The relative importance of wife abuse as a risk factor for violence against children

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relative importance of wife abuse as a risk factor for physical child abuse, physical punishment, and verbal child abuse. The study explored the importance of wife abuse relative to blocks of parent, child, and family characteristics and also relative to specific risk factors. METHOD: This study re-analyzed a sub-sample (N = 2,733) of data from the 1985 National Family Violence Survey. Hierarchical logistic regressions were conducted, using five different criterion variables measuring physical child abuse, physical punishment, and verbal abuse separately and in combination. RESULTS: Blocks of parent, child, and family characteristics were more important predictors of violence towards children than was wife abuse, though the presence of wife abuse in the home was a consistently significant specific risk factor for all forms of violence against children. Of specific risk factors, a respondent's history of having been hit as an adolescent was a larger risk factor for physical child abuse than was wife abuse. Wife abuse was an important predictor of physical punishment. Non-violent marital discord was a greater factor in predicting likelihood of verbal child abuse than was wife abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Though this study confirms the association between wife abuse and violence towards children, it cautions us not to overlook the contribution of other factors in our attempts to understand the increased risk attributed to wife abuse.     

Income, family characteristics, and physical violence toward children

OBJECTIVE: This paper discusses the ways in which existing microeconomic theories of partner abuse, intra-family bargaining, and distribution of resources within families may contribute to our current understanding of physical child abuse. The empirical implications of this discussion are then tested on data from the 1985 National Family Violence Survey (NFVS) in order to estimate the effects of income, family characteristics, and state characteristics on physical violence toward children. METHODOLOGY: The sample consists of 2,760 families with children from the NFVS. Probit and ordered probit models are used to explore relationships between income, family characteristics, state characteristics, and physical violence toward children among single-parent and two-parent families. RESULTS: In both single-parent and two-parent families, depression, maternal alcohol consumption, and history of family violence affect children's probabilities of being abused. Additionally, income is significantly related to violence toward children in single-parent families. CONCLUSIONS: These results reinforce earlier findings that demographic characteristics, maternal depression, maternal alcohol use, and intra-family patterns of violence may largely contribute to child abuse. This research also suggests that income may play a substantially more important role in regard to parental violence in single-parent families than in two-parent families.     

Children's experience of violence in China and Korea: a transcultural study

OBJECTIVE: There were two aims: First, to compare children's rates of being battered in home, by peers, and by teachers among students between China and Korea, and second, to identify particular risk factors for such violence. METHODS: Children in grades four through six in Shanghai (238 cases) and Yanji (245 cases) in China and Seoul (248 cases) and Kimpo (241 cases) in Korea were surveyed by questionnaire method. They were asked to complete the Straus' Conflict Tactics Scale and their frequencies in the three situations respectively, and other demographic items. RESULTS: Family violence during the last 1 year was experienced in 70.6% (minor 42.2%; serious 22.6%) of the children in China and 68.9% (minor 9.4%; serious 51.3%) of those in Korea. Experience rates of violence by peers were 42.7% (minor 25.7%; serious 13.7%) in China and 26.0% (minor 11.5%; serious 14.3%) in Korea. Finally, rates of corporal punishment by teachers were 51.1% (minor 28.0%; serious 4.1%) in China and 62.0% (minor 8.8%; serious 43.8%) in Korea. The most important and common risk factor for violence in one situation was the presence of violence in another situation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the differences in children's overall experience rates were not particularly striking. However, Korean children experienced more severe forms of violence from family members and from teachers. Findings of risk factors clearly imply that there are children vulnerable to violence from multiple sources.     

The prevalence and context of family violence against children in Finland

The prevalence and context of violence against children in their families was surveyed as part of a study on the sexual abuse of children. A random sample of 409 comprehensive school classes with approximately 9,000 15-year-olds was asked to anonymously fill out questionnaires. The majority filled out the questionnaires in the privacy of the school nurse's office, the rest in their classrooms. Of the selected classes, 88.8% participated in the survey, and the response rate of the students in those classes was 96%. Mild violence (slapping, pushing, etc.) was reported by 72% of the respondents, and severe violence (hitting with a fist, kicking, use of weapons) was reported by 8%. Violence was committed by the parents sometime before the children reached age 14. Incidents of violence during the year preceding the survey were reported by 19% and 5%, mild and severe, respectively. Mild violence was committed slightly more often by mothers than fathers. Severe violence was perpetrated more frequently by fathers. Girls reported mild abuse more often than boys. Severe violence was experienced equally often by both sexes. Children living with single mothers reported less-than-average mild violence, but more frequent severe violence. The highest incidence of severe violence was found among youth living in families with a stepfather. Unemployment in a family tended to increase both mild and severe violence. Violence was reported least often by children living in farming families or Swedish speaking families (which make up about 6% of Finnish population). Overall the frequency of violence toward children in Finland is significantly lower than in the U.S. Comparison to Sweden seems to show an identical level of child abuse, although different study methods make comparisons difficult.     

