Child abuse potential - How persistent?

Twenty-five mothers whose children had been under the supervision of the Ch ild protection Services (CPS group) primarily for neglect and 25 comparison mothers were compared with respect to their child abuse potential as asses sed by Milner's Child Abuse potential Inventory (CAPI). We examined whether the CPS mothers' child abuse potential would still be elevated 7 years aft er the reported maltreatment of their child. Second, an attempt was made to predict the CAPI scores with the mothers' childhood abuse experiences, adu lthood social problems, and socioeconomic status. The CPS mothers scared si gnificantly higher than the comparison mothers on most of the CAPI scales, indicating their persistent elevated child abuse potential. No significant differences between the groups were found, however; in risk for child abuse . Hierarchical regression analyses showed that the CAPI Abuse scale scores were best predicted by maternal social problems. Childhood abuse experience d by the mothers and socioeconomic status failed to predict the CAPI Abuse scale scores.