• Regina Hiraoka, Julie L Crouch, Gim Reo, Michael Wagner, Joel S Milner, and John J Skowronski.
• Center for the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA.
• Child Abuse Negl. 2014 Nov 1; 38 (11): 1840-7.

AbstractThis study examined whether parents with varying degrees of child physical abuse (CPA) risk differed in pain tolerance, pain sensitivity, and accessibility of aggression-related schemata. Participants included 91 (51 low CPA risk and 40 high CPA risk) general population parents. Participants were randomly assigned to complete either an easy or a difficult anagram task. Pain tolerance and pain sensitivity were assessed using a cold pressor task. Accessibility of aggression-related schemata was assessed at the outset of the data collection session and at the end of the session using a word completion task. Parents' self-reported negative affect was assessed three times over the course of the study: baseline, after the anagram task, and after the cold pressor task. As expected, high-risk (compared to low-risk) parents reported higher levels of negative affect at each time point. Moreover, after completing the difficult anagram task, high-risk (compared to low-risk) parents exhibited higher pain sensitivity during the cold pressor task. Following completion of the cold pressor task, high-risk (compared to low-risk) parents exhibited greater accessibility of aggression-related schemata. Collectively, these findings indicate that under certain conditions, high-risk parents experience a confluence of aggression-related risk factors (i.e., negative affect, pain sensitivity, and aggression-related information processes) that may predispose them to aggressive behavior. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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