Applying Socio-Emotional Information Processing theory to explain child abuse risk: Emerging patterns from the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic exerted profound effects on parents, which may translate into elevated child abuse risk. Prior literature demonstrates that Social Information Processing theory is a useful framework for understanding the cognitive processes that can contribute to parental abuse risk, but the model has not adequately integrated affective processes that may coincide with such cognitions.

Objective

Given parents experienced intense emotions during the pandemic, the current study sought to examine how socio-emotional processes might account for abuse risk during the pandemic (perceived pandemic-related increases in harsh parenting, reported physical and psychological aggression, and child abuse potential).

Participants and methods

Using two groups of moth

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9663754 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature