Behavioral comparisons of children from abusive and distressed families.

Abstract

The abused child is often described as being difficult to manage and delayed in several areas of psychosocial development in comparison with normal children. Although recent studies have attended to the developmental consequences of abuse, little consensus has been reached regarding the extent and nature of behavior problems among these children. The present study investigated the problem behaviors of a group of school-aged abused children in comparison with a sample of nonabused children from a child welfare agency and a sample of nonabused children in the community. Parental report of behavioral strengths and weaknesses was examined by administering the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist to selected families from a child welfare agency and from the community. The results concur with those of previous reports, that abused children display a significantly greater number of behavior problems and fewer social competencies than normals. In addition, the behavior patterns of abused children closely resembled the range of behavior problems shown by children from distressed families in which abuse was not present. The implications of these results for understanding and helping abused children and their parents are discussed.Early clinical reports of abused children noted a greater rate of child abuse among children with physical and general developmental deviations than among normal comparison children (Elmer & Gregg, 1967;Gil, 1968;Johnson & Morse, 1968). For example, premature and low-birth-weight children are believed to be especially at risk for abuse due, in part, to the extra childrearing burden placed on parents by children with special needs (Elmer & Gregg, 1967;Skinner & Castle, 1969). These findings led investigators to reconceptualize child abusive behavior in terms of aversive interactions between parents and children, rather than adult psychopathology alone (

Parent, teacher, and peer ratings of physically abused and nonmaltreated Children's behavior

“…The impact of this on the ratings remains to be determined. Wolle and Mosk (1983), in a frequently cited study, found that physically abused children were rated by parents as significantly higher in both internalizing and externalizing problems and lower in social competence than a community sample of nonabused children. However, these investigators also found that the ratings for the abuse group, recruited from a child welfare agency, were not different from the ratings for a nonabused group recruited from the same agency and also experiencing substantial family distress.…”

Violence in the Transition to Adulthood: Adolescent Victimization, Education, and Socioeconomic Attainment in Later Life

“…Still, existing work supports our expectations. Abused and neglected children have lower IQ scores (Rogeness, Amrung, Macedo, Harris, & Fischer, 1986;Sadeh, Hayden, McGuire, & Sach, 1994), are less oriented toward educational and vocational goals (Hjorth & Ostrov, 1982), and have poorer general academic performance (Eckenrode, Laird, & Doris, 1993;Gelles & Straus, 1990;Rogeness et al, 1986;Salzinger, Feldman, Hammer, & Rosario, 1991;Tarter, Hegedus, Winsten, & Alterman, 1984;Wolfe & Mosk, 1983). Victims of abuse and neglect also have lower educational attainment in early adulthood (Perez & Widom, 1994).…”

Child emotional and physical maltreatment and adolescent psychopathology: A community study in Japan

“…Research indicates that child maltreatment may have undesirable effects upon child development (Burgess & Conger, 1978;Egeland & Sroufe, 1981;Egeland, Sroufe, & Erikson, 1983;George & Main, 1979;Grusec & Goodnow, 1994;Smetana & Kelly, 1989;Wolfe & Mosk, 1983). Despite its importance in terms of child care, most studies on child maltreatment have involved only individuals who consulted at clinics or allied social agencies.…”