Abused Children Experience High Anger Exposure

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Rista C. Plate¹  Zachary Bloomberg²  Daniel M. Bolt²  Anna M. Bechner²  Barbara J. Roeber²  Seth D. Pollak¹ 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States;Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States

关键词: child maltreatment;    anger;    physical abuse;    parents;    children;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00440

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Childhood maltreatment is a critical problem in the United States. Much attention has been paid to the negative outcomes suffered by victims of abuse. Less attention has been devoted to understanding the emotional environments of maltreated children. One assumption, which has stood without empirical test, is that abused children encounter a high degree of anger in their home environments. Anger exposure is thought to be a source of stress for children in abusive environments and a potential link between the experience of abuse and the development of health and behavioral problems. We tested this notion by assessing data on over 1,000 parents and guardians of 3- to 17-year-old children who were participants in child development studies. Abuse was measured via records from Child Protective Services regarding substantiated and unsubstantiated claims of abuse as well as parent/guardian report. We compared self-reported experiences of anger from parents/guardians of children who have experienced abuse with those who have not. We found support for the claim that caregivers of abused children experience and express high levels of anger. Better characterization of the emotional environments in which abused children develop is critical for understanding how and why abuse affects children and has important implications for informing interventions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY