engleski

Predictors of risk for child abuse among Croatian families facing economic hardship

The study assessed mothers’ risk for abusing their children in middle adolescence in relation to family exposure to economic hardship. The community sample included 695 mothers with mid- adolescent children and 42.4% families were receiving child benefit as a government measure for reducing children’s risk of poverty. Socio- economic status of mothers, family economic hardship, mothers’ exposure to stress, children’s characteristics were measured, together with the perceived availability of social support. The risk for child abuse was measured by Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI). The study has been fully supported by the Croatian Science Foundation. To examine the model predicting the child abuse risk of mothers in relation to socio-economic status, family economic pressure, and exposure to stress, separate hierarchical linear regression analysis was used for two groups of mothers – those who were receiving child benefit and the family was at risk of poverty (N=295) and those who were not (N=400). The final model for child abuse risk among mothers who were receiving child benefit accounted for 55.5% of overall variance, and mothers who were not receiving child benefit accounted for 43.3% of overall variance. The results showed that for both groups the risk for child abuse was higher for mothers with lower education level, more family economic hardship and shame related to it, and those with higher number of stressful events. Higher level of perceived support was related to a lower level of risk for child abuse, but the buffering effect was smaller for mothers who were receiving child benefits compared to those who were not (better off families), indicating that social support may not compensate the negative effects of multitude stressors, including economic hardship. Family policy that will tackle socio-economic risks, strengthen parents’ social support, and disseminate effective parenting strategies will be discussed.

family economic hardship, social support, risk of child abuse

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