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Citation |
Todd MK, Gesten EL. J. Fam. Violence 1999; 14(4): 417-436. |
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Affiliation |
Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 1999, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Characteristics prevalent in known child abusers and in child victims of abuse (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, sociopathy, delinquency, and nonrational conflict-solving tactics) were examined as predictors of abuse potential in adolescents. The Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory (Milner, 1986) was administered to male (n = 71) and female (n = 63) teenagers attending alternative educational sites due to behavioral problems or pregnancy. Regression analyses found unique variance in abuse potential contributed by youth (16%) and teacher (6%) reports of internalizing behavior, and youth reports of sociopathy (4%) and delinquency (4%) for a total of 33% of the variance (p less than .0001, n = 91) after controlling for age, sex, and pregnancy status. Number of elevated predictors in each student was also related to increased abuse potential (r = .39, p less than .001). Pregnancy status and SES were not independently associated with abuse potential. Conduct disorder as a probable precursor to future abusive behavior is suggested, and the use of the CAP with adolescents is discussed. |