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Teachers' beliefs about the effects of child abuse
Karen L Yanowitz1, Emmanuelle Monte, Jamie R Tribble
1Department of Psychology and Counseling, Arkansas State University, P.O. Box 1560, State University, AR 72467, USA.
Objective:
Teachers' expectations about the effects of physical and emotional abuse on children's classroom behaviors were examined in this study. Not only do teachers have to decide if a particular child is the victim of abuse, they may also have to contend with changes in that child's classroom behavior.
Method:
Teachers generated what they thought were typical outcomes of physical and emotional abuse on children's classroom behavior.
Results:
Responses generally fell into the following categories: lowered self-esteem, heightened aggression, academic difficulties, and poor social interaction skills. Teachers who mentioned lowered self-esteem were more likely to generate it as the result of emotional abuse rather than physical abuse.
Conclusions:
Teachers' expectations generally mirrored research findings as to the actual effects of child abuse. Suggestions are made to incorporate the results in training programs designed to increase teachers' self-confidence in reporting potential cases of child abuse.