NCJ Number
139787
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1992) Pages: 471-489
Date Published
1992
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The individual and contextual correlates of child maltreatment were examined in 102 low-income mothers to identify characteristics that discriminate between neglectful and nonmaltreating teen mothers, to develop a prediction model, and to test hypotheses about the process through which various characteristics lead to neglect.
Abstract
Five of 11 independent variables were associated with neglect independent of race: sexual abuse, age at first birth, number of children, prematurity/low birth weight, and education. Neglectful teen mothers were not more likely than their nonmaltreating counterparts to have been poorly attached to their primary caretakers, to have been neglected or severely beaten, to have low self esteem, to have an external locus of control, or to have coping problems. Educational achievement and number of children born during the teen years proved modestly successful for predicting neglect. Study findings suggest that low-income, neglectful teen mothers differ from their nonmaltreating counterparts in five ways. Independent of race, they are more likely (1) to have been sexually abused while growing up, (2) to have had their first child at a younger age, (3) to have completed fewer years of school, (4) to have had a premature and/or low-birth-weight first child, and (5) to have had more than one child during their teen years. 2 notes, 3 tables, and 29 references