Abusive parents' reports of child behavior problems: relationship to observed parent-child interactions.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
We evaluated the hypothesis that abusive parents' reports may exaggerate rates of child behavior problems in a clinical sample.

METHOD:
The association between parental ratings of behavior problems and independent observations of child behaviors was examined in a sample of 205 clinic-referred families, 58 of which had a reported history of physical abuse.

RESULTS:
Relative to the comparison group, parents in the abuse group reported more externalizing problems in their children after controlling for parental psychopathology, and displayed more emotionally controlling and less supportive behavior during parent-child interactions. However, there was no association between abuse history and observed child behaviors during the interaction tasks. Abuse status significantly moderated the association between parent-reported externalizing behaviors and observed demanding behavior by the child; the association was significant among comparison families, but not in the abuse group families.

CONCLUSIONS:
Results indicate that abusive parents may over-report externalizing behavior problems in their children.

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Author information

Author/s: Lau, Anna S (AS); Valeri, Sylvia M (SM); McCarty, Carolyn A (CA); Weisz, John R (JR);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 9511563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA.

Grants: K05 MH01161 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; R01 MH49522 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; R01 MH57347 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Child abuse & neglect (Child Abuse Negl), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Jun; vol 30 (issue 6) : pp 639-55

Dates: Created 2006/06/26; Completed 2006/12/07; Revised 2007/12/03;

PMID: 16782194, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Child
Child Abuse - psychology; statistics & numerical data
Child Behavior Disorders - epidemiology; psychology
Demography
Female

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