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)

A group of 20 abusive mothers and a group of 20 matched, nonabusive mothers were shown slides depicting infants in seven different emotional states. Abusive mothers were more likely to incorrectly identify specific signals of emotion and to label negative affect as positive. (Author/RH)

This study examined recent literature describing the Shaken Infant Syndrome and compared it to John Caffey's original descriptions in 1946. Retrospective evaluation of 71 recent cases and 27 case examples offered by Caffey was also performed. Results indicated the recent cases more likely to involve impact trauma, male perpetrators, and admission…

Compares maltreated and nonmaltreated infants and their caregivers with regard to security and quality of the attachment relationship over time. The finding that a greater proportion of maltreated infants in each of three age groups was insecurely attached is in accordance with the predictions based on Ainsworth's and Bowlby's attachment theory.…

This study investigated the physiological responses of 13 mothers with and 17 mothers without a childhood history of physical abuse to videotape presentations of an infant smiling or crying. Mothers who had been abused showed increased skin conductance while viewing the smiling infant, whereas mothers without a history of abuse showed increased…

A longitudinal study was made of a prevention-oriented early intervention program intended to help parents who had insufficient and inappropriate childrearing abilities. The program was designed for young parents with fewer than 5 years of childrearing experience; participants were referred from a child protection agency following investigation of…

This study, with 48 infants and toddlers (24 of which were drug exposed), found that mothers who used drugs during pregnancy reported higher levels of total parenting stress, child-related stress, and parent-related stress than foster mothers and comparison mothers. A strong association between maternal use of drugs and serious child maltreatment…

Fifty-six 12-month-old infants, (10 maltreated infants; 18 nonmaltreated, high-risk infants; and 28 matched low-income controls) were videotaped at home with their mothers for 40 minutes and were observed two weeks later in the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Maltreating mothers could be discriminated by uninformed coders from nonmaltreating mothers.…