Some studies have clearly shown that the mental health status of parents is a predictive factor for child abuse. For example, in a study of the mothers' child abuse potential and their current mental health symptoms, reported in a 2005 issue of the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, the researchers examined data from sites in Colorado and Florida of women whose children were born when the women were younger than age 18. The data were drawn from the national Women Co-occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS). The researchers considered current mental health symptoms, alcohol and drug use severity and trauma and found that the mothers' current mental health symptoms were the strongest predictors of child abuse.

The women were recruited from residential treatment programs in Colorado and mental health and substance abuse treatment outpatient centers in central Florida. This is a high-risk population because of the presence of both mental illness and substance abuse issues, also known as a "dual diagnosis."

Six factors in the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP) were evaluated, including the women's distress, unhappiness, rigidity and problems with their children, themselves, their families and others. The researchers found that 65% of the women in Colorado and 66% of the woman in Florida had elevated CAP scores. The authors concluded that "The primary recommendation from this study is that mothers who are experiencing current mental health symptoms should be further screened for potential to abuse their child and linked to parenting support services when needed."

In another study of women who killed their babies, discussed in a 2004 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Spinelli argued that mental illness, particularly postpartum psychosis, may play a major role in the deaths of some infants.

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