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Unhealthy dependency in victims and perpetrators of child maltreatment: A meta‐analytic review
Author(s) -
Kane Fallon A.,
Bornstein Robert F.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22550
Subject(s) - neglect , dependency (uml) , psychology , child abuse , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , physical abuse , child neglect , poison control , injury prevention , psychiatry , medical emergency , medicine , systems engineering , engineering
Objective Theoretical conceptualizations of interpersonal dependency and dependent personality disorder suggest that (a) high levels of dependency in parents may increase risk for perpetration of child abuse and neglect and (b) children who are victimized may show elevated levels of dependency later in life. This study used meta‐analytic techniques to examine these hypothesized links. Method A systematic search of psychological and medical online databases revealed 14 published studies (21 effect sizes) examining the link between parental dependency and perpetration of abuse or neglect (overall N of perpetrators = 1,321), and 14 published studies (25 effect sizes) assessing dependency in victims of child abuse and neglect (overall N of victims = 38,265). Results The dependency–abuse effect size ( d ) for perpetrators collapsed across all moderating variables was 0.36, which is considered to be in the medium range. The dependency–victimization effect size ( d ) collapsed across all moderating variables was 0.29, also a medium effect size. Conclusion These results support and extend analyses of the relationship between dependency and child maltreatment, and suggest that dependency may be both a precipitant of child maltreatment and consequence of victimization. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed, with suggestions for further research outlined.