Child abuse: A test of some predictions from evolutionary theory

Lightcap, Joy L.; Kurland, Jeffrey A.; Burgess, Robert L.

doi:10.1016/0162-3095(82)90001-2

Cited by 115 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Some initial studies found that risk of maltreatment was higher in households with stepparents than in those with both natural parents, suggesting that, as with animals, genetic relatedness is an important factor (Daly & Wilson, 1981;Lenington, 1981;Lightcap et al, 1982). However, a recent study showed that biological parents were more likely to engage in severe child abuse than stepparents, thus undermining the value of the adaptive explanation (Malkin & Lamb, 1994).…”

Section: Animal Data and Evolutionary Analyses Of Child Abuse And Negmentioning

confidence: 96%

Child abuse and neglect: Usefulness of the animal data.

Maestripieri

Carroll²

1998

Psychological Bulletin

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This article reviews and critically discusses the relevance of animal data to research on child abuse and neglect. Although parental investment theory can be useful in investigating the adaptiveness, if any, of child abuse and neglect, the evolutionary approach also has some limitations. The most suitable animal models for investigating the psychosocial processes underlying child abuse and neglect are probably found among the nonhuman primates. Whereas the heuristic value of social deprivation paradigms may be limited, recent studies suggest that the spontaneous occurrence of infant maltreatment in monkeys may be the closest approximation to child maltreatment provided by nonhuman animals. The investigation of adaptive and maladaptive processes in the parenting behavior of socially living nonhuman primates can inform research on child abuse and neglect and allow investigators to conduct studies that would be difficult or impossible in humans.

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Section: Animal Data and Evolutionary Analyses Of Child Abuse And Negmentioning

confidence: 96%

Child abuse and neglect: Usefulness of the animal data.

Maestripieri

Carroll²

1998

Psychological Bulletin

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“…Of note, black children have a greater risk of mortality from NAT [16,34]. Children who are born prematurely or with concomitant medical conditions are at higher risk of experiencing NAT [3,10,22,30,35,42,44].…”

Section: Risk Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When the parental feelings a parent or caregiver has for a child are weak, the risk of mistreatment by that parent or caregiver is increased [12]. This has implications for stepchildren [13,30] as well as for children with whom the natural parents do not bond [10,33,36,45].…”

Section: Risk Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a wide range in the reported incidence of NAT, ranging from 0.47 per 100,000 to 2000 per 100,000 [2,43]. A wide range of risk factors have been investigated, including birth order and family structure to whether the perpetrator had been abused as a child [3,6,14,30,34]. Studies reviewing orthopaedic injuries as a result of NAT are a bit more homogeneous with fractures in some bones being clearly more related to NAT than others [27,31,39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Epidemiology of Nonaccidental Trauma in Children

Mulpuri

Slobogean

Tredwell

2011

Clinical Orthopaedics &Amp; Related Research

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Background Abuse of children is abhorrent in Western society and, yet, is not uncommon. Nonaccidental trauma (NAT) is the result of a complex sociopathology. Not all of the causative factors of NAT are known, many are incompletely described, not all function in each case, and many are secondary to preexisting pathology in other areas. Questions/purposes We therefore addressed the following questions in this review: (1) Conclusions It is important to consider child, family, and societal factors when confronted with suspicions of child abuse. Our review demonstrates the currently limited information on the true incidence of NAT. To determine a much more accurate incidence of NAT, there needs to be a population-based surveillance program conducted through primary care providers.

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“…A disproportionate number of battered babies are stepchildren (Lightcap et al, 1982). Adoptions are more likely to be successful when the parents perceive the child as similar to them (Jaffee and Fanshel, 1970).…”

Section: Family Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%