| Abstract: | The purpose of the study was to develop a battery of tests with which to identify parents who have potential for abuse and/or neglect of children. The samples were composed of abusive men and women parents or parent figures matched with controls.The variables, parents' background, personality, child rearing attitudes, social networks and parent-child interactions, were tested by interview questionnaire, videotaped behavioral observation, and physiologic response.Both bivariate and multivariate data analysis were utilized including zero order correlations, factor analysis, path analysis, and discriminant analysis.The tests sharpley differentiated between groups on background, empathy, antecedents to early attachment, ways of handling irritating child behaviors, child rearing attitudes, parent-child communication, reference persons, and physiologic response. Abusive parents maintained higher heart rates, had less heart rate variability, higher electrodermal magnitude response and lower recovery times. |
