Elsevier

Child Abuse & Neglect

Volume 21, Issue 7, July 1997, Pages 631-636
Child Abuse & Neglect

Assessment of coping strategies of child abusing mothers

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(97)00022-7Get rights and content
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Abstract

Objective: Mothers who had physically abused their children were assessed to determine whether these mothers had a general coping skills deficit.

Method: Abusing mothers (n = 17) were compared to nonabusing mothers of conduct problem children (n = 16). Coping was measured by several different methods, each designed to address the insufficiencies of the others.

Results: In comparison to the nonabusing mothers, independent ratings indicated that abusing mothers exhibited a pattern of coping characterized by greater use of emotion-focused coping strategies and less use of effective problem-focused strategies. Finally, using self report ratings of coping, abusing mothers perceived their coping to be more ineffective than the nonabusing mothers.

Conclusions: The possibility that the observed coping skills deficit may be indicative of a deficit in emotional responding to stress was discussed and suggestions were given for therapeutic interventions with child abusing mothers.

Keywords

Coping deficits
Abusing mothers
Coping assessment

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