Multimodal assessment of impulsiveness in abusing, neglecting, and nonmaltreating mothers and their preschool children.

Abstract

Mothers (N = 36) who had a history of child abuse (n = 12), child neglect (n = 12), or no known history of child maltreatment (n = 12), and their preschool children were compared on the nature and extent of their impulsiveness in a multimodal assessment procedure. Children were also rated by their mothers on the Revised Conners Parent Rating Scale and by their teachers on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. Results indicated that comparison mothers performed better than did abusing mothers on two measures of motor inhibition, the Matching Familiar Figures-20 and the Stroop ColorWord Test. Neglectful mothers rated their children as having more conduct problems than did comparison mothers. No significant differences were found on the other child measures of impulsiveness. Implications for assessing and treating child maltreatment were discussed.