Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T06:44:40.522Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Responses of physically abused boys to interadult anger involving their mothers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

E. Mark Cummings ,
Kevin D. Hennessy ,
Gerald J. Rabideau  and
Dante Cicchetti
E. Mark Cummings*
Affiliation:
West Virginia University
Kevin D. Hennessy
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
Gerald J. Rabideau
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
Dante Cicchetti*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: E. Mark Cummings, Department of Psychology, Oglebay Hall, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6040
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, 187 Edinburgh Street, Rochester, NY 14608.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study reports observationally based assessments of the responses of physically abused and nonabused boys to interadult anger involving their mothers. Physically abused boys were more behaviorally reactive to interadult anger than comparison subjects, evidencing more problem-focused coping behaviors and greater aggressiveness. Thus, rather than habituating to others' hostility due to their history of exposure to familial violence, abused children appeared more aroused and angered by it and more motivated to intervene. As the matched low-socioeconomic status nonmaltreated sample was also exposed to interparent physical aggression, the results suggest that greater anger and aggression across multiple family subsystems (parent-child, interparental) may have cumulative effects. The study thus advances knowledge toward a more specific process-based understanding of relations between history of family conflict and child outcomes.

Type
Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , Winter 1994 , pp. 31 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aber, J. L., and Cicchetti, D. (1984). Socioemotional development in maltreated children: An empirical and theoretical analysis. In Fitzgerald, H., Lester, B., & Yogman, M. (Eds.), Theory and research in behavioral pediatrics (Vol. II, pp. 147–205). New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbrock, C. S. (1983). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist. Burlington, VT: Queen City.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1984). The emergence of developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D. (1990). The organization and coherence of socioemotional, cognitive, and representational development: Illustrations through a developmental psychopathology perspective on Down Syndrome and child maltreatment. In Thompson, R. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Vol. 36. Socioemotional development (pp. 259–366) Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (in press). Developmental psychopathology: Reactions, reflections, projections. Developmental Review.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Barnett, D. (1991a). Attachment organization in pre-school aged maltreated children. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 397–411.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Barnett, D. (1991b). Toward the development of a scientific nosology of child maltreatment. In Grove, W. & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.), Thinking clearly about psychology: Essays in honor of Paul E. Meehl: Vol. 2. Personality and psychopathology (pp. 346–377). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Carlson, V. (Eds.). (1989). Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Howes, P. (1991). Developmental psychopathology in the context of the family: Illustrations from the study of maltreatment. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 23, 257–281.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Rizley, R. (1981). Developmental perspectives on the etiology, intergenerational transmission, and sequelae of child maltreatment. New Directions for Child Development, 11, 31–56.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (1991). The making of a developmental psychopathologist. In Cantor, J., Spiker, C., & Lipsitt, L. (Eds.), Child behavior and development: Training for diversity (pp. 34–72). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Cork, R. M. (1969). The forgotten child. Toronto, Canada: A.R.F. Books.Google Scholar
Crittenden, P., & DiLalla, D. L. (1988). Compulsive compliance: The development of an inhibitory coping strategy in infancy. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 585–599.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummings, E. M. (1987). Coping with background anger in early childhood. Child Development, 58, 976–984.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummings, E. M., Ballard, M., El-Sheikh, M., & Lake, M. (1991). Resolution and children's responses to interadult anger. Developmental Psychology, 27, 462–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, E. M., & Cummings, J. S. (1988). A process-oriented approach to children's coping with adults' angry behavior. Developmental Review, 3, 296–321.Google Scholar
Cummings, E. M. & El-Sheikh, M. (1991). Children's coping with angry environments: A process-oriented approach. In Cummings, M., Greene, A., & Karraker, K. (Eds.), Life-span developmental psychology: Perspectives on stress and coping (pp. 131–150). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erl-baum Associates, Inc.Google Scholar
Cummings, E. M., lannotti, R. J., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (1985). The influence of conflict between adults on the emotions and aggression of young children. Developmental Psychology, 21, 495–507.Google Scholar
Cummings, E. M., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (1992). Emotions and the socialization of aggression: Adults' angry behavior and children's arousal and aggression. In Fraczek, A. & Zumkley, H. (Eds.), Socialization and aggression. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Cummings, E. M., Zahn-Waxler, C., & Radke-Yarrow, M. (1981). Young children's responses to expressions of anger and affection by others in the family. Child Development, 52, 1274–1282.Google Scholar
Cummings, E. M., Zahn-Waxler, C., & Radke-Yarrow, M. (1984). Developmental changes in children's reactions to anger in the home. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25, 63–74.Google Scholar
Cummings, J. S., Pellegrini, D., Notarius, C., & Cummings, E. M. (1989). Children's responses to angry adult behavior as a function of marital distress and history of interparent hostility. Child Development, 60, 1035–1043.Google Scholar
Cummings, E. M., Vogel, D., Cummings, J. S., El-Sheikh, M. (1989). Children's responses to different forms of expression of anger between adults. Child Development, 60, 1392–1404.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Downey, G., & Coyne, J. C. (1990). Children of depressed parents: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 50–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Downs, W. R. (1993). Developmental considerations for the effects of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8, 331–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emery, R. E. (1982). Interparent conflict and the children of discord and divorce. Psychological Bulletin, 92, 310–330.Google Scholar
Emery, R. E. (1989). Family violence. American Psychologist, 92, 310–330.Google Scholar
Fantuzzo, J., DePaola, L., Lambert, L., Martino, T., Anderson, G., & Sutton, S. (1991). Effects of inter-parental violence on the psychological adjustment and competencies of young children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 258–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fauber, R., Forehand, R., Thomas, A. M., & Wierson, M. (1990). A mediational model of the impact of marital conflict on adolescent adjustment in intact and divorced families: The role of disputed parenting. Child Development, 61, 1112–1123.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (1984). Child sexual abuse: New theories and research. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Gottman, J. M., & Fansilber-Katz, L. (1989). Effects of marital discord on young children's peer interactions and health. Developmental Psychology, 25, 373–381.Google Scholar
Grych, J. H., & Fincham, F. D. (1990). Marital conflict and children's adjustment: A cognitive-contextual framework. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 267–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartman, C. R., & Burgess, A. W. (1989). Sexual abuse of children: Causes and consequences. In Cicchetti, D. & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 95–128). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hennessy, K. D., Rabideau, G. J., Cicchetti, D., & Cummings, E. M. (in press). Responses of physically abused children to different forms of inter-adult anger. Child Development.Google Scholar
Hetherington, E. M., Stanley-Hagan, M., & Anderson, E. R. (1989). Marital transitions: A child's perspective. American Psychologist, 44, 303–312.Google Scholar
Hill, S. D., Bleichfeld, B., Brunstetter, R., Herbert, J. E., & Sleekler, S. (1989). Cognitive and physiological responsiveness of abused children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 219–224.Google Scholar
Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Howes, P., & Cicchetti, D. (1993). A family/relational perspective on maltreating families: Parallel processes across systems and social policy implications. In Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (Eds.), Child abuse, child development and social policy (pp. 249–300). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Jouriles, E., Murphy, C., & O'Leary, K. (1989). Inter-spousal aggression, marital discord, and child problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 453–455.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J., & Cicchetti, D. (1989). The effects of maltreatment on school-aged children's socioemo-tional development: Assessments in a day camp setting. Developmental Psychology, 25, 516–524.Google Scholar
Klaczynski, P. A., & Cummings, E. M. (1989). Responding to anger in aggressive and nonaggressive boys. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 309–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minuchin, P. (1985). Families and individual development: Provocations from the field of family therapy. Child Development, 56, 289–302.Google Scholar
O'Brien, M., Margolin, G., John, R., & Krueger, L. (1991). Mothers' and sons' cognitive and emotional reactions to simulated marital and family conflict. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 692–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rieder, C., & Cicchetti, D. (1989). Organizational perspective on cognitive control functioning and cognitive-affective balance in maltreated children. Developmental Psychology, 25, 382–393.Google Scholar
Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamilial conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scale. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41, 75–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toth, S. L., & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Child maltreatment: Where do we go from here in our treatment of victims? In Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (Eds.), Child abuse, child development, and social policy (pp. 399–438). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
West, M. O., & Prinz, R. J. (1987). Parental alcoholism and childhood psychopathology. Psychological Bulletin, 102, 204–218.Google Scholar
Wolfe, D. A. (1987). Child abuse: Implications for child development and psychopathology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Wolfe, D. A., & Mosk, M. D. (1983). Behavioral comparisons of children from abusive and distressed families. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 702–708.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed