Considering the association between children's quality of relationships with teachers and their academic adjustment, information pertaining to how abused children are functioning in their relationships with teachers could be useful in promoting their academic success--yet there has been limited research in this area. The purpose of this study was…

Background: Abused children's internal working models (IWM) of relationships are known to relate to their socioemotional adjustment, but mechanisms through which negative representations increase vulnerability to maladjustment have not been explored. We sought to expand the understanding of individual differences in IWM of abused children and…

Background: There is limited knowledge about how positive and negative parenting practices differ across individuals and change over time in parents with substantiated physical abuse history, and how trajectories of these parenting practices affect child adjustment. Objective: The present study examined latent trajectories of positive and negative…

Objective: Identifying factors associated with school functioning of abused children is important in prevention of long-term negative outcomes associated with school failure. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which parent emotional expressiveness and children's self-regulation predicted early school behavior of abused…

Objective: Research using normative and high-risk samples indicates a significant link between problems with self-regulation and child maladjustment. Nevertheless, little is known about the processes that may modify the link between self-regulation and maladjustment. This longitudinal study examined the joint contributions of child self-regulation…

We examined a model of parenting stress for abusive mothers (n = 80) and nonabusive mothers (n = 86) using linear regression analyses. Predictors in the model included (a) the degree to which mothers were bothered by child misbehavior, (b) mothers' general psychological functioning, and (c) observed child behavior during parent-child interactions.…

Objective: Cluster analysis was used to enhance understanding of heterogeneity in social adjustment of physically abused children. Method: Ninety-eight physically abused children (ages 5-10) were clustered on the basis of social adjustment, as measured by observed behavior with peers on the school playground and by teacher reports of social…

This study examined risk factors for abusive parenting in 56 physically abusive parents and 62 matched comparison parents. The set of five risk variables was predictive of abuse status; however, not all variables were predictive when considered individually and interactions did not contribute significantly to prediction. Findings supported a…

Objective: Although social maladjustment appears to be common among abused children, negative outcomes are not inevitable. This investigation was designed to determine whether ethnicity and features of the parenting context predicted children's social adjustment, and whether the strength and direction of these relations differed for abused and…

Child protection professionals were interviewed regarding 175 allegations of abuse. Investigation procedures, factors associated with the decision to substantiate, and degree of confidence in decisions were recorded. Characteristics of the child's disclosure served as the primary basis for substantiation decisions. Case workers were less certain…

This study examined factors associated with failure of child abuse victims to attend their first recommended counseling session. Attenders (n=84) differed from nonattenders (n=45) on the basis of race, whether the center to which they were referred was private or public, whether the family had a telephone, and the mother's attitude toward…

Peer interactions of abused and nonabused children in a day care setting were evaluated. Abused children initiated fewer positive interactions with peers and exhibited a higher proportion of negative behaviors than did nonabused children. Peers viewed abused children as less well liked than nonabused children. (BC)

This paper reviews 126 articles published between 1989 and 1994 to investigate the underrepresentation of males in research in the area of physical maltreatment. The problem of underrepresentation was more severe in studies on characteristics of abusive parents and in articles that addressed issues of child abuse prevention and treatment. (CR)

This study examined the construct validity of the Child Abuse Potential Inventory by comparing 41 maltreating and high-risk parents' CAP Inventory abuse scores to their behavior during observed interactions with their children. Correlational analyses revealed that CAP Inventory scores and observed parenting style yielded highly related findings…