Peer-reviewed article
Maternal Violence Against Children: A Brief Literature Review
Carolina Rizzatto Martins Padilha ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This literature review examined 12 years of research on domestic violence perpetrated by mothers against children and adolescents in Brazil. Most studies were qualitative and conducted by Brazilian psychologists, focusing on physical violence and neglect primarily among mothers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The review identifies a gap in research that examines the mother-child relationship dynamics and calls for more inclusive studies across different socioeconomic groups and countries to develop better interventions.
Key points
- Most studies on maternal violence against children in Brazil were qualitative, written in Portuguese, and conducted by psychologists
- Physical violence and neglect were the most commonly highlighted forms of maternal violence in the literature
- Mothers in the studies were predominantly from lower socioeconomic classes
- Few studies explored the relational dynamics between mothers and children, limiting the development of comprehensive interventions
- Research gap exists regarding mothers from other socioeconomic backgrounds and studies from countries outside Brazil
Limitations
This is a review of existing literature rather than primary research, so it cannot provide direct evidence about the prevalence or outcomes of maternal violence. The review cannot tell us about the actual effectiveness of interventions or the experiences of children affected by maternal violence.
Abstract
Domestic Violence against Children and Adolescents (DVCA) is considered a social and public health problem, which occurs in the private space of the family. Mothers are among those who most violate their children because they are the main ones responsible for their care. This review analyzed the articles published in the last 12 years that dealt with maternal violence. It was found that most of the studies were qualitative, written in Portuguese, carried out in Brazil, and in the area of psychology. The high production by Brazilian authors shows that this phenomenon has become visible in the country. Physical violence and neglect were the most highlighted and the mothers participating in the studies were mostly from lower socioeconomic classes. There is a gap regarding the inclusion of mothers with other socioeconomic characteristics and from other countries. The content of the articles provided a wealth of information about the life histories and personalities of these women, but only a minority explored the relational vicissitudes of the mother-child dyads, which could result in more comprehensive and effective intervention proposals in the context of DVCA.