Little is known about perception of child maltreatment in Greece. Although maltreatment in European countries is well documented, knowledge concerning this phenomenon remains sparse in Greece. This...Show moreLittle is known about perception of child maltreatment in Greece. Although maltreatment in European countries is well documented, knowledge concerning this phenomenon remains sparse in Greece. This study examined mothers’ and teacher’s evaluation of severity of four types of maltreatment: physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional abuse and emotional neglect. It was also examined whether mothers and teachers differ in their evaluation of maltreatment and if their perceptions are influenced by demographics and previous maltreatment experience. 41 Greek mothers of children 2 to 6 years old, 20 Greek teachers and 2 professionals working in Youth Care centers in Greece distributed Maltreatment Q-sort (MQS) and filled in Children Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Background information Questionnaire. Within subjects contrast showed that mothers evaluated significantly more harmful physical abuse than the other types of maltreatment and physical neglect than emotional neglect and emotional abuse. Teachers also showed significant differences on subscales of MQS apart from physical neglect and emotional abuse. Mothers and teachers did not strongly differ in how they evaluated maltreatment and mothers showed higher convergence with the professionals’ view of maltreatment. Identity, number of children and maltreatment experiences are related to participants’ perception of maltreatment. Understanding perception of maltreatment is vital, as its perception has implications for reporting maltreatment and identifying intervention needs of vulnerable children. Furthermore, understanding maltreatment’s perception may help social service agencies to practice successful intervention programs. The current study is the first that directly studies the perception of four types of maltreatment and can be the basis for further research. Keywords: perception, maltreatment, Greece, mothers, teachers, MQSShow less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2019-08-19T00:00:00Z
Parents who have experienced childhood maltreatment may face difficulties when faced with the hardships of parenting. A phase that may prove to be especially difficult for parents who have...Show moreParents who have experienced childhood maltreatment may face difficulties when faced with the hardships of parenting. A phase that may prove to be especially difficult for parents who have experienced childhood maltreatment is the adolescent phase of their child, as it is often marked by conflict. In addition, their child’s young-adult phase can become difficult for maltreated parents, because this new period of exploration and reorganization of the emotional ties of the young adult with their parents also marks a period of change. Furthermore, maltreated parents may face additional difficulties are associated with childhood maltreatment, like psychological problems or less adaptive personality traits. This paper focuses on maltreated and non-maltreated parents and the quality of interaction with their adolescent or young adult children. It will be investigated whether child maltreatment experienced by the parent influences the quality of the interactions with their adolescent/young adult children and whether parental psychopathology and personality mediate the effect of experienced maltreatment by the parents on the interaction with their adolescent/young adult children. The sample consisted of 12 non-maltreated parents and 10 maltreated parents, some parents were part of the same family. Multilevel analysis was performed to consider within family nestedness of the data. Ordinary least squares regression was performed when multilevel was not possible. No effects of experienced maltreatment on parental interaction (emotional support and warmth/lack of negative affect) was found. Furthermore, there were no mediating effects of personality nor psychopathology on the association between experienced maltreatment and parental interaction. However, it was found that that childhood maltreatment can be linked to a less agreeable and more introverted disposition in adulthood. Furthermore, more introverted parents were more emotionally supportive. These tentative findings expand the scarce literature on the effect of maltreatment on personality in adulthood and of the influence of personality traits on parental interaction. Gaining more insight in how parenting is affected by personality traits and how the development of specific personality traits are affected by maltreatment might aide in providing more insight in how to assist these maltreated parents and their children.Show less
This study examined the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment by using multiple measurements for retrospective history of maltreatment. Furthermore, social learning theory, attachment...Show moreThis study examined the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment by using multiple measurements for retrospective history of maltreatment. Furthermore, social learning theory, attachment theory, and family stress model were examined as an explanation for intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. This study compared 24 mothers who were in treatment because of maltreating behaviours, to 18 control group mothers who did not maltreat their own children. Results showed that mothers who currently maltreat their own children were more likely to have a history of child maltreatment than mothers from the control group. This significant result was only found when history of maltreatment was measured using a questionnaire (CTQ-SF). The same trends, although nonsignificant, were found when history of maltreatment was measured using an interview (AAI) or a combined measurement of interview and questionnaire. This study did not find support for type-specific patterns and the moderating role of continuity of unemployment. The findings of this study support the hypothesis for the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. However, no support was found for the social learning theory or the family stress model. Attachment theory might be a better explanation for intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. Further research on attachment theory is needed to confirm this.Show less
