CHILD ABUSER (FROM VIOLENCE - PERSPECTIVES ON MURDER AND AGGRESSION, 1978, BY IRWIN L KUTASH ET AL - SEE NCJ-55020)

• NCJ Number: 55028
• Author(s): B F STEELE
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 16 pages
• Corporate Author: Jossey-Bass Publishers
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

AN OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS IN CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT IS PRESENTED.

Abstract

THE MALFUNCTIONING CARETAKING BEHAVIOR THAT LEADS TO CHILD MALTREATMENT CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD BY CLASSIFYING THE KIND, SEVERITY, AND FREQUENCY OF INJURIES TO CHILDREN. IT IS NECESSARY TO CONSIDER THE MOTIVATION OF THE ABUSING CARETAKER, THE SPECIFIC MEANINGS OF THE ABUSED CHILD AND THE CHILD'S BEHAVIOR FOR THE CARETAKER, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE IMMEDIATE INTERACTION BETWEEN CARETAKER AND CHILD, AND THE CARETAKER'S TOTAL LIFE SITUATION, PAST AND PRESENT. ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR IS NOT AN ISOLATED, RANDOM PHENOMENON, AND IT CAN BE UNDERSTOOD COMPREHENSIVELY ONLY WHEN VIEWED AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE ABUSER'S LIFE EXPERIENCE. STUDIES AND SURVEYS INDICATING UNIQUE PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ABUSERS HAVE CONTAINED SOME BIASED IMPLICATIONS. NO TWO ABUSERS ARE EXACTLY ALIKE. THEIR ONLY COMMON FEATURE IS THAT THEY MALTREAT CHILDREN. IN MOST OTHER SPHERES, THEIR LIVES MAY NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THOSE OF PEOPLE WHO DO NOT MALTREAT CHILDREN. NO SINGLE CHARACTERISTIC CLEARLY DIFFERENTIATES THE ABUSER FROM THE NONABUSER. RATHER, SEVERAL ELEMENTS INTERACT TO PRODUCE A PSYCHOLOGICAL SET THAT MAKES THE CARETAKER PRONE TO BECOMING ABUSIVE OR NEGLECTFUL WHEN UNDER STRESS. THESE ELEMENTS INCLUDE THE CARETAKER'S OWN EXPERIENCES AS A CHILD, A TENDENCY TO BELIEVE THAT CHILDREN ARE THE PROPERTY OF PARENTS, FAILURE TO SEE THE CHILD REALISTICALLY, AND STRONG BELIEF IN THE CORRECTIVE AND EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT. CHILD ABUSERS TEND TO REFLECT THEIR EARLY YEARS OF EMOTIONAL DEPRIVATION AND THEIR INABILITY TO FIND PLEASURE IN LIFE AS ADULTS IN THE WAY THEY TREAT THEIR CHILDREN. WITHIN THIS PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSTELLATION, OTHER FACTORS, OFTEN SOCIOECONOMICALLY LINKED, PRECIPITATE SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF ABUSE. THE CHILD ABUSER IS IN THE POSSIBLY UNIQUE POSITION OF BEING A PRIMARY TRANSMITTER OF VIOLENCE WITHIN THE CULTURE. REPEATING THE PATTERN OF THEIR OWN UPBRINGING, ABUSIVE CARETAKERS CREATE BY THEIR STYLE OF CHILD REARING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ABUSIVE AND NEGLECTFUL PARENTS. THE CHILD ABUSER OFFERS AN IMPORTANT EXAMPLE FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF VIOLENCE. (LKM)