Study Of Family Interaction Lead To New Understanding Of Abusive Parents Researchers at the University of Toronto have taken important steps toward producing a profile of an abusive parent. Prof. Gary Walters anddoctoral student Lynn Oldershaw of the Department of Psychology havedeveloped a system to characterize parents who physically abuse theirchildren. This could ultimately allow social service professionals toidentify parents in child abuse. Over the last five years, Walters and Oldershaw, in collaboration withDarlene Hall of the West End Creche, have examined over 100 mothers andtheir three to six-year-old children who have been physically abused. Inthe laboratory, the mother and child spend 30 minutes in structuredactivities such as playing, eating and cleaning-up. The family interactionis video-taped and later analyzed. The researchers have developed a system which allows them to record theeffectiveness of parenting skills. They are particularly interested indisciplinary strategies because abuse most commonly occurs when the parentwants the child to comply. "It's a question of trying to determine whichtype of parent produces which type of child or which type of child elicitswhich type of parental behaviour," explains Oldershaw. As a result of their work, Walters and Oldershaw have identifieddistinct categories of abusive parents and their children.'Harsh/intrusive' mothers are excessively harsh and constantly badger theirchild to behave. Despite the fact that these mothers humiliate anddisapprove of their child, there are times when they hug, kiss or speak tothem warmly. This type of mothering produces an aggressive, disobedientchild. A 'covert/hostile' mother shows no positive feelings towards her child.She makes blatant attacks on the child's self-worth and denies himaffection or attention. For his part, the child tries to engage hismother's attention and win her approval. An 'emotionally detached' mother ...
