The antecedents of maltreatment: results of the Mother–Child Interaction Research Project

Abstract

Introduction Interest in the antecedents of child maltreatment has been present in a wide variety of disciplines for many years. Psychologists, particularly developmental psychologists, express interest in the extent to which this knowledge contributes to an understanding of the parenting process and developmental psychopathology (Maccoby and Martin, 1983). Professionals in applied fields such as medicine, social work, education, and clinical psychology depend upon research on the antecedents of child maltreatment in order to construct prediction, prevention, and intervention efforts in their work with individuals and families as well as in communities and social policy efforts. Despite the advances made in research and theory in child maltreatment over the past thirty years, only recently have there been attempts to develop integrated theoretical models of such a complex phenomenon (Cicchetti and Rizley, 1981). These efforts to produce empirically derived theories of the etiology of child maltreatment have been hindered by a number of central issues. These major issues are discussed at various points in this chapter and in others in this volume. It is important to realize that each of the disciplines contributing to maltreatment research must in some way address these issues. They include reliance on retrospective research designs, use of conceptual models that postulate isolated or single causes for maltreatment, and the lack of a heuristically generated theoretical foundation based on previous empirical findings (Belsky, 1980; Cicchetti and Aber, 1980; Cicchetti and Rizley, 1981; Egeland and Brunnquell, 1979). This chapter presents a summary of the results of research conducted on the antecedents of child maltreatment by the Mother-Child Interaction Research Project at the University of Minnesota, which was specifically designed to address these issues.

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