Nonabusive Mothers Research Articles

Physically abusive mothers' responses following episodes of child noncompliance and compliance.

The authors used sequential analysis to examine specific interaction patterns between physically abusive mothers and their children following episodes of noncompliance and compliance. Fifteen abusive and 15 nonabusive, low-risk mother-child dyads were observed, and their behaviors were coded for specific interactions. The children in the study ranged in age from 2 to 6 years. Results indicated that after noncompliance occurred, physically abusive mothers were more likely than nonabusive mothers to respond negatively and give another command. When child compliance occurred, there were no group differences in the likelihood of praising their children's prosocial behavior, but physically abusive mothers were less likely than nonabusive mothers to engage in other forms of positive behavior (e.g., positive touch) after compliance. Clinical implications are discussed in the context of working with physically abusive families.

Puerto Rican Abusive and Non-Abusive Mothers' Beliefs About Appropriate and Inappropriate Child Discipline

This article presents the findings of a study conducted with a purposive sample of 40 abusive and non-abusive island Puerto Rican mothers about their knowledge and use of disciplinary practices. The mothers were interviewed using open-ended questions and vignettes. The questions required them to identify the behavior problems they most frequently confronted in their children; their knowledge of different disciplinary practices; and their assessment of the appropriateness or inappropriateness of child disciplinary practices. Mothers were then presented with the ten vignettes and asked to respond to the following questions: (1) How do you think each of these described situations should be managed? (2) Have you ever confronted such a problem? and (3) If so, how did you handle it? Both abusive and non-abusive mothers knew and used a wide repertoire of disciplinary practices that combined verbal-rational and punitive-controlling methods. Differences between abusive and non-abusive mothers were noted with more abusive mothers experiencing stressful socioeconomic conditions, confronting problems with their children, and more frequently, recommending and using punishments. Discussion addresses hypotheses for further research and recommendations for social work practitioners.

Adding Legal Insult to Injury: Battered Women, Their Children, and the Failure to Protect

This article examines reported appellate cases from various jurisdictions in which battered mothers did not abuse their children but were penalized for their partners' abusive conduct in light of the underlying dynamics of domestic violence. It presents recommendations for increased collaboration, cooperation, and understanding between those who work with persons who are experiencing domestic violence and those who work with abused children. The authors contend that the civil and criminal penalization of nonabusive mothers for failing to protect their children adds legal insult to the physical injuries they have already suffered.

Physical Abuse of Women Before, During, and After Pregnancy

Main Outcome Measures Prevalence of physical abuse during the 12 months be- fore pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after infant delivery; injuries and medical in- terventions resulting from postpartum abuse; and patterns of abuse over time in re- lation to sociodemographic characteristics and use of well-baby care. Results The prevalence of abuse before pregnancy was 6.9% (95% confidence in- terval (CI), 5.6%-8.2%) compared with 6.1% (95% CI, 4.8%-7.4%) during preg- nancy and 3.2% (95% CI, 2.3%-4.1%) during a mean postpartum period of 3.6 months. Abuse during a previous period was strongly predictive of later abuse. Most women who were abused after pregnancy (77%) were injured, but only 23% received medi- cal treatment for their injuries. Virtually all abused and nonabused women used well- baby care; private physicians were the most common source of care. The mean num- ber of well-baby care visits did not differ significantly by maternal patterns of abuse. Conclusion Since well-baby care use is similar for abused and nonabused mothers, pediatric practices may be important settings for screening women for violence.

