TITLE:
Psychosocial Characteristics of Fathers Who Have Abused Their Children as Seen by Public Health Nurses
AUTHORS:
Izumi Ueda, Hisako Izumi, Kazuko Saeki, Kyoko Namikawa, Mizue Shiromaru
KEYWORDS:
Public Health Nurse, Child Abuse, Father, Psychosocial Characteristics
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.4 No.9,
August
29,
2014
ABSTRACT:
This study aims to
identify details of the psychosocial characteristics of fathers
who have abused children as they appear to public health nurses (PHNs). In this study a
qualitative descriptive design was applied to the data analysis. Interviewees
were 10 public health nurses (PHNs), in charge of maternal
and child health services for 5 or more years at public
health centers. The study analyzed 13 cases reported in the PHNs interviews. The characteristics
of the fathers who had abused children as seen by the PHNs were the psycho-social characteristics
of ‘weak suppression and control of impulsiveness’, ‘cognitive dissonance in
the fatherhood role’, ‘poor social sensitivity’, ‘unbalanced relationship with
other members of the family’ and ‘weak relationships with people around the
father’. The father’s impulsiveness and cognitive dissonances in the fatherhood
role are associated with weaknesses in the family relationships
and social adaptation. Conversely, the weakness in the strength of family
relationships and social adaptation affects the father’s ability to control impulsiveness
and give rise to the cognitive
dissonance in the fatherhood role. These in turn interact to create a negative
downward spiral, a steadily worsening situation. The findings of this study
suggest the necessity for PHNs to focus on the background to the
cognitive dissonance in the fatherhood role and to work to educate and guide the fathers.