@article{ref1,
title="Empathic responsiveness and affective reactivity to infant stimuli in high- and low-risk for physical child abuse mothers",
journal="Child abuse and neglect",
year="1995",
author="Milner, J. S. and Halsey, L. B. and Fultz, J.",
volume="19",
number="6",
pages="767-780",
abstract="Empathic responsiveness and affective reactivity to infant stimuli were examined in matched groups of high- and low-risk for physical child abuse mothers. Hypotheses were generated based on models of aggression and the child abuse literature. Although no between-group differences were found in empathy, within-group differences were observed. Compared to baseline, high-risk mothers reported no change (p > .05) in empathy across infant conditions (baseline, smiling, quiet, and crying), while low-risk mothers reported an increase (p < .0005) in empathy following presentation of the crying infant. Although there was no change in empathy, high-risk mothers reported more sadness, distress, hostility, unhappiness, and less quietness following presentation of the crying infant. Low-risk mothers reported no changes in sadness, distress, and hostility. The data for high-risk mothers are congruent with reports that physical child abusers are less empathic and more hostile in response to a crying child. The findings support aggression models which suggest the lack of empathy and the presence of negative affectivity precede abusive behavior. Post-hoc analyses also provide support for an emotional contagion perspective, where high-risk parents, compared to low-risk parents, are thought to more frequently reflect the emotional state of the infant.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-2134",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}