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Parental responses to infant crying: the influence of child physical abuse risk and hostile priming

Julie L Crouch1, John J Skowronski, Joel S Milner

  • 1Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA.

Child Abuse & Neglect
|July 9, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Parents at high risk for child physical abuse (CPA) perceive crying infants more negatively and experience increased hostility, especially when exposed to hostile cues. This heightened hostility is linked to using excessive force in grip tasks.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Child Development
  • Parenting Studies

Background:

  • Infant crying is a common stressor for parents.
  • Parental responses to infant distress can be influenced by individual risk factors and environmental cues.
  • Child physical abuse (CPA) is a significant concern in early childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how child physical abuse (CPA) risk and exposure to hostile cues affect parental interpretations, emotions, and behaviors toward a crying infant.
  • To examine the interaction between CPA risk and hostile priming on parental responses.

Main Methods:

  • 84 parents (32 high CPA risk, 52 low CPA risk) viewed a 2-minute video of a crying infant.
  • Participants were exposed to either hostile or neutral priming cues.
  • Parental negative ratings, hostile feelings, and grip strength modulation were assessed.

Main Results:

  • High CPA risk parents rated the crying infant more negatively and reported higher hostility than low CPA risk parents.
  • Hostile priming independently increased hostile feelings, particularly in high CPA risk parents.
  • Hostile priming was associated with increased excessive force in grip tasks, but only among high CPA risk parents.

Conclusions:

  • Parental CPA risk significantly influences negative perceptions and hostile feelings toward crying infants.
  • Hostile priming exacerbates hostile feelings and is linked to aggressive physical responses in high-risk parents.
  • These findings highlight the combined impact of individual risk and environmental stressors on parental behavior.
Abstract

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