Less efficient detection of positive facial expressions in parents at risk of engaging in child physical abuse
Less efficient detection of positive facial expressions in parents at risk of engaging in child physical abuse
Parental physical punishment (e.g., spanking) of children can gradually escalate into child physical abuse (CPA). According to social-information processing (SIP) models of aggressive behaviors, distorted social cognitive mechanisms can increase the risk of maladaptive parenting behaviors by changing how parents detect, recognize, and act on information from their social environments.