Physical Abuse - Causes

Causes

The causes of physical abuse against children are numerous but listed below are some of the common causes according to Mash and Wolfe.

• Many abusive and neglectful parents have had little exposure to positive parental models and supports.
• There is often a greater degree of stress in the family environment.
• Information-processing disturbances may cause maltreating parents to misperceive or mislabel their child's behavior, which leads to inappropriate responses.
• There is often a lack of awareness or understanding of developmentally appropriate expectations.