Citation

Schellenbach CJ, Monroe LD, Merluzzi TV. J. Fam. Violence 1991; 6(1): 61-80.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, 46556 Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00978526

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of the present research was to test the effects of situational stress on the components of the cognitive behavioral model, including expectations, interpretations, and behavioral responses to child behaviors (Twentyman et al., 1985). It was predicted that parental abuse potential would be positively related to inappropriate expectations, to negative and internally caused interpretations of child behavior, and to negative parental responses. Second, it was expected that interpretations and responses would be more negative as child abuse potential increased. Sixteen mothers from a child abuse prevention and treatment program completed the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (Milner and Wimberly, 1980) and provided interpretations, evaluations, and responses to a set of vignettes depicting normal child behaviors. The data supported the hypotheses. As abuse potential increased, parent responses were judged as more controlling, punishing, rejecting, and aroused. High stress strengthened the magnitude of these responses. These findings were interpreted within the context of a cognitive behavioral model.