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Victimization of Mothers of Abused Children: A Controlled Study

NCJ Number
150924
Journal
Pediatrics Volume: 84 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1989) Pages: 531-535
Author(s)
L McKibben; E De Vos; E H Newberger
Date Published
1989
Length
5 pages
Annotation
To search for indicators of violence against mothers of child-abuse victims by husbands or boyfriends, the women's medical records were reviewed and compared to a group of mothers of nonabused children.
Abstract
Of the 32 children determined to be abused, the records of mothers of 19 (59.4 percent) showed a diagnosis or strong suggestion of current or previous abuse. Although the prevalence of documented violence against the mothers of children in the comparison group was an unexpectedly high 16 percent, the case-control difference was highly significant. Although differences were found in the (younger) ages and (higher) parity of mothers of abused children, these differences did not predict risk of mothers' exposures to violence in a multivariate analysis. The rate of violence against single mothers of child abuse victims, however, was four times the rate against mothers who were married. These findings suggest a need to broaden the diagnostic conceptualization of child abuse to include maternal abuse and argue for including data on maternal risk in formulating diagnoses and disposition plans for abused children. 5 tables and 14 references

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