Citation

Haskett ME, Scott SS, Ward CS. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 2004; 74(4): 436-447.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. mary_haskett@ncsu.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, American Orthopsychiatric Association, Publisher Wiley Blackwell)

DOI

10.1037/0002-9432.74.4.436

PMID

15554805

Abstract

Cluster analysis of observed parenting and self-reported discipline was used to categorize 83 abusive parents into subgroups. A 2-cluster solution received support for validity. Cluster 1 parents were relatively warm, positive, sensitive, and engaged during interactions with their children, whereas Cluster 2 parents were relatively negative, disengaged or intrusive, and insensitive. Further, clusters differed in emotional health, parenting stress, perceptions of children, and problem solving. Children of parents in the 2 clusters differed on several indexes of social adjustment. Cluster 1 parents were similar to nonabusive parents (n = 66) on parenting and related constructs, but Cluster 2 parents differed from nonabusive parents on all clustering variables and many validation variables. Results highlight clinically relevant diversity in parenting practices and functioning among abusive parents.

Language: en