As practitioners have expanded their understanding of the types of events that constitute trauma exposure, the epidemiological database on prevalence suggests that childhood exposure to violence may best be framed as a public health crisis. There seems to be little recognition from policymakers and legislators, however, that violence may be the…

Objective: To clarify the nature and extent of differences in the ways that physically abusive, neglectful, and non-maltreating parents communicate during interactions with their children. Method: A meta-analysis was conducted of 33 observational studies comparing parent-child interactions in families where parents have a documented history of…

Reduction of ineffective parenting is promoted in parent training components of mental health treatment for children with externalizing behavior disorders, but minimal research has considered whether disciplinary style and lower abuse risk could also be associated with positive functioning in such children. The present study examined whether lower…

This article discusses a solution-oriented and incremental approach to solving major social problems. If we are to solve important social problems such as child abuse, delinquency, and illiteracy, researchers need to generate effective programs that can be replicated and social service providers need to implement those programs with fidelity. The…

The purpose of this study is to provide a profile of youths with hearing loss admitted to substance abuse treatment facilities. Intake data on 4,167 youths (28% female; 3% reporting a hearing loss) collected via the Global Appraisal of Individual Need-I assessment was used for the analyses. Information on demographics, environmental…

Objective: This study presents evaluative data on the Childhood Experiences of Violence Questionnaire (CEVQ), a brief, self-report measure of youth victimization. Methods: Literature reviews, expert consultations and qualitative interviews informed the development of the CEVQ. Test-retest reliability of the preliminary and final versions of the…

Teachers play an important part in identifying child maltreatment but find dealing with it difficult. This study examines the problems involved with evaluating a countywide training programme on this topic for senior teachers. The course was run 17 times and 60% of the participants attending were sent an evaluation questionnaire three months after…

Guidelines are offered for child protection workers who are appearing in court as expert witnesses. Guidelines include be objective, be accurate, stick to the area of expertise, don't get manipulated by lawyers, don't be greedy, and maintain one's expert witness work as a minor part of one's professional activities. (JDD)

Compared 18 mothers who abused their children to matched controls on several personality measures. Results indicated that irrational thinking is a significant variable related to child abuse. Other variables are discussed. (JAC)

This study examined risk factors for abusive parenting in 56 physically abusive parents and 62 matched comparison parents. The set of five risk variables was predictive of abuse status; however, not all variables were predictive when considered individually and interactions did not contribute significantly to prediction. Findings supported a…

In a national survey of 2,963 professional women, the Trauma Symptom Checklist was found to be reliable and to display predictive validity in regard to childhood sexual victimization. Women who reported a sexual abuse history scored significantly higher than did women with no such history on each of the six subscales. (Author/DB)

Methods of coping with childhood sexual abuse were retrospectively studied with 54 adult women who had been sexually abused in childhood. "Denial" and "emotional repression" were the coping methods most commonly employed. Analysis suggested that avoidant/emotion suppressing strategies were associated with poorer adult psychological adjustment.…

Compared with nonabusive families, abusive parents were less satisfied with their children, perceived child rearing as more difficult and less enjoyable, reported very different disciplinary approaches, promoted an isolated life style for both themselves and their children, and reported more anger and conflict in the family. Implications for…

Examines the temporal relationship between child abuse and children's illnesses by analyzing hospital records of 11 abused children and 6 of their siblings, 14 neglected children, 31 children with nonorganic failure to thrive and 24 control children. Results suggest that having ill children is a source of stress that may trigger abuse. (Author/CB)

The study explored the relationship between a history of childhood sexual abuse and later psychological and sexual adjustment of 582 college men. Few significant correlations emerged between early sexual abuse and later sexual adjustment, though several small but significant correlations were found with later psychological adjustment. (Author/DB)