The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between conduct problems that children display at school and child abuse. The sample was constituted by 110 minors; 61 were identified as abused and 50 were from the general population. Achenbach's checklist (Achenbach, 1991; Achenbach & McConaughy, 1997) was administered to teachers, and Straus et al.'s (1998) Tactics of Conflict Scale and Hamilton's (1959) Depression Scale were administered to children. Demographic variables were also considered. A structural equations model was tested wherein the dependent variable was conduct problems, while family violence and depression were the independent variables. Results indicated that child abuse had an indirect effect on children's conduct problems, which was mediated by depression. We concluded that teachers should be trained in detecting and attending child abuse in order to prevent further serious social problems such as delinquency.
family violence; conduct problems; teachers' reports; children
