NCJ Number
229856
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: January - February 2010 Pages: 39-55
Date Published
January 2010
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the prevalence of five types of maltreatment in a sample of mothers in Northern Ireland taking part in a general study of parenting.
Abstract
This paper describes the incidence of maltreatment histories in a community sample of mothers of 1-year-old infants in Northern Ireland. The occurrence of five subsets of childhood maltreatment is examined: emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse, physical neglect, and sexual abuse. Of the 201 women who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, 70 mothers (35 percent) reported that they had experienced 1 or more types of maltreatment during childhood. Forty-eight mothers (24 percent) gave a history of being emotionally abused, 43 (21 percent) of emotional neglect, 27 (13 percent) of physical abuse, 20 (10 percent) of sexual abuse and 19 (10 percent) of physical neglect. Physical abuse was the only type of maltreatment which showed an association with maternal socio-economic status, with a higher incidence reported amongst Occupational Classes 4 and 5 (lower supervisory and technical occupations and semi-routine and routine groups). More than half of those with a history of abuse experienced more than one type of maltreatment (42 mothers or 60 percent of those reporting maltreatment). Differences in rates of incidence to more recent studies on younger adults are discussed, as well as implications for prevention and intervention. Tables and references (Published Abstract)