Abstract
Behavior ratings by parents, teachers, and classmates of physically abused fourth to sixth graders, identified from the New York City Maltreatment Register, and case-matched classroom controls, showed substantial concurrence among informants: Parents and teachers both rated significantly more behavioral disturbance in the abused children, and peers' ratings were significantly correlated with adults' ratings, especially those by teachers. Children's exposure to spouse or partner physical abuse, which had a substantial prevalence among both child-abusing and control families, reduced the difference in disturbance ratings between children who were themselves physically abused and those who were not. Overall, we conclude that physically abused children show pervasive behavioral disturbance, in that parents, teachers, and classmates all see higher levels of behavior problems and lower levels of socially desirable behavior in them compared to their nonmaltreated peers.
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This research was supported in part by research grant R01MH38814 and Clinical Research Center grant MH30906 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors thank the New York City Child Welfare Administration, especially Terry Weiss, for facilitating access to the Maltreatment Register; the NYC Board of Education for access to schools; and the many participating superintendents, principals, and teachers. Some preliminary data were presented as a poster at the Meetings of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, New York, 1989.
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Feldman, R.S., Salzinger, S., Rosario, M. et al. Parent, teacher, and peer ratings of physically abused and nonmaltreated Children's behavior. J Abnorm Child Psychol 23, 317–334 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447560
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447560