Temple University, School of Social Work, Ritter Annex, Room 502, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
Child Abuse Negl. 2010 Nov;34(11):874-85. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.06.001. Epub 2010 Sep 28.
This study examined whether the age of parents predicted maternal harsh parenting behavior, specifically whether younger mothers might be at higher risk than older mothers, and which paternal characteristics might be associated with maternal parenting behavior.
This study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing (FFCW) study. In the present study, the authors examined a subsample of families for which complete data were available on all variables that were used in the analyses (n=1,597). Based on the parents' age at the time of the child's birth, mother-father age-dyad types were classified, and selected paternal factors were used to examine their association with maternal harsh parenting behavior. Psychological aggression, physical aggression, and self-reports of spanking were used as proxies for maternal harsh parenting behavior.
Multivariate analyses indicated that adolescent mothers, regardless of how old their partners were, were at higher risk for harsh parenting behavior than older adult mothers. Regarding paternal factors, paternal coercion against mother and the fathers' use of spanking were significantly associated with all three proxies for maternal harsh parenting behavior. Fathers' employment was a risk factor for maternal physical aggression.
This study supported findings from previous studies that younger mothers may indeed be at greater risk for harsh parenting behavior. It is critical, therefore, that they acquire appropriate parenting behavior and develop a healthy relationship with their children. Additional studies, both cross-sectional and longitudinal, are needed to involve their partners (i.e., their child's father) in order to shed light on ways of preventing harsh parenting behavior and examining the role of fathers in maternal parenting behavior.
The present study calls for more attention to sex education and intervention programs in school and health care settings as important components of prevention services. Practitioners need to better understand the concept of harsh parenting behavior in order to work with young parents and prevent future physical child abuse. Policy makers should support these efforts and research should be done that engages both mothers and fathers and seeks to enhance and modify existing programs for youths.
本研究旨在探讨父母的年龄是否能预测母亲的严厉育儿行为，特别是年轻母亲是否比年长母亲面临更高的风险，以及哪些父亲的特征可能与母亲的育儿行为有关。
本研究使用了脆弱家庭与儿童福利研究（FFCW）的数据。在本研究中，作者对一组完整数据可用于分析的所有变量的家庭进行了研究（n=1597）。根据孩子出生时父母的年龄，将母亲-父亲年龄对类型进行分类，并选择了一些父亲的特征来检验它们与母亲严厉育儿行为的关系。心理攻击、身体攻击和打屁股的自我报告被用作母亲严厉育儿行为的替代指标。
多变量分析表明，青少年母亲，无论其伴侣年龄多大，其严厉育儿行为的风险都高于年长的成年母亲。关于父亲的因素，父亲对母亲的强制和父亲使用打屁股与母亲严厉育儿行为的所有三个替代指标都显著相关。父亲的就业是母亲身体攻击的一个风险因素。
本研究支持了之前的研究结果，即年轻母亲确实可能面临更严厉的育儿行为风险。因此，他们必须获得适当的育儿行为，并与孩子建立健康的关系。需要进一步的研究，包括横断面研究和纵向研究，让他们的伴侣（即孩子的父亲）参与进来，以阐明预防严厉育儿行为的方法，并检验父亲在母亲育儿行为中的作用。
本研究呼吁在学校和医疗保健环境中更加关注性教育和干预计划，将其作为预防服务的重要组成部分。从业者需要更好地理解严厉育儿行为的概念，以便与年轻父母合作，预防未来的儿童身体虐待。政策制定者应支持这些努力，并进行研究，让母亲和父亲都参与进来，寻求加强和修改现有的青年计划。
