Inappropriate Child-Rearing that Calls for Preventive Support in Terms of Public Health Based on Interviews with Specialists of Dealing with Child Abuse

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify inappropriate child-rearing (ICR) practices by parents in need of preventive support.
Methods: Participants included 24 specialists of dealing with child abuse. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with summarizing content analysis. Each participant provided voluntary informed consent to participate in the study, which was approved by the ethical committee of the authors’ university.
Results: ICR as perceived by the participants could be classified into two groups: “weak interactions” (WI), or not exercising sufficient power, and “excessive interactions” (EI), or exercising excessive power. WI consisted of the following four categories: “insufficiently fulfilling the roles and responsibilities as parents and giving priority to their own affairs”, “inability to establish daily rhythms, living habits, and consistency of matters related to food, clothing and shelter”, “not sharing time with and responding to the needs of the children as required by the children’s development”, and “inability to empathize with the children and not understanding their intentions, unexpressed signs, and feelings”. EI consisted of the following four categories: “controlling children by force”, “showing an attitude of rejecting or denying the needs of the children”, “controlling children in ways that are overbearing”, and “lack of parental respect for the children as distinct persons shown by excessively interfering in the children’s affairs and imposing parental ideals and expectations on the children”.
Conclusion: Aspects of WI and EI may signal behaviors preliminary to full-scale neglect and physical and emotional abuse.