Content analysis of the explanations given for their molestation by 84 female adolescent incest victims found no relationship between self-esteem or depression scores and whether subjects found an explanation for the molestation. However, type of attribution was related to self-esteem and depression, with internal attribution related to more…

Depressive symptomatology was assessed in 246 male juvenile sex offenders. Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory indicated 42 percent showed appreciable depressive symptomatology. A history of sexual or physical abuse was related to high Beck scores. Racial differences were not statistically significant. (Author/DB)

Subjects who self-reported episodes of abusing a child were compared to those without a history of child battery. It was concluded that self-identified child abusers have increased lifetime rates of antisocial personality disorder, alcoholism, and depression. (DB)

Data from the National Incidence Study (NIS) of Child Abuse and Neglect suggest no racial difference in child maltreatment, although there are more black children within the child welfare population. This study found selection bias in the NIS design caused by the exclusion of family, friends, and neighbors that resulted in differences in NIS cases…

Using a feminist and subversive perspective, a study examined the testimonies of five adult females each having experienced childhood sexual abuse. All the subjects--participants in a multi-medium art show sponsored by an urban mental health center--contacted the researcher voluntarily. Participants ranged in age from 39 to 54; sexual orientation…

Examined the relation between a history of maltreatment and cognitive control functioning in two groups of preschool and early school-age maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Maltreated children showed developmentally impaired cognitive control functioning on a number of tasks. (RH)

Analysis of observations of 70 adults making public verbal threats to physically punish or hurt children indicated that adults typically attributed unshared responsibility for group problems to the child and normalized their own aggression by acting as though nothing unusual had happened. The role of the ongoing interaction and the social context…

A literature review on treatment of physically abused children and physically abusive parents is presented. A variety of treatments is documented, with the most popular for children being therapeutic daycare emphasizing improving developmental skills. Although most programs demonstrated some improvement with treatment, many included no or very…

This study examined the prevalence and clinical correlates of sexually inappropriate behaviors in 499 youth treated at a public psychiatric hospital over a 5-year period. Those with histories of sexually inappropriate behaviors had higher rates of being sexually abused or physically abused/neglected and more frequently had behavior disorders,…

This study with 182 homosexually active adult men of Puerto Rican ancestry in New York City found that men who had been sexually abused by an older sexual partner before the age of 13 were significantly more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behavior without protection than other homosexually active men. (Author/DB)

This family study with parents of 983 college students examined 2 models regarding the intergenerational transmission of corporal punishment. The social learning model asserts that corporal punishment influences aggressive child behavior, whereas the temperament theory suggests that aggressive child behavior impacts parental use of corporal…

Twenty-three pediatric residents reviewed slides of 15 children's genitalia (normal or abnormal) and were given either a specific or nonspecific history for sexual abuse. Results indicated that incongruency between patient history and physical examination negatively affected residents' ability to discriminate between abuse and nonabuse findings.…

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…

This study examined 72 children at risk of abuse and the relevant adults, to identify variables predictive of child abuse risk. The measures used (New York Child Protective Services Review Document, Magura-Moses Child Well-Being Scales, and Beck and Jones List of Problems and Conditions) each had predictive value for case decision making.…

A multivariate, criterion-referenced approach was used to assess prevalence of serious emotional disturbance among children on protective service case loads. Of 140 recipients of protective services, 72% were statistically indistinguishable from children in Washington State's most intensive mental health treatment programs. School problems,…