Understanding Violent Mothers and Fathers: Assessing Explanations Offered by Mothers and Fathers for Their Use of Control Punishment (From Family Abuse and Its Consequences: New Directions in Research, P 77-90, 1988, Gerald T Hotaling, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-114483)

• NCJ Number: 114486
• Author(s): P D Coontz; J A Martin
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This exploratory study gathered information from 66 abusive parents to determine whether mothers and fathers differ in their beliefs about the usefulness of violence in disciplining children, in their justifications for their violent behavior, and in their feelings at the end of a violent episode.

Abstract

The study reanalyzed data collected in 1977-78 as part of a study of transactional patterns in maltreating families in Wisconsin. Two-thirds of the 66 respondents were women, and 44 percent of the maltreated children were boys. Most of the families were poor, and 79% lived in a major metropolitan area. The men and women had similar responses regarding whether they would again physically discipline their child, with 55 percent saying they would. Similarly, gender differences did not appear for responses regarding their own parents' use of physical punishment, their feelings of guilt or anger following their abuse of their own child, and their responsibility for their child's current problems. Unexpectedly, however, more men than women reported choosing a nonviolent method of correction before resorting to abuse. The low socioeconomic status of the participants in the study may account for the lack of significant results. In addition, examination of specific aspects of abuse may not be as useful as consideration of maltreaters' more general attitudes toward the incidents. Tables and 23 references.