Citation

Yanowitz KL, Monte E, Tribble JR. Child Abuse Negl. 2003; 27(5): 483-488.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology and Counseling, Arkansas State University, P.O. Box 1560, State University, AR 72467, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12718958

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Teachers' expectations about the effects of physical and emotional abuse on children's classroom behaviors were examined in this study. Not only do teachers have to decide if a particular child is the victim of abuse, they may also have to contend with changes in that child's classroom behavior. METHOD: Teachers generated what they thought were typical outcomes of physical and emotional abuse on children's classroom behavior. RESULTS: Responses generally fell into the following categories: lowered self-esteem, heightened aggression, academic difficulties, and poor social interaction skills. Teachers who mentioned lowered self-esteem were more likely to generate it as the result of emotional abuse rather than physical abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Teachers' expectations generally mirrored research findings as to the actual effects of child abuse. Suggestions are made to incorporate the results in training programs designed to increase teachers' self-confidence in reporting potential cases of child abuse.

Language: en