Parents' beliefs on the causes of child maltreatment

Abstract

The present study presents an analysis of the beliefs of a sample of Portuguese parents on the causes of child maltreatment as well as an analysis of the variability factors of such beliefs. A sample of 358 Portuguese parents answered to a questionnaire concerning beliefs on causes of child maltreatment. The questionnaire was based on a review of literature on etiological models of maltreatment. The results show that parents' beliefs on the causes of child maltreatment have a multifactorial structure which integrates the ontogenic, interactionist, social and cultural factors, proposed by most theoretical models on the etiology of child maltreatment. Analyses performed on the beliefs' factors showed that the variability of these beliefs was mainly due to socioeconomic status and parental experience of the respondents.