The aim of this research was to investigate the correlation between the incidence of child abuse and parental perceptional and behavioral difficulties. The research was conducted among 4191 pre-graduation students in a number of secondary schools throughout Croatia. Beside general data and data on perceptional and behavioral difficulties in the family, questionnaires about the experience of abuse and social and emotional loneliness scales were also administered. Adolescents with at least one parent who had these difficulties, against a set of abuse indicators and social and emotional loneliness scales, were compared to the rest of the sample. The results showed that sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect of adolescents were more often present in families with at least one parent who had perceptional and behavioral difficulties, i.e. that these adolescents were more often exposed to family abuse. Also, these adolescents achieved higher scores on social loneliness and loneliness in the family scales, i.e. they felt lonelier in social and family relationships, while differences in loneliness scales related to romantic relationships were not found. The results showed that perceptional and behavioral difficulties in parents represent a risk factor for child abuse in the family. We feel the findings are relevant for the prevention of child abuse.

child abuse and neglect, parental perceptional and behavioral difficulties, social and emotional loneliness