NCJ Number
130605
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1991) Pages: 57-73
Date Published
1991
Length
17 pages
Annotation
A case study of physically abused 6-year old male twins is presented to illustrate a multimethod approach to assessment of the intraindividual variation in the consequence of abuse on development.
Abstract
The multimethod assessment included maternal interviews, a battery of standardized tests of motor functioning and intellectual achievement, maternal reports on child behavior, and naturalistic behavioral observations of parent-child interaction. While both twins functioned at similar levels on standardized tests of intellectual functioning and motor development, each twin demonstrated considerable differences in areas of temperament, social behavior, and parent-child interaction. Striking differences appeared in the twin interactions with their families. One twin spent 20 percent of his total time in passive noninteraction, while the other twin spent only 1 percent of his time in noninteractions. Also the twins differed in their unique approaches to interaction with others, particularly in the areas of initiation of interaction and intensity of affect. Moreover the parents differed in their behavior toward each twin, demonstrating sociability toward the more shy one and assistance toward the more aggressive twin. This study demonstrated that differential patterns of findings are revealed by standardized assessment in comparison to behavioral observation of consequences of physical abuse. The results suggest that innate temperamental factors interact with parent-child interaction patterns to account for such intraindividual variation. 2 figures, 4 tables, and 45 references (Author abstract modified)