An Attributional Analysis of Child Abuse Among Low-Income African American Mothers

Attribution theory predicts that when someone is perceived as responsible for a negative event, this inference elicits feelings of anger and anger evokes aggressive responding. In contrast, perceived nonresponsibility should be linked to feelings of sympathy and less aggression. These thinking-feeling-action linkages were applied to the domain of child maltreatment in the present study. In individual interviews, samples of abusive, at-risk, and nonabusive African American mothers were presented with videotaped scenarios depicting a target child engaged in misbehavior. Mothers rated the severity of the behavior, how responsible they perceived the child to be, their feelings of sympathy and anger, and how much punishment they would endorse, coded as mild to harsh. They also completed a measure of parental stress. Compared with nonabusive mothers, abusive mothers reported more stress, perceived the behavior as more negative, inferred the child to be more responsible, reported more anger, and endorsed harsher punishment. The attributional data of at-risk mothers consistently fell between that of the other two groups. Regression and path analyses documented a systematic pattern of thinking-feeling-action linkages in accord with attributional predictions. The usefulness of an attributional approach to child maltreatment and the implications of the findings as a model for intervention were discussed.

Physical abuse of women before, during, and after pregnancy.

Clinicians who care for new mothers and infants need information concerning postpartum physical abuse of women as a foundation on which to develop appropriate clinical screening and intervention procedures. However, no previous population-based studies have been conducted of postpartum physical abuse. To examine patterns of physical abuse before, during, and after pregnancy in a representative statewide sample of North Carolina women. Survey of participants in the North Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (NC PRAMS). Of the 3542 women invited to participate in NC PRAMS between July 1, 1997, and December 31, 1998, 75% (n = 2648) responded. Prevalence of physical abuse during the 12 months before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after infant delivery; injuries and medical interventions resulting from postpartum abuse; and patterns of abuse over time in relation to sociodemographic characteristics and use of well-baby care. The prevalence of abuse before pregnancy was 6.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6%-8.2%) compared with 6.1% (95% CI, 4.8%-7.4%) during pregnancy and 3.2% (95% CI, 2.3%-4.1%) during a mean postpartum period of 3.6 months. Abuse during a previous period was strongly predictive of later abuse. Most women who were abused after pregnancy (77%) were injured, but only 23% received medical treatment for their injuries. Virtually all abused and nonabused women used well-baby care; private physicians were the most common source of care. The mean number of well-baby care visits did not differ significantly by maternal patterns of abuse. Since well-baby care use is similar for abused and nonabused mothers, pediatric practices may be important settings for screening women for violence.

Screening Mothers for Intimate Partner Abuse at Well-Baby Care Visits

Context Clinicians who care for new mothers and infants need information concerning postpartum physical abuse of women as a foundation on which to develop appropriate clinical screening and intervention procedures. However, no previous population-based studies have been conducted of postpartum physical abuse. Objectives To examine patterns of physical abuse before, during, and after pregnancy in a representative statewide sample of North Carolina women. Design, Setting, and Participants Survey of participants in the North Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (NC PRAMS). Of the 3542 women invited to participate in NC PRAMS between July 1, 1997, and December 31, 1998, 75% (n=2648) responded. Main Outcome Measures Prevalence of physical abuse during the 12 months before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after infant delivery; injuries and medical interventions resulting from postpartum abuse; and patterns of abuse over time in relation to sociodemographic characteristics and use of well-baby care. Results The prevalence of abuse before pregnancy was 6.9% (95% confidence interval [Cl], 5.6%-8.2%) compared with 6.1% (95% Cl, 4.8%-7.4%) during pregnancy and 3.2% (95% Cl, 2.3%-4.1 %) during a mean postpartum period of 3.6 months. Abuse during a previous period was strongly predictive of later abuse. Most women who were abused after pregnancy (77%) were injured, but only 23% received medical treatment for their injuries. Virtually all abused and nonabused women used well-baby care; private physicians were the most common source of care. The mean number of well-baby care visits did not differ significantly by maternal patterns of abuse. Conclusion Since well-baby care use is similar for abused and nonabused mothers, pediatric practices may be important settings for screening women for violence.

