ABSTRACT
Summary—This extended baseline study examined the influence of various contextual and interpersonal variables upon the parent-child interactions of three abusive/neglectful families. Daily parental ratings of stress, social interactions, perceptions of child problems, negative mood and independent observations of child deviance and negative parental behavior were collected for each family over a consecutive 20-day period. The results did not support the hypothesis that contextual factors reliably covary with negative parental behavior or mood. However, the findings indicated a reciprocal relationship between negative parental behavior and child deviance in two families, while the third displayed an inconsistent pattern of parental responding to child behavior. These results are discussed in terms of the heterogeneity of abusive families, and the advantages of behavioral assessment in determining the unique intervention needs for each family.
