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Open Access 01-02-2017 | Original Article

Parent-Child Agreement on Parent-to-Child Maltreatment

Authors: Laura H.C.G. Compier-de Block, Lenneke R.A. Alink, Mariëlle Linting, Lisa J.M. van den Berg, Bernet M. Elzinga, Alexandra Voorthuis, Marieke S. Tollenaar, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 2/2017

Abstract

Parent-child agreement on child maltreatment was examined in a multigenerational study. Questionnaires on perpetrated and experienced child maltreatment were completed by 138 parent-child pairs. Multi-level analyses were conducted to explore whether parents and children agreed about levels of parent-to-child maltreatment (convergence), and to examine whether parents and children reported equal levels of child maltreatment (absolute differences). Direct and moderating effects of age and gender were examined as potential factors explaining differences between parent and child report. The associations between parent- and child-reported maltreatment were significant for all subtypes, but the strength of the associations was low to moderate. Moreover, children reported more parent-to-child neglect than parents did. Older participants reported more experienced maltreatment than younger participants, without evidence for differences in actual exposure. These findings support the value of multi-informant assessment of child maltreatment to improve accuracy, but also reveal the divergent perspectives of parents and children on child maltreatment.

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Title: Parent-Child Agreement on Parent-to-Child Maltreatment
Authors: Laura H.C.G. Compier-de Block
Lenneke R.A. Alink
Mariëlle Linting
Lisa J.M. van den Berg
Bernet M. Elzinga
Alexandra Voorthuis
Marieke S. Tollenaar
Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg
Publication date: 01-02-2017
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 2/2017
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-016-9902-3

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Parent-Child Agreement on Parent-to-Child Maltreatment

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