Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: real or detection bias?

ABSTRACT: The literature has been contradictory regarding whether parents who were abused as children have a greater tendency to abuse their own children. A prospective 30-year follow-up study interviewed individuals with documented histories of childhood abuse and neglect and matched comparisons and a subset of their children. The study assessed maltreatment based on child protective service (CPS) agency records and reports by parents, nonparents, and offspring. The extent of the intergenerational transmission of abuse and neglect depended in large part on the source of the information used. Individuals with histories of childhood abuse and neglect have higher rates of being reported to CPS for child maltreatment but do not self-report more physical and sexual abuse than matched comparisons. Offspr

SUBMITTER: Widom CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5308058 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature