Parental stress and risk of child abuse: the role of socioeconomic status

Abstract

Specialized literature points consistently to the relevance of parental stress in parenting practices and in the risk of child abuse. At the same time, it is known that socioeconomic status constitutes a risk factor to parental stress. This research aimed to compare differences in parental stress and risk of child abuse between different socioeconomic families, as well as determine whether parental stress constitutes a predictor of child abuse risk in both groups. The sample comprised 109 parents – 62 residents of low socioeconomic status in the Porto district and 47 residents of middle/high socioeconomic status in Funchal district – which completed the AAPI-2 and PSI. The results revealed that low-SES parents have higher levels of parental stress and are more likely to commit child abuse. It was also found that parental stress predicts the risk of child abuse both for low and middle/high SES parents, even if this relationship is stronger for low-income families. Thus, reducing parental stress may constitute an effective way to prevent child abuse by parents.