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Attributional Style as a Mediator Between Parental Abuse Risk and Child Internalizing SymptomatologyUniversity of Utah, rodriguez{at}ed.utah.edu This study examined a model wherein childrens attributional style mediates the relationship between parental physical child-abuse risk and childrens internalizing problems. Using structural equation modeling, three indices of abuse risk were selected (child abuse potential, physical discipline use, and dysfunctional parenting style) and two indices of childrens internalizing problems (depression and anxiety). The sample included 75 parent-child dyads, in which parents reported on their abuse risk and children independently completed measures of depressive and anxious symptomatology and a measure on their attributional style. Findings supported the model that childrens attributional style for positive events (but not negative events) partially mediated the relationship between abuse risk and internalizing symptoms, with significant direct and indirect effects of abuse risk on internalizing symptomatology. Future directions to continue evaluating additional mediators and other possible contextual variables are discussed.
Key Words: child anxiety child attributional style child depression dysfunctional disciplinary style physical child abuse potential
Child Maltreatment, Vol. 11, No. 2,
121-130 (2006) |
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