Hormones and behavior in rhesus macaque abusive and nonabusive mothers: 1. Social interactions during late pregnancy and early lactation

This study investigated changes in hormone levels and social behavior during late pregnancy and early lactation in rhesus macaque abusive and nonabusive mothers. All subjects lived in large social groups in outdoor corrals. Estradiol and progesterone levels increased to a peak the week before parturition, dropped after parturition, and remained low thereafter. The hormonal profiles of abusive and nonabusive mothers were generally similar. There were few changes in social interactions involving contact, grooming, or aggression across pregnancy or lactation, and minor differences between abusive and nonabusive mothers. The transition to motherhood was accompanied by a reduction in active grooming and an increase in aggression, and such changes were more marked for abusive than nonabusive mothers. Some individual differences in social behavior were correlated with hormone levels during pregnancy, but not lactation. These findings suggest that although the endocrine changes underlying the periparturitional period may affect female social behavior, some of the social changes associated with motherhood are likely to reflect the presence of infants.

Hormones and behavior in rhesus macaque abusive and nonabusive mothers: 2. Mother–infant interactions

This study investigated the differences in parenting style and hormonal variables in abusive and nonabusive rhesus macaque mothers during the first 2 months of lactation. All subjects lived in large social groups in outdoor corrals. Abusive mothers were more protective and more rejecting of their infants than nonabusive mothers, particularly in the first month. Abusive and nonabusive mothers did not differ in levels of circulating estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) during the periparturitional period except that the decrease in P after parturition was less marked in abusive than in nonabusive mothers. Individual differences in periparturitional E2 or P were not correlated with differences in parenting style. Mothers with higher frequencies of abuse, however, had significantly higher values of the E2-to-P ratio in the last week of pregnancy and significantly lower values of P in the first week of lactation than mothers with lower frequencies of abuse. Although pregnancy or lactation hormones are unlikely to be one of the main determinants of abusive behavior, endocrine variables may interact with personality characteristics or environmental factors in causing this phenomenon.

Adoption and maltreatment of foster infants by rhesus macaque abusive mothers

In this study we investigated whether infant characteristics play a causal role in the occurrence of maternal abuse of offspring in rhesus macaques )Macaca mulatta) and whether abusive mothers differ from controls in their tendency to adopt alien infants in a cross‐fostering procedure. To this end, 13 infants born to mothers with a previous history of infant abuse were cross‐fostered shortly after birth with infants born to nonabusive mothers and subsequently observed for 12 weeks. Abusive mothers were significantly more likely to reject foster infants than control mothers were. When adoption was successful, all of the abusive mothers maltreated their foster infants whereas none of the control mothers exhibited infant abuse. These findings suggest that infant characteristics do not play an important causal role in the occurrence of infant abuse and that abusive mothers may differ from nonabusive ones in maternal motivation or reactivity to stressful procedures.

Maternal-foetal bonding: the impact of domestic violence on the bonding process between a mother and child

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that domestic violence has an impact on the maternal-foetal bond and the maternal-infant bond, and to investigate any relationship between the two bonding states (taking into account post-natal depression). Design: Case-control, unmatched, study with random cluster sampling. Setting: Refuge shelters in Central Birmingham and Greater London (cases). City hospital (Dudley Road), Bartley Green and Longbridge General Practices (controls). Subjects: Women who gave birth in the year preceding the study: 11 who experienced physical or mental abuse whilst pregnant, 27 who reported no abuse. Measures: Severity of abuse in the cases (ASS). Degree of maternal-foetal (ADS) and maternal-infant bonding (BPNB) achieved in cases and controls. Level of Post-Natal Depression in the cases (EPND). Results: Mothers who were abused during pregnancy are less likely to bond well with their foetus and subsequently their child. In non-abused mothers there is a prominent strengthening in maternal-child bonding after birth, this change is minimal in abused women. Within the index sample significantly positive correlations were found between MFB and MIB; MFB and ASS; and MIB and ASS scores. No such correlations were found in the control group. Abused women were more likely to suffer from post-natal depression as compared to their non-abused counterparts, the degree of depression was not related to the severity of the abuse experienced. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that exposure to abuse weakens the maternal-foetal bond, possibly making it not amenable to the normal strengthening post partum, thus diminishing the strength of the maternal-infant bond in abused mothers.

