Crossing boundaries: A pilot study of maternal attitudes about child maltreatment in nine countries
Mesman, Judi
Leiden University - Excl LUMC
Branger, Marjolein
Leiden University - Excl LUMC
Woudstra, Mi-lan
Leiden University - Excl LUMC
Emmen, Rosanneke
Leiden University - Excl LUMC
Asanjarani, Faramarz
University of Isfahan
Hsiao, Celia
University of Witwatersrand
Mels, Cindy
Universidad Catolica del Uruguay
Selcuk, Bilge
Koc University
Soares, Isabel
Universidade do Minho
van Ginkel, Joost
Leiden University
Wang, Lamei
Shenzhen University
Yavuz, Melis
MEF Universitesi
Alink, Lenneke
Leiden University - Excl LUMC
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect
ISSN
0145-2134
1873-7757
Open Access
green
Volume
99
Background: Definitions of child maltreatment vary widely between studies, and even more so between different cultural contexts. Objective: In this pilot study, we examine between-country variations in maternal notions about what constitutes child maltreatment. Participants and setting: The sample consisted of 466 mothers recruited in Chile, China, Greece, Iran, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey, and Uruguay. Methods: All mothers completed a new Q-sort measure, ranking 90 parenting behaviors linked to subtypes of maltreatment (emotional neglect, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and physical abuse) from least to most detrimental to child development. Results: Between-country agreement regarding the harmfulness of the parenting behaviors was high (r=.45), but there were different patterns of reported harmfulness of subtypes of maltreatment (although driven mostly by deviating patterns in the South African sample). Further, there were significant country effects on the number and type of behaviors labeled as maltreatment (pre=.15), and the number of items labeled as requiring intervention (pre=.19). Conclusions: Variations in conceptions of maltreatment need to be studied in larger more representative samples and taken into account in the assessment and treatment of child maltreatment across cultures.
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