Citation

Rossman BBR, Rea JG. J. Fam. Violence 2005; 20(5): 261-277.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado; Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 S. Race Street, Denver, Colorado, 80208

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10896-005-6603-8

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Research of parenting in conflictual and violent families suggests that battered mothers (i.e., those experiencing verbal and/or physical abuse by their partner) may not parent very differently from demographically similar nonbattered mothers. However, battered mothers do report being less consistent in their discipline. In the present study, 104 mothers and their children from community nonviolent and violent families and shelter violent and violent abusive families participated in interviews to obtain information about child functioning and authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parental practices. It was the case that authoritative practices were associated with more positive child functioning and that parental inconsistency, defined in terms of endorsing conflictual parenting practices, was associated with poorer child outcome. Groups of mothers were identified that fit different patterns of parenting practices, and these patterns were differentially related to children's functioning.