NCJ Number
56488
Date Published
1978
Length
108 pages
Annotation
THREE GROUPS OF MOTHERS IN OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA., WERE SAMPLED TO DETERMINE WHETHER DIFFERENCES EXISTED IN CHILD MANAGEMENT ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES BETWEEN KNOWN CHILD ABUSERS AND MOTHERS NOT IDENTIFIED AS ABUSIVE.
Abstract
THE QUESTIONNAIRES (NOT INCLUDED) WERE DIRECTED TOWARD SELF-IDENTIFIED ABUSIVE MOTHERS (SIM), COURT-IDENTIFIED ABUSIVE MOTHERS (CIM), AND OTHER MOTHERS NOT KNOWN TO BE ABUSIVE (OM). THE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS INCLUDED A DATA SHEET INDICATING WHETHER MOTHERS WERE SIM'S OR CIM'S AND THE NUMBER OF HOURS IN ATTENDANCE AT PARENTS ANONYMOUS (PA) MEETINGS, AND THE MICHIGAN SCREENING PROFILE OF PARENTING (MSPP). IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT A RELATIONSHIP WOULD BE FOUND BETWEEN HOURS IN PA AND MSPP SCORES. ANOTHER HYPOTHESIS WAS THAT MORE POSITIVE SCORES ON EACH OF THE FIVE MSPP SCALES WOULD BE MADE BY OM'S FOLLOWED FIRST BY SIM'S, THEN BY CIM'S. FROM THE PRIMARY DATA, THE FINDINGS FAILED TO REJECT THE NULL HYPOTHESIS IN EACH CASE EXCEPT FOR THE MSPP COPING SCALE. SIM'S WERE FOUND TO HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE NEGATIVE SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR COPING SKILLS THAN CIM'S. THE SECONDARY DATA REFLECTED NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES AMONG THE THREE GROUPS IN AGE, INCOME, EDUCATION, AND NUMBER OF CHILDREN. ALL THREE GROUPS WERE FOUND TO BE POORER THAN THE AVERAGE WOMAN IN OKLAHOMA CITY AND TO HAVE A GREATER PERCENTAGE OF PREMATURE AND CAESAREAN BIRTHS. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT REGARDLESS OF IDENTIFICATION OR NONIDENTIFICATION AS ABUSIVE, A MAJORITY OF THE MOTHERS FROM A LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC LEVEL ARE VULNERABLE TO ABUSIVE IMPULSES, ALTHOUGH SIM'S WERE EITHER MORE SOCIALLY AWARE OR BETTER EDUCATED TO THEIR CHILD ABUSE POTENTIAL. REFERENCES AND TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED. (KBL)