Childbearing Patterns in a Cohort of Women Sexually Abused as Children

Previous studies have suggested that women with a history of sexual abuse are more likely to become pregnant as adolescents than nonabused peers. We examined a cohort of 734 mothers ages 12 to 42 selected from 1985 to 1987 for participation in a longitudinal investigation for any relationship between sexual abuse prior to age 18 and childbearing characteristics, including their age at the birth of their first child as well as parity. Thirty-two percent reported sexual abuse. After controlling for poverty, race, maternal education, marital status, and age, there was no significant difference between the abused and nonabused mothers in their age at first birth; however, parity was higher for the sexually abused group. Fifty-five percent of mothers with a sexual abuse history had had more than one child as opposed to 39% of the nonabused mothers (p < 0.0001).

Neuropsychological Functioning: Comparison of Mothers at High- and Low-Risk for Child Physical Abuse

Objective: The present study investigated the performance of high- and low-risk (for child physical abuse) mothers on cognitive measures in a cry (crying infant) and no-cry condition. The degree to which observed risk group differences in cognitive abilities were due to group differences in depression and/or anxiety was explored. Method: Forty mothers, 20 high-risk and 20 demographically matched low-risk mothers, participated in the study. All mothers completed neuropsychological measures of conceptual ability, cognitive flexibility, ability to adjust responses, verbal fluency, attention, and susceptibility of interference, and measures of intellectual functioning, depression, and anxiety. Results: Although initial analyses indicated expected risk group differences on most of the neuropsychological measures, a second set of analyses, that controlled for group differences in IQ, revealed risk group differences only on measures of conceptual ability, cognitive flexibility, and problem-solving skills. In a third set of analyses that controlled for group differences in IQ, depression, and anxiety, no risk group differences on any of the neuropsychological measures were found. In each analysis, expected interactions between risk group and cry condition were not found. Conclusions: The findings support clinical reports of cognitive differences in abusive and nonabusive mothers, but indicate that clinically observed cognitive deficits in high-risk and abusive mothers may be associated with lower levels of intellectual ability and with higher levels of depression and anxiety that are commonly reported in high-risk and abusive mothers.

Parenting styles of abusive mothers in group-living rhesus macaques

Maternal abuse of offspring in group-living monkeys was investigated to assess whether abuse of infants can be interpreted as an adaptive reduction of parental expenditure or as a behavioural pathology. I compared the parenting styles of 10 abusive and 10 non-abusive rhesus macaque,Macaca mulatta, mothers living in three large captive groups over the first 12 weeks of infant life. I also analysed the social interactions between mothers and infants and other individuals. Abusive females scored higher than controls on several measures of maternal protectiveness and rejection, indicating that they were highly controlling mothers. They also received fewer contacts and approaches from other individuals, and tended to be more aggressive and more interested in other females' infants compared to non-abusive mothers. Infant abuse was accompanied by similar or higher parental expenditure in the offspring rather than by a reduction in expenditure, as predicted by the adaptive hypothesis. Therefore, the results of this study support the hypothesis that infant abuse is a form of behavioural pathology. Infant abuse in rhesus macaques shows parallels with that in other primate species, but some of its characteristics could be a by-product of species-specific behavioural adaptations of rhesus macaques.

Behavioral and environmental correlates of infant abuse in group- living pigtail macaques

The present study investigated the context of occurrence of infant abuse and the behavior of abusive mothers and their infants in pigtail macaques ( Macaca nemestrina). Subjects were 8 abusive mothers with their infants and 8 control mother-infant pairs living in 3 captive social groups. The most common forms of abuse were infant crushing and dragging and the most common context of occurrence was social stress. Severe and mild abuse differed in the frequency but not in the type of abuse patterns. Abusive mothers had controlling parenting styles relative to nonabusive mothers, and abused infants played at a later age and less frequently than controls. This study replicates previous findings on the parenting styles of abusive macaque mothers and provides new evidence on the context of occurrence of abuse and its consequences for infant health and social development.

