Parent Perceptions of Maltreatment and Adjustment in Children

The perceptions of a self-selected community sample of 50 parents were assessed, covering their children’s experiences of five types of maltreatment, namely sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect, and witnessing family violence. Also evaluated were children’s behavioural adjustment, current affect, self-esteem, gender identity, and family functioning. The results showed a large degree of overlap between the different types of maltreatment (except sexual abuse), with 42% of respondents obtaining scores above the mean on more than one maltreatment scale. Familial factors predicted the parental reports of maltreatment and multi-type maltreatment as well as the adjustment of children.