DISTINCT AND INTERACTIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE, SOCIOECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE, AND NEGATIVE LIFE EVENTS TO CHILDRENS SOCIAL, COGNITIVE, AND AFFECTIVE ADJUSTMENT
A. Okun et al., DISTINCT AND INTERACTIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE, SOCIOECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE, AND NEGATIVE LIFE EVENTS TO CHILDRENS SOCIAL, COGNITIVE, AND AFFECTIVE ADJUSTMENT, Development and psychopathology, 6(1), 1994, pp. 77-98
Past research highlights the importance of considering the sequelae of
physical abuse in the context of other risk factors and possible exac
erbating circumstances. The present research examines the relative, un
ique, and interactive effects of physical abuse, sociocultural disadva
ntage, and cumulative negative life events. Multiple measures and data
sources were used to assess the socioeconomic circumstances, exposure
to recent negative events, and social, cognitive, and affective adjus
tment of 19 physically abused and 49 nonabused elementary school-age c
hildren. Results indicated that abuse strongly independently predicted
problems in children's adjustment with peers, self-perceptions, and d
epression. Abuse was also related to increased behavioral problems at
home and at school, though this relation abated and even reversed itse
lf as social disadvantage increased. Cumulative negative events indepe
ndently predicted negative self-perceptions and, for girls, increased
depression. Socioeconomic hardship was independently related to childr
en's cognitive maturity. In addition, socioeconomic disadvantage quali
fied the relation between negative events and children's adjustment to
peers, such that increased negative events were related to lower peer
adjustment among less disadvantaged children but increased peer adjus
tment of children with more disadvantage. These results support calls
for a more contextualized approach to examining the developmental outc
omes of physical abuse, one that considers multiple risk factors simul
taneously.