Risk Factors for Violence Against Children

Abstract

This secondary analysis of the 1985 National Family Violence Survey sought to improve understanding of child abuse in the context of wife abuse by comparing risk factors for physical child abuse, verbal abuse, and physical punishment in homes with and without wife abuse. Interaction effects between wife abuse and various parent, child, and family risk factors were examined. For physical and verbal child abuse, several differences in risk factors were found, and interaction effects were significant. No interaction effects were found for the physical punishment model. In homes with wife abuse, adolescents were at particular risk of physical abuse, and alcohol abuse was an especially strong predictor of verbal child abuse. The intergenerational transmission of violence was more important in explaining physical child abuse in homes without wife abuse. This research points to global risk factors for physical punishment and specific risk factors for physical abuse and verbal abuse.