NCJ Number
109842
Journal
Child Development Volume: 57 Dated: (1986) Pages: 722-732
Date Published
1986
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This observational study of child abuse isolated parental control strategies and child response as a promising area of investigation.
Abstract
The social interaction of 10 abusive and 10 matched control mothers and their preschool children was videotaped in a simulated home environment involving both structured and unstructured activities. The abusive dyads were referred by agencies to the Parenting Program of the Rotary Creche, a treatment facility in Toronto, Canada, on the basis of known abuse. The degree of abuse was classified by intake workers as ranging from moderate to severe. Control families were obtained through day care centers or newspaper advertisements. A coding scheme was developed to record interactional behavior in each dyad. The analysis of mother command/child compliance sequences received particular emphasis. Compared to controls, abusive mothers used more commands, were more power-assertive, and used less positively oriented control strategies. They were also more intrusive, more inconsistent in their parenting techniques, less flexible in their attempts to gain compliance from the child, and more flattened in affect throughout their control interactions. Children of abusive mothers demonstrated far more noncompliant behavior than their control counterparts. 5 tables and 29 references.