Elsevier

Child Abuse & Neglect

Volume 19, Issue 9, September 1995, Pages 1083-1093
Child Abuse & Neglect

Visible but unreported: A case for the “not serious enough” cases of child maltreatment

https://doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(95)00070-OGet rights and content

Abstract

This study examined the psychosocial characteristics of cases of child maltreatment labelled as “not serious enough.” The sample consisted of cases of suspected physical abuse (N = 48), neglect (N = 13), and psychological maltreatment (N = 8) identified by teachers, and a nonabused comparison group (N = 283). Characteristics of children and their parents were evaluated at three ecological levels: individual, family, and social. Results indicated a poor personal and social adjustment of the children in the maltreatment groups, and suggest that the definition of cases of maltreatment as not serious enough does not represent the psychological reality of these children. Discriminant analysis indicated that the most important variables for discriminating between all maltreatment groups and the nonabuse group were parents and children's perceptions of parental behavior, children's behavioral problems and personal adjustment, parents integration and satisfaction in the community, and the importance and direction of personal growth emphasized in the family. The importance of other variables such as socioeconomic status, stress, psychological symptoms or number of children appeared to be a function of the different types of child maltreatment. The importance of prevention and intervention efforts before the maltreatment reaches a serious stage is discussed.

Résumé

Cette étude a enquêté sur les caractéristiques des cas de mauvais traitements considérés comme “pas suffisamment graves”. L'échantillon comprenait des enfants soupçonnés d'être victimes de maltraitance, soit 48 cas de sévices physiques, 13 cas de négligence et 8 cas de mauvais traitements psychologiques—tous signalés par des enseignants. Le groupe de comparaison comprenait 283 enfants non abusés. On a évalué les caractéristiques à trois niveaux : individuel, familial et social. Les résultats indiquent que les enfants dits maltraites éprouvent des troubles d'adaptation personnelle et sociale et que leur situation “plus ou moins grave” ne cadre pas avec un vécu psychologique difficle. L'analyse indique que les variables les plus importantes pour dégager les différences entre les enfants maltraités et ceux qui ne le sont pas sont les suivantes : la perception des parents et des enfants vis-à-vis le comportement des parents, les troubles de comportement des enfants et leur adaptation individuelle, le niveau d'intégration des parents dans leur communauté et le degré de satisfaction qu'ils en retirent, puis enfin l'importance que la famille accorde au développement personnel et les efforts qu'elle y met pour l'atteindre. D'autres variables sont propres à certains types de mauvais traitements, soient le statut socio-économique, le stress, les symptômes psychologiques ou le nombre d'enfants affectés. L'article souligne l'importance de la prévention et de l'intervention avant que les mauvais traitements n'atteignent des proportions graves.

Resumen

Este estudio examinó las características psicosociales de casos de maltrato infantil denominados como “no suficientemente graves”, la muestra consistió en casos de sospecha de maltrato físico (n = 48), negligencia (n = 13) y maltrato psicológico (n = 8) identificados por maestros, y un grupo de comparación de niños/as no-maltratados (n = 283). Se evaluaron las características de los niños/as y de sus padres en tres niveles ecológicos: individual, familiar, y social. Los resultados indicaron un pobre ajuste personal y social de los niños/as de los grupos de maltrato, y sugieren que la definición de esos casos de maltrato como no suficientemente graves no representa la realidad psicológica de esos niños/as. El análisis discriminante indicó que las variables más importantes para discriminar entre todos los grupos de maltrato y el grupo de no-maltrato fueron las percepciones de los padres y los niños/as sobre la conducta parental, los problemas de conducta y el ajuste personal de los niños/as, la integración y satisfacción de los padres en la comunidad, y la importancia y la dirección del énfasis de la familia sobre el crecimiento personal. La importancia de otras variables tales como el estatus socioeconómico, estrés, síntomas psicológicos o número de hijos, aparecía como una función de los diferentes tipos de maltrato infantil. Se comenta la importancia de los esfuerzos preventivos y de intervención antes de que el maltrato alcance un nivel de gravedad.

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    This paper was prepared while the author was holding a European Commission research fellowship (Human Capital and Mobility Program) in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford (ERBCHBICT930280).

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