Associations between experiences of childhood maltreatment and perceived acceptability of child maltreatment: A cross-cultural and exploratory study

Acceptable parental behaviors and practices toward a child vary across countries and may impact the risk of exposure to maltreatment. Conversely, prior experiences of maltreatment as a child may influence the acceptability of child maltreatment (CM) behaviors. This exploratory study examined the association between CM experiences and perceived acceptability of CM using data from four countries representing different cultures, living standards, and gross national income. We recruited a convenience sample of 478 adults from Cameroon (n = 111), Canada (n = 137), Japan (n = 108), and Germany (n = 122) through online postings on social media. We administered questionnaires and conducted a three-stage hierarchical multiple regression with perceived acceptability of CM subscales as the dependent variable. In all countries, higher scores of childhood neglect were associated with greater perceived acceptability of neglect in one's community (p