE FOLLOWING INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: PARENT BACKGROUND, PERSONALITY, SOCIAL NETWORK RESOURCES, WAYS OF HANDLING IRRITATING CHILD BEHAVIORS, CHILDREARING ATTITUDES, PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION PATTERNS, ANTECEDENTS TO EARLY ATTACHMENT, AND GENERAL AND SPECIFIC PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO CHILD-RELATED BEHAVIORS. THE SAMPLE FOR THE STUDY INCLUDED 109 FAMILIES, 55 ABUSING OR NEGLECTING FAMILIES, AND 54 CONTROLS. ABUSING AND NEGLECTING FAMILIES WERE ON ACTIVE CASELOADS OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES IN THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES. DATA WERE COLLECTED BY MEANS OF INTERVIEWS, QUESTIONNAIRES, VIDEOTAPED OBSERVATIONS, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS. SPECIFIC INSTRUMENTS, SUCH AS CHILDREARING-ATTITUDE SCALES, WERE EMPLOYED TO IDENTIFY ROLE-REVERSAL PARENTS, LOW-BOILING-POINT PARENTS, STRICT DISCIPLINARIAN PARENTS, SADISTIC PARENTS AND EVALUATE WAYS OF HANDLING IRRITATING CHILD BEHAVIORS. ABUSIVE PARENTS FELT THAT THEIR OWN BACKGROUND HAD BEEN POOR, THEIR PARENTS DID NOT UNDERSTAND THEM, AND THEY DID NOT GET ALONG WITH THEIR PARENTS. THEY LACKED EMPATHY, HAD LOW SELF-CONCEPTS AND FEW FRIENDS, WERE UPSET ABOUT THE WAY CHILDREARING DISAGREEMENTS WERE HANDLED IN THE HOME, DID NOT COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR CHILDREN, LACKED SENSITIVITY TO THEIR CHILDREN'S CUES, AND BELIEVED THEIR CHILDREN HAD DIFFICULTY LEARNING TASKS. PARENTS WHO ABUSED THEIR CHILDREN WERE THEMSELVES ABUSED AS CHILDREN. THEY SCORED HIGH ON ANTECEDENTS TO EARLY ATTACHMENT (UNPLANNED PREGNANCY, COMPLICATIONS FOR MOTHER/INFANT, AND INFANT KEPT IN HOSPITAL LONGER THAN MOTHER). ABUSIVE PARENTS WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM THE CHILDREARING EXPERIENCE BUT FELT TRAPPED; THEY SCORED HIGH ON ALL CHILDREARING ATTITUDE SCALES. PARENTAL HANDLING OF IRRITATING CHILD BEHAVIORS INVOLVED PHYSICAL, VERBAL, WITHHOLD PRIVILEGES, ISOLATE, IGNORE, DISTRACT, GIVE AFFECTION, EXPLAIN, AND DO NOTHING REACTIONS. ABUSIVE PARENTS USED PHYSICAL WAYS OF HANDLING IRRITATING CHILD BEHAVIORS 47 PERCENT MORE THAN CONTROLS, NEGLECTORS USED THEM 27 PERCENT MORE, AND SPOUSES 26 PERCENT MORE. SPECIFIC PHYSIOLOGICAL FINDINGS ON SUBJECTS IN THE STUDY CONCERNED HEART RATE AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY, BLOOD VOLUME PULSE, AND SKIN CONDUCTION LEVEL. SUPPORTING DATA AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)