Maternal intimate partner violence victimization and child maltreatment

There is some limited evidence of an association between maternal intimate partner victimization (IPV) and children’s experience of maltreatment. Using data from a longitudinal study, we examine whether this relationship is independent of range of potential confounders including socio-economic, familial and psychological factors. Data were taken from the 14 and 30-year follow-ups of the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) in Australia. A subsample of 2064 mothers and children (59.0% female) whose data on maternal IPV and child maltreatment was available, were analysed. In families with maternal IPV, two in five children reported being maltreated, compared to one in five children maltreated in families without maternal IPV. Except for sexual maltreatment which was consistently higher in female offspring, there was no gender differences in experiencing different types of maltreatment in families manifesting maternal IPV. Although both males and females were at increased risk of child maltreatment in families where mothers were victimized by their male partners, male children were more likely to be emotionally maltreated. The main associations were substantially independent of measured confounders, except for father’s history of mental health problems which attenuated the association of maternal IPV victimization and male offspring’s physical abuse. Our findings confirm that there is a robust association between maternal IPV and child maltreatment. Both maternal IPV victimization and child maltreatment co-occur in a household characterized by conflict and violence. Consequences of IPV go beyond the incident and influence all family members. Efforts to reduce child maltreatment may need to address the greater level of IPV associated with the cycle of family violence.     

Evaluating the success of Sweden's corporal punishment ban.

OBJECTIVE: In 1979, Sweden became the first nation to explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment of children by all caretakers in an effort to: (1) alter public attitudes toward this practice; (2) increase early identification of children at risk for abuse; and (3) promote earlier and more supportive intervention to families. The aim of this study was to examine trends over recent decades in these areas to assess the degree to which these goals have been met. METHOD: Primary data were collected from official Swedish sources for the following variables: public support for corporal punishment, reporting of child physical assault, child abuse mortality, prosecution rates, and intervention by the social authorities. Lines of best fit were generated and Cox and Stuart tests for trend were conducted. RESULTS: Public support for corporal punishment has declined, identification of children at risk has increased, child abuse mortality is rare, prosecution rates have remained steady, and social service intervention has become increasingly supportive and preventive. CONCLUSIONS: The Swedish ban has been highly successful in accomplishing its goals.     

Which juvenile crime victims get mental health treatment?

OBJECTIVE: To explore factors that facilitate the receipt of mental health treatment among juvenile crime victims. METHOD: Telephone interviews were conducted with a national sample of 157 caretakers whose children had suffered a serious sexual or physical assault in the previous year. RESULTS: Twenty-two percent of caretakers had thought about getting professional counseling for their child victims, and 20% of the child victims actually received it. But half of the families who thought about it did not follow through on their consideration. Moreover, nearly half of those victimized children who actually received counseling did so without their families reporting that they had considered it in advance. The level of symptoms and parent-child relationship factors were related to considering counseling which was in turn strongly related to actually getting counseling. Other factors were independently related to receiving counseling, such as the victimization occurring at school and the victim being perceived as at fault to some degree. Advice to get counseling and medical insurance also played roles. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggested two pathways to counseling. One occurred via direct parental concern, and was associated with such variables as parental perceptions that the child was depressed or withdrawn or that the parent-child relationship had been negatively affected. The other pathway occurred independent of parental concern, most likely via school interventions, because this counseling was in conjunction with school victimizations.     

Children exposed to child maltreatment and intimate partner violence: a study of co-occurrence among Hong Kong Chinese families

Objective

This study assessed the co-occurrence of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) and examined the association between them.

Method

The cross-sectional study recruited a population-based sample of 1,094 children aged 12-17 years in Hong Kong. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the children. The prevalence of occurrence of child abuse and neglect by parents and exposure to IPV in both the past year and lifetime was examined, and their correlates were assessed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.

