Study of “Hot” Executive Functions in a Sample of Parents Who Have Been Accused of Physical Abuse or Neglect

Abstract

The objective of this study was to offer a description of certain “hot” executive functions in abusive and neglectful parents. A group of 14 parents accused of physical abuse and 18 parents accused of neglect were compared with 17 parents who had not been subject to accusations of this type. Only the physical abuse group showed a significant difference from the control group in decision making (in the last of the five blocks only) and cognitive empathy (for “perspective taking” only). Although it was not possible to confirm based on these results, the group of neglectful parents often seemed to fall between the two groups.

Keywords:

• abuse
• decision
• empathy
• executive functions
• neglect

Notes