Factors mediating child abuse as a response to stress.

Twenty-three abusing couples were compared with a matched group of 23 non-abusing couples in terms of stress levels and factors that mediate their responses to stress. Parents who had physically abused their children were found to have significantly greater stress, but when compared with non-abusing couples under equally high stress, they also were much more likely to use violence as a socially scripted response or as an attempt to "solve" a problem. Significant differences also were found between the two groups in terms of the abusing parents scoring higher on symbiosis or attempts to force others to meet their emotional needs.