Background: Parental mentalising difficulties are robustly linked to caregiving problems. Mothers with intellectual disability are at risk for caregiving problems, but knowledge on their parental mentalising abilities is lacking. The present study aimed to fill this gap. Method: Thirty mothers with mild intellectual disability, and 61 comparison…

Childhood adversities have been linked to externalizing problems in adolescence. However, studies focusing on early adolescence are rare. Even less empirical attention has been given to the unique and joint influences of children's and maternal childhood adversity on children's externalizing behavior, particularly with a keen focus on the nature…

The current investigation reports the results of a randomized controlled trial of a brief, relational intervention for maltreated preschool-aged children and their mothers, called Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET). RET facilitates elaborative and emotionally supportive parent-child communication, which is an essential component of the…

Examines the role of social support in the discrimination of physical child abusers and nonabusers, both with a childhood history of physical child abuse. In contrast to expectations, none of the social support factors distinguished between the abusers and nonabusers. (JPS)

In an attempt to demonstrate that abusing parents differ from nonabusing parents in personality variables, the Michigan Screening Profile of Parenting was administered to six groups of mothers (n=100): adjudicated abuser, spouses of adjudicated abusers, mothers convicted of child neglect, nonabusing mothers from a college student population,…

The study of 154 cases of intrafamilial sexual abuse found that a third of the offenders and about half of the mothers had experienced or been exposed to sexual abuse as children. Offenders are analyzed in terms of being the biological father in an intact family, stepfather/mother's live-in partner, or noncustodial father. (DB)

A cohort of mothers (N=734) participating in a longitudinal study was examined for any relationship between their childhood sexual abuse and childbearing characteristics. No significant effects were found for age of first child after controlling for demographic factors; however, parity was higher for sexually abused women who were married.…

Attachment outcomes of 31 maltreatment cases (involving extreme neglect or abuse), selected from a total poverty sample of 267 high-risk mothers and their children, were compared to those of a subsample of 33 cases with a history of excellent care. Attachment was assessed when infants were 12 and 18 months old. (Author/MP)

Mothers (n=104) of children (mean age 10-11) receiving psychological evaluation completed a depression inventory. At least half of the mothers of children who were victims of intrafamilial abuse, extrafamilial abuse mothers, and mothers of nonabused children reported experiencing at least moderate depression. (Author/JDD)

To identify specific dimensions of communicative disturbances among adults and children in abusive/neglecting families, 10 mother/child pairs from problem families were matched with 10 control pairs. Each mother was videotaped with her 4- to 15-year-old child for 15 minutes while playing a game under nonstressful conditions. Subjects'…

This study examined whether stress, family resources, and social support are correlates of the child abuse potential of mothers. Stress in family functioning appeared to be an important predictor of child abuse potential. Mothers of children with disabilities may be more inclined than other mothers to have elevated child abuse potential.…

This study examined the adjustment of 93 parents within 3 months of the disclosure of extrafamilial sexual abuse of their children in comparison with a nonclinical group of 136 parents. Parents, especially mothers, of sexually abused children experienced greater overall emotional distress, poorer family functioning, and lower satisfaction in their…

Recent trends in litigation involving child custody, parental rights, foster care, and child abuse draw heavily on interpretations of developmental research and theory. In a recent landmark case, a developmentalist testified on a number of issues for which scant developmental data were found. These issues included neonatal bonding and the…

Reviews research on mothers of children sexually abused within the family. Reports that these mothers are not necessarily more disturbed psychologically than mothers of nonabused children. Most mothers did believe that their children had been abused, thus challenging the persisting explanation of collusion in clinical practice. A broader concept…

Dichotomizes literature on nonoffending mothers of sexually abused children into opinion-based and research-based studies. Argues that most information on nonoffending mothers is opinion based, not research based, and the literature disregards the sources of data. It appears that opinions have been accorded the same validity as research findings.…