Control strategies and noncompliance in abusive mother-child dyads: an observational study

The present observational study of child abuse has isolated parental control strategies and child response as a promising area of investigation. The social interaction of 10 abusive and 10 matched control mothers and their preschool children was videotaped in a simulated home environment involving both structured and unstructured activities. A coding scheme was developed to record interactional behavior in each dyad. Particular emphasis was placed on the analysis of mother command/child compliance sequences. Compared to controls, abusive mothers employed more commands, and more power-assertive and less positively oriented control strategies. They were also more intrusive, more inconsistent in their use of parenting techniques, displayed more flattened affect throughout their control interactions, and were less flexible in their attempts to gain compliance from the child. In turn, children of abusive mothers demonstrated far more noncompliant behavior than their control counterparts.