Results of the study have been published in the Journal of Family Psychology. The relationship between domestic violence and child abuse is well known, the OSU researchers say. For years, it has been generally accepted that if couples are engaged in domestic abuse, their children are more likely to be abused than children whose parents don't hit each other.
Experts differ on the reasons why.
Or the father will extend his abuse to the child as well as his spouse. Others have suggested that the children get blamed for the problems between the parents. The OSU study found that negative perceptions of the child not only are important, they take precedence over the parents' relationship with each other. But factor out the negative views and the risk of child abuse is greatly reduced, even among couples who are abusive to each other. The OSU study looked at 181 low-income families involved with the Oregon Healthy Start program for more than a year.