Social network characteristics of mothers in abusing and nonabusing families and their relationships to parenting beliefs

This study compares the social networks of mothers in families identified as abusive and mothers in control families and looks at the relationships between social networks and parenting beliefs and practices. Participants were mothers from 52 families who were part of a larger investigation of child-rearing in physically abusing versus nonabusing families. Mothers were interviewed about their social networks and completed the Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1981) and the Child-Rearing Practices Q-Sort (Block, 1981). Mothers in abusing families were found to be more socially isolated than were those mothers in nonabusing families. They had fewer peer relationships, more troubled relationships with relatives, and more limited contact with the wider community. A pattern linking social support and parenting beliefs emerged, suggesting that the presence of peers in the network is related to greater enjoyment of and openness in parenting.