George W. Holden

The Co-Occurrence of Spouse and Physical Child Abuse: A Review and Appraisal

For more than 20 years, there have been periodic reports in the research literature about the co-occurrence of spouse abuse and physical child abuse. This review compiles and evaluates those reports. Forty-two studies were found that provided some data concerning co-occurrence; 31 of the studies included sufficient detail to be used in this review. The different types of studies are classified and methodological issues are discussed. The base rate of co-occurrence found in representative community samples was about 6%. In clinical samples of either battered women or physically abused children, the percentage of overlap ranged from 20% to 100%. When a conservative definition of child abuse was used, a median co-occurrence rate of 40% was found. Five models depicting the directionality of abuse in violent families are proposed and discussed in relation to the data and theories of violence. Recommendations for methodological improvements and theory-driven studies are presented. As early as 1975, reports appeared indicating that children whose parents engaged in physical violence were also likely to be victims of physical maltreatment. Moore (1975) was one of the first to sound the alarm. She discovered that 13% of the children from 23 maritally violent families had been physically hurt or were threatened with violence. That same year, Levine (1975) also commented on the problem of co-occurring violence but found only a 2% rate of overlap between marital violence and physical child abuse. Since that time there have been periodic reports of the overlap between marital violence and physical child abuse--with overlap rates that typically are much higher than either of the rates first reported. However, to

Handbook of family measurement techniques

VOLUME ONE Evolution of the Family Field - Walter R Schumm Measurement Principals and Techniques Dimensions of Marital and Family Interaction - Thomas N Bradbury and Frank D Fincham Intimacy and Family Values - Walter R Schumm Parenthood - George W Holden Roles and Power - Constance L Shehan and Gary R Lee Adjustment - Cheryl Buehler VOLUME TWO Family Measurement Overview - Cindy Carlson Developing, Interpreting and Using Family Assessment Techniques - Barry F Perlmutter and Greg Czar Measuring Family Relations - Mark A Fine Measuring Marital Relations - David R Johnson Measuring Parent-Child Relations - Theodore Dix and Elizabeth T Gershoff Measuring Family Adjustment, Health and Well Being - Lawrence H Ganong Measuring Family Problems - Pamela C Miller et al VOLUME THREE Family Relations Instruments Marital Relations Instruments Parent-Child Relations Instruments Family Adjustment, Health, and Well-Being Instruments Family Problems Instruments

Enduring and different: a meta-analysis of the similarity in parents' child rearing.

The assessment of child-rearing beliefs and behavior has predominantly focused on qualities and characteristics believed to reflect consistent, enduring qualities of parenting--the similarity in child rearing. This review evaluates the evidence for similarity and differences among 3 types of child-rearing data and includes comparisons across time, children, and situations. Both relative stability and mean level differences were found in all 3 domains. The most similarity was found in the across-time and across-children domains, although it depended on the child-rearing construct and methodology used. It is argued that attention to the variability and change in child rearing must be incorporated into theoretical models of parenting to better understand the nature of child rearing and, in turn, parental influence on childrens development.

Children Exposed to Domestic Violence and Child Abuse: Terminology and Taxonomy

Three definitional issues regarding children exposed to domestic violence are examined. First, the multiple ways in which a child can be exposed to violence is discussed. A taxonomy of 10 types of exposure is proposed. Nine key characteristics of domestic violence, as they relate to children and childrens exposure, are then outlined. The third issue addressed concerns why children who are exposed to domestic violence can be considered victims of child maltreatment. These children, by nature of their experience in the home, are psychologically maltreated and are also at high risk for physical abuse and some risk for sexual abuse. Empirical questions concerning these definitions and taxonomies and their interrelations are discussed.

Attitudes Predict the Use of Physical Punishment: A Prospective Study of the Emergence of Disciplinary Practices

OBJECTIVE. We sought to track the emergence of discipline techniques by mothers of young children and assess the predictive validity of spanking attitudes with subsequent reports of spanking. METHODS. One hundred thirty-two mothers were surveyed every 6 months (beginning when their child was 12 months old until they were 4 years old) regarding how they disciplined their children. The discipline behaviors measured included physical punishment, noncoercive methods, and the use of time-outs and withdrawal of privileges. Attitudes toward spanking also were assessed several times. RESULTS. When their infants were 12 months old, mothers reported using 10 of the 12 discipline techniques assessed, and by the time the children were 24 months old, most mothers reported widespread use of the techniques. The frequency of use increased with age. Although the use of some discipline methods changed as the children got older, the mothers showed significant stability in their overall discipline strategy. Attitudes toward spanking (assessed when their children were 6 months old) were significantly correlated with subsequent spanking behavior, and the mothers’ attitudes showed stability over time as well. CONCLUSIONS. By the time infants are 12 months old, discipline is a frequent occurrence in many families. A variety of techniques are used, and attitudes toward spanking predict subsequent spanking behavior. This information is useful for pediatricians, because it provides parents with anticipatory guidance about disciplining young children.

Reinforcement and Punishment among Preschoolers: Characteristics, Effects, and Correlates.

