Comparison of Symptoms of Mental Disorders in Child Abuser and Non-Abuser Parents and Relation of Child Abuse with Behavioral Disorders of Children

The purpose of this research was to compare symptoms of mental disorders in child abuser parents with non abuser parents. Six cities were singled out from Azarbaijan provinces in Iran and from these cities 612 children were selected from kindergartens and day care centers through the cluster sampling method. For each child, three inventories: 1- Child abuse inventory 2- SCL-90-R (for parents) and 3- Behavioral Disorders Inventory were administered. Results indicated that the average scores from the 9 scales of SCL-90-R were significantly different in the two parental groups. Only in the somatization scale (for physical abuse), the scores of emotional abuser and non-abuser fathers were not significantly different. Ultimately, it became apparent that there was a significantly positive correlation between abuse in children and their behavioral disorders.