Responses of physically abused boys to interadult anger involving their mothers

Abstract

This study reports observationally based assessments of the responses of physically abused and nonabused boys to interadult anger involving their mothers. Physically abused boys were more behaviorally reactive to interadult anger than comparison subjects, evidencing more problem-focused coping behaviors and greater aggressiveness. Thus, rather than habituating to others' hostility due to their history of exposure to familial violence, abused children appeared more aroused and angered by it and more motivated to intervene. As the matched low-socioeconomic status nonmaltreated sample was also exposed to interparent physical aggression, the results suggest that greater anger and aggression across multiple family subsystems (parent-child, interparental) may have cumulative effects. The study thus advances knowledge toward a more specific process-based understanding of relations between history of family conflict and child outcomes.

Violência sexual e sua prevalência em adolescentes de Porto Alegre, Brasil

“…28 Evidências apontam ainda a existência de um efeito dose-resposta, apresentando maior risco aos jovens expostos a um maior número de eventos de violência. 4,5 Importante achado do estudo foi o de que adolescentes vítimas e testemunhas de atos de violência sexual encontram-se mais freqüentemente expostos à violência comunitária em geral, em comparação com aqueles adolescentes não expostos à violência sexual. A possibilidade de se inferir sobre a origem dessa relação vai além dos objetivos do presente estudo.…”

Early Violence Exposure and Self-Regulatory Development: A Bioecological Systems Perspective

“…For children who experience chronic or repeated exposure to violence in their families or communities, the negative effects of this exposure can be cumulative over time, with many children showing a dose-response relationship between exposure to multiple violent acts and later problem symptoms [Cummings, Hennessy, Rabideau, & Cicchetti, 1994;Edwards, Holden, Felitti, & Anda, 2003]. Research on biological processes and allostatic load supports this phenomenon, with chronically exposed children showing decreased stability in their hormonal and biological responses to stress [Saltzman, Holden, & Holahan, 2005].…”

“…Domestic and community violence are associated with higher levels of both day-to-day chaos within the household (e.g., global and relational-dyadic distress) [Lynch & Cicchetti, 1998] and structural instability (e.g., residential mobility, changes in household composition) [Afifi, Boman, Fleisher, & Sareen, 2009;Parente & Mahoney, 2009]. In turn, these dimensions of children's household environments are thought to compromise their ability to appropriately deploy attention and regulate emotions through disrupting familial relationships and parenting, compromising children's sense of stability and safety, and increasing stress [Blair, 2010;Cummings et al, 1994].…”

Understanding Feelings and Coping with Emotional Situations: A Comparison of Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Preschoolers

“…That is, by not disaggregating the maltreated group by maltreatment type, important differences in emotional and social competence may have been masked in the results. For example, the effects of physical abuse may have a stronger effect on anger-associated behaviors and understanding than other forms of maltreatment (e.g., Cummings, Hennessy, Rabideau and Cicchetti, 1994). Furthermore, children who experience multiple forms of maltreatment may evidence more serious deficits in emotional and social competence than children who only experience one type of maltreatment.…”