Predictors of parental physical abuse: The contribution of internalizing and externalizing disorders and childhood experiences of abuse

摘要

BackgroundThe deleterious effects of childhood abuse have been a focus of much research; however, the causes of parental physical abuse are less well documented. Research with clinical samples suggests that individuals who display abusive behaviors are more likely to have a history of childhood abuse and higher rates of internalizing and externalizing disorders. Whether childhood abuse and psychopathology contribute independently to parental abusive behaviors or if the association between childhood abuse and the parental physical abuse is mediated by the individual’s psychopathology has not been studied empirically.