Decreasing Physical Abuse by a Parent of a Child With Pervasive Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The present study examined effectiveness of counseling the mother of a sixth-grade boy who had pervasive developmental disabilities on decreasing her physical abuse of her son. The mother had been uncooperative, and the counseling, which was based on her records in counseling, included attempts to increase her reports of behavioral factors and advice on how to deal with the situation. After counseling, her expression and thinking of facts about herself and her family increased, the abuse decreased, and self-management behavior and appropriate interactions with other family members increased. This suggests that counseling based on parents' records may be effective for decreasing abuse. It is important to ensure that suitable resources are available for shaping social supports within a family. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).