RESUMO
To determine the prenatal antecedents of child neglect by low-income women, data from a prospective study of child maltreatment were reviewed. Mothers determined to be at high risk prenatally for maltreatment were more likely to be identified as neglectful within 24 months of the interview. Neglectful mothers were less likely to have completed high school, had more children younger than 6 years of age, and had more aberrant responses on parenting skills and support systems scales. Neglected children were lower in birth weight, were rated more difficult temperamentally, and had poorer mental and motor developmental scores.
Assuntos
Maus-Tratos Infantis , Cuidado do Lactente , Comportamento Materno , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Personalidade , Estudos Prospectivos , Fatores de Risco , Apoio Social , Fatores Socioeconômicos , Estresse PsicológicoRESUMO
The cause of nonorganic failure to thrive (NFT) was studied prospectively in 274 low-income pregnant mothers by interviewing them for characteristics that retrospective studies indicated were associated with child maltreatment. After delivery, medical charts of mothers and infants were reviewed for complications of pregnancy, delivery, and postdelivery hospitalization, and the infants were observed for growth failure. The characteristics of 15 families with infants who developed NFT were compared with those of 86 selected randomly from the remaining families. Interview results suggest that NFT correlates significantly with aberrant nurture during the mother's childhood and with conflicts between the parents of the infants. Perinatal events correlating significantly with NFT include complications of pregnancy, short gestation, and residual minor medical problems at discharge from the nursery. We speculate that these events predispose to NFT by disturbing the development of the mother-infant relationship.
Assuntos
Insuficiência de Crescimento/etiologia , Relações Mãe-Filho , Pais/psicologia , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Cuidado do Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Entrevistas como Assunto , Acontecimentos que Mudam a Vida , Mães/psicologia , Perinatologia , Gravidez , Estudos ProspectivosRESUMO
The qualities of parents who batter their children have been determined by interviewing known abusers. Because most studies lack controls and because family characteristics may be changed by abuse, a prospective study was instituted. Fourteen hundred low-income mothers were interviewed in a prenatal clinic, and the characteristics of 23 reported for abuse within two years were compared to the characteristics of the remaining mothers. The predominant antecedents of child abuse were: unwanted pregnancy, aggressive tendencies, and aberrant childhood nurture in which disturbed family relationships were more important than outright abuse. Abusive mother had slightly less self-esteem. Factors which increased exposure between parents and children seemed to increase risk for abuse. In contrast to retrospective findings, abusive mothers did not differ in support available from others, age, education, isolation, family alcohol or drug problems, and expectations of child development.