Results

The results show that 26% and 14.6% of child participants had been exposed to IPV physical assault, and 44.4% and 22.6% had been subjected to a parent's corporal punishment or to physical maltreatment from a parent in their lifetime and the year preceding the study, respectively. Among those families characterized by IPV, 54.4% and 46.5% were involved in child physical maltreatment over the child's lifetime and in the preceding year, respectively.

Conclusions

Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that children exposed to IPV were at higher risk of being victims of neglect, corporal punishment, and physical maltreatment or severe physical maltreatment by their parents than children who were not exposed to IPV, even when child and parent demographic factors were controlled for.

Practical implications

The higher risk of child physical maltreatment associated with IPV highlights the need for an integrated assessment to screen for the presence of multiple forms of family violence within the family, and for intervention to assess effective responses to both IPV and child maltreatment by child protective service workers and domestic violence agencies.     

Predicting the use of single versus multiple types of violence towards children in a representative sample of Quebec families

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine which factors best predict parental use of single versus multiple types of violence. METHODOLOGY: The study uses data from a Quebec telephone survey conducted with a representative sample of 2,469 mothers of children aged 0-17 years. The interview covered topics such as mother's attitudes and reports of violence towards children, mother's experiences of childhood violence, level of marital discord, and socioeconomic factors. A discriminant function analysis was performed using individual and family factors to predict membership in five distinct groups: (a) no violence reported; (b) reports of psychological aggression only; (c) reports of minor physical violence only; (d) reports of psychological aggression and minor physical violence; and (e) reports of psychological aggression, minor and severe physical violence. RESULTS: One-way ANOVAs revealed that the groups differed significantly on factors such as child's age and gender, mother's attitudes, mother's experiences of childhood violence, level of marital discord, and number of children in the household. Discriminant function analysis revealed that the groups differed in two ways. The first function maximally separated the report of psychological aggression from minor physical violence only. The second function discriminated between the combined reports of all three types of violence versus the reports of minor physical violence only. Mother's attitudes and experiences of childhood violence were the two factors that best distinguished among groups and best predicted group membership. CONCLUSION: These results offer new insights for the prediction of mother's reports of one type versus multiple types of violence and highlight the importance of distinguishing between types and combinations of family violence in future research.     

Child abuse and physical punishment of children in Finland

This study looks at child abuse as a part of family violence and includes a literature review of the previous Finnish studies on child abuse. The data of the study comes from a poll conducted in Finland in the autumn of 1981 of 530 of the Finnish population older than 14 years of age: 3% of respondents had observed physical violence towards small children and 1% towards teenagers; 44% of the respondents were of the opinion that physical punishment of children was needed at least on certain occasions. In Sweden the corresponding percentage was only 26. The majority of Finns (60%), however, was in favor of a special law to ban all child abuse and physical punishment of children as was done in Sweden in 1979. The recommendation of the author, based on both theoretical consideration and the poll results is that such a law would be helpful in advancing the wellbeing of children.     

Child and partner abuse: self-reported prevalence and attitudes in the north of Portugal

OBJECTIVES: To determine the self-reported prevalence of child and partner physical and emotional abuse in the north of Portugal and to investigate attitudes about these forms of family violence. METHODS: Data were collected by questionnaire from a representative sample of parents in two-parent families with children under the age of 18 years. A total of 2,391 parents participated (1,057 males), aged 20-67 years. Four questionnaires were used, one behavioral and one attitudinal, for each of the forms of abuse: child and partner. RESULTS: At least one act of emotional or physical abuse towards a child during the previous year was reported by 25.9% of participants (12.3% reported physically abusive and 22.4% emotionally abusive acts). Abuse of a partner was reported by 26.2% of participants; at least one act of physical abuse during the previous year was reported by 12% and of emotional abuse by 23.7%. The attitudinal data, however, showed general disapproval of the use of violence, both for disciplining children and within marital relationships. The degree of self-reported support for physical punishment was higher in participants who reported using abusive behavior. Females more commonly reported acts of child abuse, and males reported acts of partner abuse. Both forms of self-reported abuse showed an association with low educational and socio-economic status. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study in Portugal to analyze family violence through self-report using a representative sample. The findings indicate that child and partner abuse constitute a significant problem in the region of northern Portugal. The discrepancy between the self-reported behavioral and attitudinal data may reflect conflicts in Portuguese society, which is undergoing substantial cultural changes.     

