A Test of the Explanatory Value of Alternative Models of Child Abuse

Abstract

Four models (designated as the psychopathology model, the social psychology model, the social situational model, and the cultural model) which have implicitly or explicitly guided the bulk of research on child abuse are described. Hypotheses were derived from each model and then tested using data on 106 abusive parents in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While none of the models received strong empirical support, the social psychology and cultural models had the greatest explanatory value in regard to the frequency of abusive behaviour, while the cultural and social situational models had the greatest explanatory value in terms of the severity of abuse. The psychopathology model received the least support. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that while variables from the cultural model were prominent among the best set of predictors of both frequency and severity of abuse, incorporating variables from the other models enhanced the amount of explained variation in abusive behaviour. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.