Empathy and risk status for child physical abuse: The effects of an adult victim`s pain cues and an adult victim`s intent on aggression

Resumen

It has been proposed that abusive parents and parents at high risk for child physical abuse could be more likely to view children's behavior as being motivated by hostile intent (e.g., Mimer, 1993], as compared to nonabusive and low-risk parents. This kind of misattribution of other's behavior may inhibit empathic emotion, and therefore, could block the inhibiting effect of a victim's pain cues on aggression [Baron, 1979]. An experiment was designed to analyze the moderating effect of an adult victim's intent on aggression in high- and low-risk participants for child physical abuse. A 2 × 2 factorial design based upon two levels of the participant's risk status (high, low) and two levels of victim's intent (positive, ambiguous) was employed. All participants observed an adult victim's pain cues. Ninety-five (48 high and 47 low risk for child physical abuse) undergraduate females enrolled in courses at the University of the Basque Country participated in the experiment. The main effects of victims' intent and of participants' risk status were statistically significant. Participants in the ambiguous victim's intent condition aggressed significantly more than participants in the positive victim's intent condition. Moreover, high-risk participants aggressed more than low-risk participants regardless of the victim's intent. A significant interaction between risk status and victim's intent was expected. High-risk subjects for child physical abuse were expected to aggress more than low-risk subjects only in the ambiguous victim's intent condition. However, results did not support this hypothesis. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.