Do Mitigating Circumstances Influence Family Reactions to Physical Aggression?

The influence of mitigating circumstances on family reactions to physical aggression was investigated. 40 families, each with a 2- and a 4-year-old child, were observed during home interactions, and parents' and older children's beliefs concerning mitigation were also assessed. Although parents considered sibling physical aggression to be a serious transgression, they believed that mitigated aggression of both of their children was more excusable and they intervened less often to prohibit mitigated than nonmitigated aggression, even when the aggression was severe. Older children also believed that mitigated aggression deserved less punishment. Provocation, reciprocity, and lack of aggressive intent occurred as mitigating circumstances in the observations. When family members' reactions to these individual circumstances were examined, discrepancies arose in judgments of which specific mitigations justified aggression. These findings were discussed in terms of the clarity of a parent's message, children's appraisals of it, differing conflict roles, and society's impact.     

The Impact of Neighborhood,Family, and Individual Risk Factors on Toddlers’ Disruptive Behavior

Disadvantaged neighborhoods confer risk for behavior problems in school‐aged children but their impact in toddlerhood is unknown. Relations between toddlers’ disruptive behavior and neighborhood disadvantage, family disadvantage, violence or conflict exposure, parent depressive symptoms, and parenting behavior were examined using multilevel, multigroup (girl–boy) models. Participants were 1,204 families (mean child age = 24.7 months). Unique associations between disruptive behavior and all risk factors were observed, but the effect of neighborhood disadvantage was negligible when all of the more proximal factors were accounted for. The results suggest both that children in disadvantaged neighborhoods are at greater risk of behavior problems than children in nondisadvantaged neighborhoods and that optimal prevention/intervention work with these children will attend to proximal risk factors.     

Mothers’ self-reported violence toward their children: A multifaceted risk analysis

The universal aim of decreasing parental violence against children requires the detection of risk factors associated with violent behavior among parents. Although research has identified a number of such risk factors, these findings are scattered and a comprehensive picture is lacking. In the present study, 20 child-, parent- and family-related factors have been included in a combined analysis to assess which of these may pose as risk factors for mothers’ severe violent behavior toward their children. The study is based on a representative sample of 2,716 Finnish mothers with 0–12-year-old children and was conducted as an anonymous survey. Analyses were carried out using logistic regression models. 6% of the mothers had committed severe violent acts, i.e. slapped, hit, punched (with a fist), kicked, bit, hit/try to hit the child with an object or shook (under 2 year old) child at least once during the 12 months preceding the survey. Corporal punishment experienced by the mother as a child (OR 2.45, CI 1.55–3.88) or used by the mother as a method of discipline (OR 11.14, CI 5.95–20.87), strongly increased the likelihood of severe violent acts. Additionally, work- or family-related stress (OR 1.83, CI 1.24–2.73) and lack of help in dealing with parenting problems (OR 2.55, CI 1.66–3.90) were detected as risk factors for severe violent acts toward one's own child. The findings suggest that prevention of corporal punishment may be an important hinder to the transmission of experiences of violence from one generation to another, and that contextual and situational factors may overlap the influence of individual-related risk factors.     

The Effects of Systemic Family Violence on Children's Mental Health

This study examines the link between different forms of family aggression and children's symptoms of psychopathology. The goal of the study was to understand what forms children's problems might take in violent homes and whether close ties within the family (to the mother or a sibling) buffered children. Interviews with 365 mothers and 1 of their children between the ages of 6 and 12 about abuse in the home, support and closeness within the nuclear family, and mother's and children's mental health formed the basis of this study. Families were recruited from battered women's shelters and the community. We found that different forms of abuse in the home were highly interrelated and that children of battered women were at risk for child abuse. Domestic violence predicted children's general psychopathology, but we uncovered little evidence for the presence of specific sorts of disorders as a result of family dysfunction. Although mothers experiencing conjugal violence were more likely to have mental health problems, their mental health did not mediate the children's response to family conflict. Finally, there was less sibling and parental warmth in families marked by aggression, although when it was present, family social support failed to buffer children. Although the general pattern of results was consistent across respondents (mother and child), there was low agreement on symptoms of child psychopathology.     

