The majority of parents in the United States engage in good enough parenting, which allows children to develop into functional and well-adjusted adults. However, as the Juvenile court system knows well, some parent\u27s do not engage in good enough parenting; some parents are very abusive or neglectful in their parenting styles. In 2012, and estimated 686,000 children were victims of child maltreatment. Can child abuse be prevented? Yes, it can. There is a strong correlation between an individual\u27s personality make up and the way they parent. Additionally, personality follows a predictable maturation trend and significant deficits within an individual\u27s personality will remain relatively constant unto that individual as he or she ages, if steps are not taken to intentionally alter those deficits. This indicates that a person\u27s ability to parent, and his or her likelihood of being a good enough or neglectful and abusive parent can be determined long before a person even has children, such as in late adolescence. This researcher sought to determine if the Five-Factor Personality module could be used to screen for individuals at risk of engaging in child maltreatment during late adolescence to prevent future child abuse and neglect
