Social network characteristics of mothers in abusing and nonabusing families and their relationships to parenting beliefs

Abstract

This study compares the social networks of mothers in families identified as abusive and mothers in control families and looks at the relationships between social networks and parenting beliefs and practices. Participants were mothers from 52 families who were part of a larger investigation of child‐rearing in physically abusing versus nonabusing families. Mothers were interviewed about their social networks and completed the Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1981) and the Child‐Rearing Practices Q‐Sort (Block, 1981). Mothers in abusing families were found to be more socially isolated than were those mothers in nonabusing families. They had fewer peer relationships, more troubled relationships with relatives, and more limited contact with the wider community. A pattern linking social support and parenting beliefs emerged, suggesting that the presence of peers in the network is related to greater enjoyment of and openness in parenting.

Parents Who Abuse: What Are They Thinking?

“…Selfefficacy may in turn mediate the effect of depression on maternal competence (Teti and Gelfand 1991). Negative perceptions of oneself might also be exacerbated by the lower levels of social support seen in abusive parents (Corse et al 1990). Parents who are socially isolated do not have the benefit of additional adults to boost their selfesteem or help guide them in effective parenting strategies.…”

“…Research has identified decreased levels of social support as a risk factor for child abuse (Bethea 1999;Corse et al 1990;Crouch et al 2001). Attributional biases seen in abusive parents might extend to other relationships in their lives creating difficulty in the maintenance of social relationships and increasing social isolation ).…”

“…Attributional biases seen in abusive parents might extend to other relationships in their lives creating difficulty in the maintenance of social relationships and increasing social isolation ). This social isolation not only decreases the opportunity for role modeling of alternative positive parenting strategies, support and shared responsibility for child rearing (Corse et al 1990;Wolfe 1999), but also decreases the chance that negative parenting behaviors will be identified by others for intervention before escalation to abuse.…”

“…In addition to being more socially isolated than non-abusive mothers, abusive mothers perceive lower levels of support and more aggressive interactions from both family members and extrafamilial relationships (Corse et al 1990). In addition to some of the attributional biases that might inhibit quality friendships for abusive parents, a lack of social skills may impede the development of longer lasting and supportive relationships.…”

1,2,3 Go !

“…En effet, il existe actuellement un consensus quant à l'impact bénéfique du soutien social sur la santé (physique et psychologique) des individus (Camirand, Massé et Tousignant, 1995 ;Dunst et Trivette, 1990), sur les pratiques éducatives des parents et, plus particulièrement, pour ceux vivant dans la pauvreté (Belsky, 1993 ;Hashima et Amato, 1994 ;Martin et Boyer, 1995 ;Unger et Nelson, 1990, sur le sentiment d'efficacité parentale (Martin et Boyer, 1995) et sur le bon fonctionnement des enfants (Corse, Schmid et Trickett, 1990 ;Dunst et Trivette, 1990 ;ELNEJ, 1996 ;Unger et Nelson, 1990. Par conséquent, le soutien social s'avère une variable cruciale pour le bien-être des parents et de leurs enfants, celle-ci agissant comme un facteur de protection primordial.…”