NCJ Number
178945
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 13 Issue: 4 Dated: August 1998 Pages: 438-455
Date Published
August 1998
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Data from 472 women between ages 18 and 45 years were used to study the relationship between psychiatric symptoms in women and their earlier experiences of child abuse perpetrated by a parent.
Abstract
The data came from five sources: outpatient alcoholism treatment, education programs for drunk drivers, a shelter for battered women, outpatient mental health treatment, and a random community sample. Participants were classified into three groups to control for alcohol problems and help-seeking behavior. These three groups were: (1) women with alcohol problems and in treatment, (2) women without alcohol problems and in treatment, and (3) women in the random sample. Experiences of father-to-daughter verbal aggression and violence, and the level of severity of father-to-daughter abuse, predicted adult psychiatric symptomatology. However, experiences of mother-to-daughter verbal aggression and violence, as well as the severity of the abuse, were unrelated to adult psychiatric symptomatology. Possible explanations for the impact of father violence may include the perception that it is physically and psychologically more threatening than mother violence, the possibility that mothers' supportive behaviors may counteract some of the negative effects of their abuse, and the developmental impacts of differences inherent in the parent's gender. Further research is needed to clarify these and other issues and should include prospective longitudinal examinations of official cases. Tables, notes, and 31 references (Author abstract modified)