Child Abuse & Neglect 28 (2004) 669–682 History of childhood abuse in Portuguese parents  Bárbara Figueiredo a,* , Antonia Bifulco b , Carla Paiva a , ˆ Angela Maia a , Eugénia Fernandes a , Raquel Matos a a Department of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal b Lifespan Research Group, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK Received 14 May 2002; received in revised form 4 November 2003; accepted 30 November 2003 Abstract Objective: The study examines the self-reported prevalence of childhood physical and sexual abuse in a large sample of Portuguese parents. Method: Nearly 1,000 parents (506 mothers and 426 fathers) were selected through public primary schools from the Northern area of Portugal. All completed the Portuguese version of the Childhood History Questionnaire (CHQ) [Journal of Family Violence 5 (1990) 15]. Results: Results show that the prevalence of abuse was 73%, but more severe physical abuse involving seque- lae/injury was reported by 9.5%. Most physical abuses began prior to age 13, with half continuing after age 13. No gender differences were found for rates of physical abuse. However, among the milder physical abuse without sequelae/injury, those women who experienced “whipping” or “slapping/kicking” were more likely to do so from their mothers than fathers. Among men who were “slapped/kicked” this was more likely to be from their fathers. Low rates of sexual abuse were found at 2.6% with no gender or age differences. Lack of a supportive adult in childhood related to the more severe abuses, but only in adolescence. Portuguese rates of abuse were consistently lower than those reported in USA and Spanish studies using the CHQ. Conclusions: This is the first retrospective, self-report study of childhood abuse in a large sample of Portuguese parents and, even with a participation rate of 69%, shows lower rates than in US and Spanish samples. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Childhood physical abuse; Childhood sexual abuse; CHQ; Portugal  This study is part of a longitudinal research study, supported by a national grant (POCTI/PSI/14276/1998, Professor Doutora Barbara Figueiredo, PI). * Corresponding author address: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4700 Braga, Portugal. 0145-2134/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.11.021