LAMB, MICHAEL E.; EASTERBROOKS, M. ANN; and HOLDEN, GEORGE W. Reinforcement and Punishment among Preschoolers: Characteristics, Effects, and Correlates. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1980, 51, 1230-1236. Observers recorded the sex-typed activities of 49 children during free-play sessions in nursery school and kindergarten. Reinforcing and punishing responses of peers and teachers were also recorded. Analyses showed that children reinforced one another primarily for gender-appropriate activities. Most reinforcements and punishments were received from same-sex peers. Punished activities were terminated more rapidly than reinforced activities. Reinforcements were more effective when they were received for sex-appropriate acts (i.e., sexappropriate acts that were reinforced continued longer than reinforced cross-sex acts), whereas punishments were more effective when they were received for sex-inappropriate acts (i.e., following punishment, sex-inappropriate acts were terminated more quickly than sex-appropriate activities). Individual susceptibility to punishing responses was significantly correlated (r = .43) with susceptibility to reinforcing responses, indicating consistent individual differences in childrens responses to peer influences. Older children punished peers intentionally (rather than incidentally) proportionately more often than younger children did. Attempts to measure social competence were unsuccessful.

Psychology, Religion, and the Family: It's Time for a Revival

Despite some occasional efforts to link psychology, religion, and the family, psychological research has largely ignored the topic. Three fundamental psychological questions about the role of religion in the family are raised. The publication of the 4 studies in this issue represents a watershed in this area, and these articles provide a model for future research. However, several pitfalls in this area of research are identified. These pitfalls are primarily due to the complexity of religion and heterogeneity associated with it. Four research directions are then recommended. It is concluded that this area is ripe for a research revival.

Meta-Parenting: An Initial Investigation into a New Parental Social Cognition Construct

Objective. This article introduces the construct of meta-parenting, provides preliminary reliability information for a new instrument designed to measure the construct, and presents results from an initial empirical investigation. Design. One hundred and sixteen U.S. mothers participated. Maternal, child, and contextual characteristics were investigated as likely predictors of meta-parenting. In addition, meta-parenting was examined as a predictor of 3 parenting behaviors. Results. Five factors were extracted from the Meta-Parenting Profile Questionnaire with adequate internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Mothers reported that meta-parenting is a frequent occurrence in their daily lives. Mothers of younger children reported more assessing and anticipating and had higher total meta-parenting scores. Mothers of fewer children reported engaging in more problem solving. Mothers of boys anticipated more than mothers of girls. Higher levels of life stress were associated with more reflection. Mothers who engaged in more problem solving reported lower levels of overreactivity and laxness, but mothers who reported higher levels of reflecting were also high on overreactivity. Conclusions. Mothers commonly engage in multiple components of meta-parenting that are influenced by maternal, child, and contextual factors and are related to reported childrearing behaviors.

Spanking and adult mental health impairment: The case for the designation of spanking as an adverse childhood experience

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) such as child abuse are related to poor health outcomes. Spanking has indicated a similar association with health outcomes, but to date has not been considered an ACE. Physical and emotional abuse have been shown in previous research to correlate highly and may be similar in nature to spanking. To determine if spanking should be considered an ACE, this study aimed to examine 1): the grouping of spanking with physical and emotional abuse; and 2) if spanking has similar associations with poor adult health problems and accounts for additional model variance. Adult mental health problems included depressive affect, suicide attempts, moderate to heavy drinking, and street drug use. Data were from the CDC-Kaiser ACE study (N=8316, response rate=65%). Spanking loaded on the same factor as the physical and emotional abuse items. Additionally, spanking was associated with increased odds of suicide attempts (Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR)=1.37; 95% CI=1.02 to1.86), moderate to heavy drinking (AOR)=1.23; 95% CI=1.07 to 1.41), and the use of street drugs (AOR)=1.32; 95% CI=1.4 to 1.52) in adulthood over and above experiencing physical and emotional abuse. This indicates spanking accounts for additional model variance and improves our understanding of these outcomes. Thus, spanking is empirically similar to physical and emotional abuse and including spanking with abuse adds to our understanding of these mental health problems. Spanking should also be considered an ACE and addressed in efforts to prevent violence.

Partner-Abusers as Fathers: Testing Hypotheses About Their Child Rearing and the Risk of Physical Child Abuse

Children of men who abuse their partners are at risk for behavior problems and physical abuse. Few studies have investigated the child rearing of these men. To investigate the quality of child rearing spouse abusers engage in, a total of 94 fathers of children participated. Fifty-six fathers were enrolled in a batterers intervention program and 39 fathers came from the community. The men reported on their parenting behavior and attitudes, problematic behaviors linked to abuse, and two types of abnormal behavior. Only one significant group difference was found between the violent and the nonviolent fathers. However, across the two samples, men who reported engaging in more psychological abuse had higher Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP) scores. Furthermore, fathers with elevated CAP scores (all but one were in the batterer intervention group) differed significantly from the other men on seven variables including anger, trauma symptoms, and borderline personality organization. Implications for understanding perpetrators of partner violence and the links to physical child abuse are discussed.