The child abusing family: II. Child and child-rearing variables, environmental factors and typologies of abusing families

A number of family variables associated with child abuse are reviewed. Few studies have examined the abusing family as a unit, so it is necessary to pool bits and pieces of information on individuals or dyads in these families to get a sense of what they are like. Part I of this review (Berger, 1980) covered methodological issues in the child abuse literature and parent-related characteristics of abusing families. Part II, the present paper, reviews child-related characteristics of abusing families, childrearing patterns in these families, the abusing family's relationship to the extra-familial environment, and typologies of abusing families. Finally, the material covered in Parts I and II is summarized and discussed. Suggestions are made for improving the quality of future studies in this area.