Biomaterial Database

Parenting stress and social support of mothers who physically abuse their children in Hong Kong. 1994

Y C Chan

Department of Applied Social Studies, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hung Hom, Kowloon.

Thirty-seven identified abusive mothers were matched on demographic and socioeconomic parameters with a known nonabusive comparison sample in order to examine the role of parenting stress and maternal social support. The mothers were assessed using a personal (demographic) questionnaire, the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), and the Maternal Support Index (MSSI). Demographic data showed that the two groups were comparable on all variables except abusive mothers had significantly more children (p = .01). Abusive mothers showed significantly more stress on total PSI scores (p = .005), as well as in all three of the subjects: Child Domain (p = .007) Parent Domain (p = .02), and Life Stress (p = .016). Abusive mothers scored lower in all seven items on the MSSI. The difference was significant on the MSSI as a whole (p = .007) and on four subsets: number of people to count on in time of need (p = .02), perceived neighborhood support (p = .04), satisfaction with spousal relationship (p = .01), and degree of community involvement (p = .03). The greatest percentage (74.32%) of correct predictions of child abuse was achieved by combining the number of children, the Life Stress Scale and the MSSI. Implications for future research are discussed.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008016	Life Change Events	Those occurrences, including social, psychological, and environmental, which require an adjustment or effect a change in an individual's pattern of living.	Life Course,Life Crises,Life Crisis,Life Experiences,Course, Life,Crisis, Life,Event, Life Change,Experience, Life,Life Change Event,Life Courses,Life Experience
D008297	Male		Males
D009035	Mothers	Female parents, human or animal.	Mothers' Clubs,Club, Mothers',Clubs, Mothers',Mother,Mother Clubs,Mother's Clubs,Mothers Clubs,Mothers' Club
D010552	Personality Assessment	The determination and evaluation of personality attributes by interviews, observations, tests, or scales. Articles concerning personality measurement are considered to be within scope of this term.	Assessment, Personality,Assessments, Personality,Personality Assessments
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002649	Child Abuse	Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)	Abuse Experiences, Childhood,Child Neglect,Child Neglect Experiences,Child Neglect, Physical,Childhood Abuse Experiences,Childhood Neglect Experiences,Neglect Experience, Childhood,Neglect Experiences, Childhood,Physical Neglect, Childhood,Child Maltreatment,Child Mistreatment,Abuse Experience, Childhood,Abuse, Child,Child Neglect Experience,Childhood Abuse Experience,Childhood Neglect Experience,Childhood Physical Neglect,Childhood Physical Neglects,Experience, Child Neglect,Experience, Childhood Abuse,Experience, Childhood Neglect,Maltreatment, Child,Mistreatment, Child,Neglect Experience, Child,Neglect, Child,Neglect, Childhood Physical,Neglect, Physical Child,Physical Child Neglect,Physical Child Neglects
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D003431	Cross-Cultural Comparison	Comparison of various psychological, sociological, or cultural factors in order to assess the similarities or diversities occurring in two or more different cultures or societies.	Transcultural Studies,Comparison, Cross-Cultural,Comparisons, Cross-Cultural,Cross Cultural Comparison,Cross-Cultural Comparisons,Studies, Transcultural,Study, Transcultural,Transcultural Study
D005191	Family Characteristics	Size and composition of the family.	Family Size,Couples,Family Demography,Family Life Surveys,Family Size, Average,Family Size, Completed,Family Size, Desired,Family Size, Expected,Family Size, Ideal,Family and Household,Generations,Head of Household,Households,One-Person Household,Average Family Size,Average Family Sizes,Completed Family Size,Completed Family Sizes,Demography, Family,Desired Family Size,Desired Family Sizes,Expected Family Size,Expected Family Sizes,Family Characteristic,Family Demographies,Family Life Survey,Family Sizes,Family Sizes, Ideal,Household,Household Head,Household Heads,Household and Family,Household, One-Person,Ideal Family Size,Ideal Family Sizes,One Person Household,One-Person Households,Survey, Family Life