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Biomedical subjects

H Agathonos

Publications and source records attributed to H Agathonos.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Intelligence and personality profile of battering parents in Greece: a comparative study.

Studies on parental intelligence and personality characteristics of battering parents are often contradictory. This research is part of a large project on child abuse and neglect in Athens aiming at identifying abusing families and studying the characteristics of parents, children, siblings, as well as welfare and legal issues. Thirty-three battering parents (17 mothers and 16 fathers) and 33 matched controls were investigated with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF). The mean age of fathers was 39.9 and of mothers 29.1 years. They belonged primarily to the low socioeconomic class. No difference was found in the I.Q.s of battering fathers compared to controls while battering mothers' general, verbal and performance I.Q.s were significantly lower than those of the control group as well as of battering fathers' I.Q.s. Battering mothers were found significantly more shy, restrained, timid and threat-sensitive (Factor H of the 16 PF), and undisciplined, self-conflicted, following own urges (Factor Q3 of the 16 PF) than the control mothers. Factor H also was found to differentiate significantly between battering and control fathers but in the opposite direction than that of mothers. The above results are discussed and interpreted within the context of Greek cultural characteristics and intercultural comparisons.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Institutional child abuse in Greece: some preliminary findings.

A long-term study on child abuse and neglect in Greece is being carried out at the Institute of Child Health, Athens. A multidisciplinary team is investigating the nature of the problem in Greece, is trying a system of therapeutic intervention to families, is evaluating the adequacy of child protection as it is used in child abuse and neglect, and is examining the efficacy of the law. During a one year period, 5 children cared for in institutions were referred to the program. All were boys. All were children with minor or major handicaps. Two of died from the abusive incident. A study of the circumstances of the injury, and of the conditions in Greek institutions, supports the idea that institutional and family child abuse share many common characteristics. Special mention is made of the Greek circumstances pertaining to child protection and the law.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Health status of abused and neglected children and their siblings.

Fifty Greek children who had been neglected or physically abused by one or both parents were studied, along with their families. Of these 18 were single-child families. The other 32 children in the study, including two sets of twins, had a total of 53 siblings. In comparison with their siblings, the abused children were more frequently the result of an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. They had a higher incidence of perinatal problems and more illnesses in the first year of life. Almost half had feeding problems, their nutritional status was often poorer than that of their siblings, and they were characterized by their parents as being more difficult than the other children. In some cases there was evidence of a lesser degree of neglect or abuse in the siblings. More than twice as many boys as girls were abused, although there were more girls than boys amongst the siblings. This possibly reflects the higher value and as a result higher expectations that Greek culture places on male children.

Birth Order↗
PubMed1982

Child abuse and neglect in Greece: sociomedical aspects.

Fifty-four abused and neglected children have been referred to our multidisciplinary team for assessment and treatment. There were many more boys than girls (36 vs 18) and the mean age was 3.3 years. Half of the children were admitted for medical reasons and abuse or neglect were secondary findings. The medical findings included bruises and fractures, head injuries, knife wounds, and failure to thrive. The children's main characteristics were: "difficult children," unwanted pregnancies, difficult pregnancies and deliveries and half of them were separated from their mothers during the first months of life due to illness. The families were characteristic of multiproblem families of low social level. Almost all parents were young when married and half were unemployed or had unsteady employment. In most cases the parents were socially isolated and had poor relations with their families of origin. Most mothers and half of the fathers had an unhappy childhood while almost half of the mothers had a psychiatric problem. In general, our findings were in accordance with those described in other nations. Nevertheless, there were some characteristics which seem to be of relevance within the Greek ethnic and cultural context. The legal problems as well as those pertaining to child protection are discussed.

Child↗