Fathers and Maternal Risk for Physical Child Abuse

Abstract

This study set out to examine father-related factors predicting maternal physical child abuse risk in a national birth cohort of 1,480 families. In-home and phone interviews were conducted with mothers when index children were 3 years old. Predictor variables included the mother–father relationship status; father demographic, economic, and psychosocial variables; and key background factors. Outcome variables included both observed and self-reported proxies of maternal physical child abuse risk. At the bivariate level, mothers married to fathers were at lower risk for most indicators of maternal physical child abuse. However, after accounting for specific fathering factors and controlling for background variables, multivariate analyses indicated that marriage washed out as a protective factor, and on two of three indicators was linked with greater maternal physical abuse risk. Regarding fathering factors linked with risk, fathers’ higher educational attainment and their positive involvement with their children most discernibly predicted lower maternal physical child abuse risk. Fathers’ economic factors played no observable role in mothers’ risk for physical child maltreatment. Such multivariate findings suggest that marriage per se does not appear to be a protective factor for maternal physical child abuse and rather it may serve as a proxy for other father-related protective factors.

Socioemotional Development in Changing Families

“…Waldfogel et al's own analyses of data from FFCWS children at Age 5 confirmed that family structure made little difference to cognitive outcomes; what seemed to matter most were changes in family structure over time. Also using FFCWS data, Guterman, Lee, Lee, Waldfogel, and Rathouz (2009) found few differences between cohabiting, single, and married mothers of 3-year-olds in rates of aggressive or punitive parenting after controlling for sociodemographic and psychosocial variables.…”

Engaging fathers in child protection services: A review of factors and strategies across ecological systems

“…The value of promoting healthy father involvement rests on the observation that father-related variables (e.g., employment status, age, educational attainment, relationship with the mother and the child, and potential use of psychoactive substances) impact the risk for child neglect and abuse (Guterman & Lee, 2005; Guterman et al, 2009). There are also CPS policy-driven expectations for involving fathers that demand attention to all the factors at play (Sylvester & Reich, 2002).…”

“…Involvement by a supportive father reduces the likelihood that mothers will use harsh punitive parenting with a child (Crockenberg, 1987; Guterman et al, 2009) or develop mental health issues (Black et al, 2002) that place children at risk for maltreatment. Even when fathers do not reside with their children, fathers can positively impact their children’s intellectual (Downer, Campos, McWayne, & Gartner, 2008) and social development (Flouri, 2006; Flouri & Buchanan, 2002).…”

Commentary on Fathers and Children and Maltreatment

“…Guterman, Lee, Lee, Waldfogel, and Rathouz (2009) demonstrated this by showing how a healthy father-child relationship was associated with a reduced risk of the mother physically abusing her child. This finding adds to a substantial body of research that has amply documented the benefits to children of strong, healthy relationships with fathers or father figures (Lamb, in press).…”