• J L Crouch, J S Milner, and C Thomsen.
• Center for the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault, Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb 60115, USA.
• Child Abuse Negl. 2001 Jan 1;25(1):93-107.

ObjectiveThe study investigated whether perceptions of social support in adulthood partially mediated the associations between childhood experiences (i.e., receipt of physical abuse and levels of early social support) and adult risk for child physical abuse.MethodParticipants included 598 general population adults who completed self-report measures designed to assess childhood physical abuse, perceptions of early and current social support, and risk factors for child physical abuse. Structural equation modeling was used to test and cross validate a model that included the direct effects of child physical abuse and early social support on child physical abuse risk, as well as mediated effects through an influence on adult perceptions of social support.ResultsChildhood physical abuse and early social support covaried, such that receipt of physical abuse was associated with lower levels of perceived early social support. Early support, but not child physical abuse, had an indirect effect (i.e., through current support) on child physical abuse risk. More specifically, levels of early support were directly related to adult perceptions of support, and adult perceptions of support were inversely associated with child physical abuse risk. Childhood physical abuse was directly related to child physical abuse risk.ConclusionsLow levels of early support may impact risk for child physical abuse by affecting perceptions of others as supportive in adulthood. The receipt of physical abuse in childhood, however, does not appear to impact perceptions of support in adulthood. Research is needed to identify additional factors that may explain the association between receipt of physical abuse in childhood and increased risk of child physical abuse in adulthood.

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