A STRESS AND COPING MODEL OF CHILD MALTREATMENT

The evolution, of theoretical approaches to child maltreatment has progressed to the point of complex, multifactorial models that incorporate parental, child, and ecological variables. These models are briefly reviewed and it is noted that they offer comprehensive descriptions of the potential antecedent factors that may initiate and maintain child maltreatment. The most recent formulations in this domain, however, have now begun to converge on the notion that levels of caregiver stress may play a critical role in determining child maltreatment. Accordingly, this paper describes in detail a stress and coping model of child maltreatment. Drawing from current literature on psychological processes relating to stress and coping, this model documents the various means whereby stress levels may become enhanced in caregivers, and thus contribute to increased child maltreatment. The model encompasses both child neglect and physical abuse, and integrates fundamental findings from these two maltreatment domains with psychological theory and research on stress and coping. In this model, we highlight the critical functions of the caregiver's cognitive appraisals and coping strategies in furthering our understanding of explanations of child maltreatment. Additional implications of this stress and coping model for research and clinical practice in the child maltreatment domain are then discussed.