Toward an integrated framework for understanding child physical abuse

Objectives: The article constructed an integrated conceptual framework for understanding child physical abuse based on a content analysis of different theories. Three major determinants of physical abuse were identified: exposure to aggression, exposure to stressors, and access to resources. To test the framework, we included variables from all three major categories in the analyses. Methodology: Data from a case-comparison study that included 81 physically abusive and 148 nonabusive mothers was used. Logistic regression determined the relative importance of the predictors. Results: The probability of child physical abuse varied in the expected direction with the number of emotional resources received (listening, help with decision-making, companionship), the number of stressors experienced, and the mothers exposure to physical abuse by their own mothers, current partners, and former partners. The estimation results showed that exposure to aggression in one's own childhood (abused by one's own mother) and exposure to domestic violence in one's adult life (abused by one's previous and current partners) were the most potent factors for predicting whether a mother physically abused her child. Conclusion: The results suggest further research on the interdependencies between domestic violence and child physical abuse.

Assessment of coping strategies of child abusing mothers

Objective: Mothers who had physically abused their children were assessed to determine whether these mothers had a general coping skills deficit. Method: Abusing mothers ( n = 17) were compared to nonabusing mothers of conduct problem children ( n = 16). Coping was measured by several different methods, each designed to address the insufficiencies of the others. Results: In comparison to the nonabusing mothers, independent ratings indicated that abusing mothers exhibited a pattern of coping characterized by greater use of emotion-focused coping strategies and less use of effective problem-focused strategies. Finally, using self report ratings of coping, abusing mothers perceived their coping to be more ineffective than the nonabusing mothers. Conclusions: The possibility that the observed coping skills deficit may be indicative of a deficit in emotional responding to stress was discussed and suggestions were given for therapeutic interventions with child abusing mothers.

Examination of the Cross-Cultural and Cross-Language Equivalence of the Parenting Self-Agency Measure

This article describes the initial validation and evaluation of the cross-cultural and cross-language equivalence of the Parenting Self-Agency Measure (PSAM) with a sample of English speaking, middle-income, Anglo mothers (N = 90) and a sample of Spanish speaking, low-income, Mexican immigrant mothers (N = 94). The hypothesized relationships of the PSAM with measures of parents' personal coping strategies and parenting practices were largely confirmed. Results also supported the functional and scalar equivalence of the PSAM Applications of the PSAM for researchers and practitioners are presented. EXAMINATION OF THE CROSS-CULTURAL AND CROSS-LANGUAGE EQUIVALENCE OF THE PARENTING SELF-AGENCY MEASURE* Larry E. Dumka, Heather D. Stoerzinger, Kristina M. Jackson, and Mark W. Roosa Over the past two decades, selfagency has become a prominent construct in social science research. Generally, self-agency refers to an individual's perceptions of his or her competence, effectiveness, and capacity to make things happen (Gecas, 1989). Self-agency perceptions have been linked to better mental and physical health (Gecas, 1989; O'Leary, 1985; Pearlin, 1983) and the initiation and maintenance of behavior change in a wide array of areas (e.g., smoking, eating, substance use, treatment regimes for illness, seatbelt use; Kelly, Zizanski, & Alemango, 1991; Marlatt & Gordon, 1985; Strecher, DeVellis, Becker, & Rosenstock; 1986). One domain in which self-agency may play a significant role is parenting. Parenting self-agency refers to parents' overall confidence in their ability to act successfully in the parental role. This includes parents' perceptions of their ability to manage their child's behavior and to resolve problems with their child. Studies have shown parenting selfagency to be related to parents' coping styles and parenting practices. For example, low levels of parenting self-agency have been linked to a passive coping approach to parent-child interactions and to child maladjustment (Swick & Hassel, 1990; Wells-Parker, Miller, & Topping, 1990). Parenting self-agency also has been associated with parenting practices that contribute to positive outcomes for children. For example, Mash and Johnston (1983) found parents with high parenting self-agency to be more active and directive in a task situation with their children. Other studies have found high parenting self-agency (including beliefs about parents' impact on children's development) to be associated with democratic childrearing ideas (Emmerich, 1969), supportive childrearing attitudes and practices (Luster & Kain, 1987; Tulkin, 1977), and parenting practices that promote child achievement (Elder, Eccles, Ardelt, & Lord, 1995). Conversely, mothers who perceived that they had little control over negative child behavior tended to become easily irritated with their children, use coercive childrearing practices, and act abusively (Bugental, Blue, & Cruzcosa, 1989). Also, abusive mothers have reported lower levels of parenting self-agency than nonabusive mothers (Mash, Johnston, & Kovitz, 1983). Results of recent studies suggest that the role of parenting self-agency may differ across socioeconomic and ethnic groups. For example, economic hardship seems to contribute to diminished parenting self-agency and less effective parenting practices (Conger & Elder, 1994; Elder et al., 1995; McLoyd, 1990). Moreover, in a study that compared economically stressed African American and European American parents, researchers found a direct link between economic hardship and lower parenting self-efficacy for African American mothers, whereas this relationship was mediated by depressed affect for European American mothers (Elder et al., 1995). In the same study, parenting selfefficacy was significantly related to parenting practices that promoted child achievement for African American mothers, but not for European American mothers. …

