Social support and child maltreatment: a review of the evidence
Abstract
Parents who maltreat their children have long been thought to lack support from informal and social networks. Recent writers have taken the position that this relationship is a proven, causal one, with social isolation seen as a necessary antecedent condition for the occurrence of child abuse. Concurrently, initial enthusiasm for social support as a powerful explanatory variable in other areas of psychological and health research is giving way to cautious reevaluation of the evidence. The present review was undertaken to bring into sharper focus what is now known regarding the relationship between child maltreatment and parental isolation from informal helping networks. Existing research is fraught with both conceptual and methodological problems. There is, at present, little research evidence that lack of social support plays a significant role in the etiology of physical abuse. Stronger evidence exists that neglectful parents are socially isolated, but the data are consistent with the hypothesis that this is one manifestation of the character problems of these parents. Future research must give closer attention to clearly defining social support and using reliable and valid instruments to measure it, while exploring multivariate models of child maltreatment.
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There is no clear evidence from non-systematic reviews as to whether parental social isolation or loneliness is associated with child abuse or adverse parenting behaviours.
“There is no clear evidence from non-systematic reviews as to whether parental social isolation or loneliness is associated with child abuse or adverse parenting behaviours 94-98”
From An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness (2017) · cites this paper as [95]
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- Authors
- Seagull, E. A. W.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Seagull, Elizabeth A.W.
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1987-01
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 41-52
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2061090753
- Cited by
- 96
- References
- 80
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Keywords
- social support, child abuse, child neglect, social isolation, parental social networks, physical abuse, social support measurement
- MeSH terms
- Child, Child Abuse, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Parents, Population Dynamics, Single Person, Social Environment, Social Isolation, Social Support
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