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Interpersonal Relationships and Child-Rearing Practices in 214 Parents of Battered Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Selwyn M. Smith  and
Ruth Hanson
Selwyn M. Smith
Affiliation:
Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Z 7K4; formerly Lecturer in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TH
Ruth Hanson
Affiliation:
Social Work Research Unit, School of Applied Social Studies, University of Bradford, Bradford, Yorkshire, BD7 D70; formerly Senior Research Associate, Department of Psychiatry, University of Birmingham
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Summary

The self-reported child-rearing practices of 214 parents of battered babies were characterized in a few but not all respects by demanding behaviour which exceeded that to be expected in relation to their social class and age. Inconsistency in child management was noted in the comparison between lack of demonstrativeness and emotional over-involvement, and between physical punishment and a tendency to be lax in the supervision of the child, and was reminiscent of parents of delinquents. Unhappiness and hostility in relationships with members of their families of origin, with unsupporting partners and with people in general were other important features. Generally, identified perpetrators were characterized by features significant for the sample as a whole.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 127 , Issue 6 , December 1975 , pp. 513 - 525
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1975 

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