has very little involvement with herchild. She appears depressed and uninterested in the child's activities.The child of this type of mother displays no characteristics which set himapart from other children. In order to put together a parenting profile, the two researchersexamine the mother/child interaction and their perception and feelings. Forinstance, Walters and Oldershaw take into account the mother's sense ofherself as a parent and her impression of her child. The researchers alsotry to determine the child's perception of himself or herself and of theparent. Abusive parents are often believed to have inadequate parentingskills and are referred to programs to improve these skills. These programsare particularly appropriate for parents who, themselves, were raised byabusive parents and as a result are ignorant of any other behavior towardher child. One of the goals of the psychologists is to provide information totherapists which will help tailor therapy to the individual needs of theabusive parents. "Recidivism rates for abusive care-givers are high," saysWalters. "To a large extent, abusive parents which require a variety oftreatment. " Their research is funded by the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearch Council.Contact: Gary Walters (416)978-7814 Lynn Oldershaw (416)978-3528...
