The relationship between physical child abuse resulting from excessive crying in babies and mothers’ perceived social support and mental well-being: A structural equation model

Abstract

In this study the researchers tested a conceptual model of the relationship between the perceived social support and mental well-being of mothers and their physically abusive behavior (slapping or shaking) toward babies who cry excessively. A structured questionnaire was employed to conduct a cross-sectional study. Between February and June 2021, research data were collected from 418 mothers with 0- to 12-month-old babies who cried at least 2 hours a day. The survey data were analyzed with a structural equation model. Perceived family support and mental well-being were significantly associated with physically abusive behavior that occurred in the form of slapping or shaking (β₁ = 0.401; β₂ = 0.471; p < 0.001). Mental well-being mediated the relationship between perceived family support and physically abusive behavior in the form of slapping or shaking (β = 0.108; p = 0.002).

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all participants in this study.

Authors’ contributions

Conceptualization: Fahriye Pazarcıkcı, Duygu Kemer, and Emine Efe. Datacuration: Fahriye Pazarcıkcı and Duygu Kemer. Formal analysis: Fahriye Pazarcıkcı, Duygu Kemer, and Emine Efe. Funding acquisition: Fahriye Pazarcıkcı, Duygu Kemer, and Emine Efe. Methodology: Fahriye Pazarcıkcı, Duygu Kemer, and Emine Efe. Project administration: Fahriye Pazarcıkcı and Emine Efe. Resources: Fahriye Pazarcıkcı, Duygu Kemer, and Emine Efe. Roles/Writing–original draft; Fahriye Pazarcıkcı and Emine Efe. Writing–review and editing: Fahriye Pazarcıkcı, Duygu Kemer, and Emine Efe.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

In order to conduct this study, ethics committee approval was obtained from Isparta University of Applied Sciences Ethics Committee (Decree No: 42/03, Date: 03.02.2021). This study was performed according to the Helsinki Declaration.

Additional information

Funding

No external or intramural funding was received.