Antecedents and socioemotional consequences of physical punishment on children in two-parent families

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to test a structural model of the antecedents and socioemotional consequences of mothers' use of physical punishment on children in two-parent families. METHOD: Mother-child data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, based on a sample of 1397 4- to 9-year-old children, were used to test a structural model derived by the author from previous research. The hypothesized model was revised; the revised model was cross validated on a split-half sample, and estimated separately by age group, gender, and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: The revised model fit the data well and was supported by cross-validation. Poverty, maternal birth age, parents' education, maternal depression, and marital conflict were directly or indirectly related to mothers' frequent use of physical punishment. Frequent use of physical punishment was directly related to children's socioemotional problems, as were maternal depression and marital conflict. Few subgroup differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: Main findings indicate that the effect of poverty on mothers' use of physical punishment is indirect, and is mediated by maternal depression and marital conflict. Depressed mothers spank their children more frequently and experience higher levels of marital conflict, which, in turn, is directly related to their use of physical punishment. Younger, more educated mothers spank their children less often. Children who are spanked more frequently exhibit more socioemotional problems.     

Family patterns and child abuse in a nationally representative American sample

Data on 1, 146 families with a child age 3 through 17 at home are presented. Child abuse information was obtained for a randomly selected child in each family. Child abuse was defined as an attack by a parent involving punching, kicking, biting, hitting with an object, “beating up,” or using a knife or gun. Over 14 out of every 100 American children 3–17 are subjected to abusive violence each year. These figures are at least 26 times greater than those of the National Center For Child Abuse and Neglect. Even so, for reasons outlined in the paper, they are underestimates. Families in which child abuse occurred are compared with other families. The results suggest that child abuse is brought about by the very nature of the society and its family system. This has profound implications for the prevention and treatment of child abuse. Although psychotherapy may be appropriate in some cases, a more fundamental approach lies in such things as a more equal sharing of the burdens of child care, replacement of physical punishment with non-violent methods of child care and training, eliminating the stresses and insecurity which now characterize our economic system, and strengthening the ties of individual families to the extended family and the community.     

Physical violence and psychological aggression towards children: five-year trends in practices and attitudes from two population surveys

OBJECTIVE: To present prevalence rates of child psychological aggression and physical violence from a population survey conducted in 2004 and to compare the rates with the rates obtained in the 1999 edition of the survey. METHODS: The survey used a randomly generated telephone number methodology. Interviews were conducted using a computer-assisted telephone interview system with a representative sample of 3,148 mothers living in Quebec province, Canada. Responses relating to psychological aggression, minor and severe physical violence were collected using the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales. RESULTS: Eighty percent of the mothers reported the use of psychological aggression towards a child by an adult living in the household, 43% reported at least one episode of minor violence, and 6% reported at least one episode of severe physical violence. When compared to the 1999 surveys, mothers reported 5% less minor physical violence in 2004, a result that is counterbalanced by a similar significant increase in the report of repeated psychological violence towards children in a year. Results also reveal a significant decrease in attitudes favoring the use of violence for discipline purpose between 2004 and 1999. CONCLUSIONS: The trends observed in violence towards children over the 5-year period may partly be attributed to a change in mother's attitudes concerning methods of disciplining children. Findings support the need to promote alternative methods of firm discipline that do not involve violence.     

Long-term effects of child punishment on Mexican women: a structural model

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate long-term effects of parental use of physical and verbal punishment on Mexican women. To study both direct and indirect effects of these phenomena, a structural model was developed and tested. METHOD: One hundred and fifty Mexican women were interviewed with regard to their history of child abuse, their level of depression, alcohol use, antisocial behavior, and punishment of their own children. Factors representing such constructs were specified within a structural equation model and their inter-relations were estimated. Women's history of abuse was considered as an exogenous latent variable directly affecting three other factors: mothers' antisocial behavior, their alcohol consumption, and their levels of depression or anxiety. These factors, in turn, were specified as influencing mothers' harsh discipline of their own children. RESULTS: Data supported this model, indicating that a history of abuse has long-term effects on women's behavior and psychological functioning, which in turn cause women's punitive behavior against their children. CONCLUSIONS: These results are discussed in terms of the theoretical framework of intergenerational transmission of violence. The direct consequences (depression, anxiety, alcohol consumption, and antisocial behavior) of child punishment act as risk factors for the next generation of child abuse.