Sexually abused and nonabused mothers' discussions about sex and their children's sexual knowledge

This study investigated the impact of a mother's experience of childhood sexual abuse on her discussion of sex with her child. Two groups of sexually abused and nonabused mothers, drawn from a larger community sample and matched for social class and the sex and age of their index children, were asked about discussion of sexual information within their family. Children were interviewed about their sexual knowledge. Significantly more mothers who reported an incident of sexual abuse during their childhood said that they had detailed discussions with their child about sexual development and contraception than mothers who reported no childhood incidence of abuse. Although there was no difference between the two groups in independent interviewers' ratings of the children's overall sexual knowledge, more children from the abused mothers' group mentioned their parents as a definite source of sexual information, in particular, regarding contraception. There were also differences between the two groups in the children's responses to a set of ambiguous pictures. More children in the abused mothers' group than the nonabused group gave stories related to child abductions and the possibility of sexual abuse in response to two of the pictures. A mothers' willingness to acknowledge childhood sexual abuse is related to more open discussion of sexual information within the family.

Parental hostility and its sources in psychologically abusive mothers: A test of the three-factor theory

A revised version of the three-factor theory of child abuse (Lesnik-Oberstein, Cohen, & Koers, 1982) is presented. Further, we report on a research designed to test three main hypotheses derived from Factor I (1) (a high level of hostility in abusive parents) and its sources. The three main hypotheses are: (1) that psychologically abusive mothers have a high level of hostile feelings (Factor I); (2) that the high level of hostile feelings in abusive mothers is associated with low marital coping skills (resulting in affectionless, violent marriages), a negative childhood upbringing (punitive, uncaring, over controlling), a high level of stress (objective stress), and a high level of strain (low self-esteem, depression, neurotic symptoms, social anxiety, feelings of being wronged); and (3) that maternal psychological child abuse is associated with low marital coping skills, a negative childhood upbringing, a high level of stress and a high level of strain. Forty-four psychologically abusing mothers were compared with 128 nonabusing mothers on a variety of measures and were matched for age and educational level. All the mothers had children who were hospitalized for medical symptoms. The three hypotheses were supported, with the exception of the component of hypothesis 2 concerning the association between objective stress and maternal hostility. The positive results are consistent with the three-factor theory.