Mother's Age and Physical Abuse of Children

• NCJ Number: 125642
• Author(s): C D Connelly; M A Straus
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 6 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01MH40027; T32MH15161
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Corporate Author: University of New Hampshire, Family Research Laboratory
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Information from a nationally representative sample of 1,997 mothers formed the basis of this analysis of the relationship between the mother's age and physical child abuse.

Abstract

The women all had a child age 17 and under at home and were interviewed by telephone in the summer of 1985 as part of the National Family Violence Resurvey. The analyses controlled for family income, race, the number of minor children in the home, the age of the abused child, the mother's education, and whether the mother was a single parent. Physical abuse was measured with the Conflicts Tactics Scale. Findings showed that the younger the mother at the time of birth of the abused child, the greater the rate of child abuse. However, no significant relationship was found between abuse and the mother's age at the time of the abuse. Large families and minority children were also found to be at greater risk of abuse. Implications for research and prevention. Figures and 41 references.