This study investigated the way in which parental beliefs moderate affective reactions to children at risk for abuse. A sample of 40 unrelated mothers was drawn from a larger research project. At-risk and not-at-risk children were recruited from 40 families participating in counseling at a local child abuse agency. At-risk status was determined…

In order to study signs of stress in speech directed to children at risk for abuse, sentences matched on content were collected from audio recordings of adult-child interactions. The children were audiotaped during an unstructured interaction with both their own mother and an unrelated mother. A total of 40 sibling pairs, each including one…