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Maria Manuela Calheiros
The present study presents an analysis of the beliefs of a sample of Portuguese parents on the causes of child maltreatment as well as an analysis of the variability factors of such beliefs. A sample of 358 Portuguese parents answered to a questionnaire concerning beliefs on causes of child maltreatment. The questionnaire was based on a review of literature on etiological models of maltreatment. The results show that parents� beliefs on the causes of child maltreatment have a multifactorial structure which integrates the ontogenic, interactionist, social and cultural factors, proposed by most theoretical models on the etiology of child maltreatment. Analyses performed on the beliefs� factors showed that the variability of these beliefs was mainly due to socioeconomic status and parental experience of the respondents.
