Distinguishing Between Poor/Dysfunctional Parenting and Child Emotional Maltreatment - Appendix 2

Appendix 2

Diagnostic Criteria for Parenting Problem

1. Considering the developmental needs of the child, caregiving to the child is markedly outside the bounds of normal, as evidenced by one of the following:
   1. Pervasive caregiving difficulties involving either or both of the following:
      1. Underinvolvement (e.g., parent is not bonded to and does not provide loving relationship for the child).
      2. Overinvolvement (e.g., parent is so protective that young adolescent is not afforded any private communication with friends; child is not able to participate in choices about how they will spend their time).
   2. Marked difficulties in at least one aspect of parenting, including, but not limited to:
      1. failure to adequately monitor child (e.g., not supervising a young child's activities; being insufficiently aware of adolescent's activities)
      2. marked lack of support of, or active interference in, a key major life activity
      3. excessive or inappropriate discipline (not meeting criteria for child abuse)
      4. excessive pressure on child to engage in a single activity or interest (e.g., sport)
      5. failure to socialize child through nonexistent or poorly enforced limits
2. Significant impact on the child involving any of the following:
   
   
   1. More than physical injury^{Footnote 1}
   2. Psychological harm, including either
      1. More than inconsequential fear reaction^{Footnote 1}
      2. Psychiatric disorder, at or near diagnostic thresholds related to, or exacerbated by, the caregiving difficulty
   3. Stress-related somatic symptoms (related to or exacerbated by the caregiving difficulty) that significantly interfere with child's normal functioning.
   4. Reasonable potential for more than inconsequential physical injury due to the inherent dangerousness of the caregiving difficulty and the child's physical environment.
   5. Reasonable potential for psychological harm. Note: The child's level of functioning and the risk and resilience factors present should be taken into consideration.
      1. Reasonable potential for the development of a psychiatric disorder (at or near diagnostic thresholds) due to the caregiving difficulty.
      2. Reasonable potential for significant disruption of the child's physical, psychological, cognitive, or social development due to the caregiving difficulty.

Source: Richard E. Heyman and Amy Slep, Family Translational Research Group, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500. Used with permission.