Risk for child maltreatment: New mothers' concerns and screening test results

Despite the potential usefulness of such information, child maltreatment pr ograms generally do not target services based on parents' concerns about th eir likelihood of maltreating. This study investigated responses by new mot hers regarding concerns about caring for their new infants, including conce rns about maltreatment. A total of 170 new mothers in the Labor and Deliver y Units of four hospitals were interviewed and asked about these concerns a nd their opinions about the causes of child maltreatment. In addition, they were administered the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI), a screening instrument for child abuse. Results indicate that new mothers will admit to concerns about a range of child care issues, including maltreatment. Moreo ver, there was a significant correlation between mothers' concerns about ch ild care and their scores on the CAPI. Multiple regression results indicate that among sociodemographic variables, only education and income were inde pendently related to CAPI scores, while only race predicted mothers' total concerns. Although lower power for that model necessitates caution in inter pretation, only expressed belief in parenting ability as a cause of child m altreatment predicted mothers' expressed concerns about maltreating their i nfants.