Parenting and family environment have significant impact on child development, including development of executive function, attention, and self-regulation, and may affect the risk of developmental disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This paper examines the relationship of parenting and family environment factors…

We reviewed research that has evaluated prevention programs for child abuse and neglect. A few universal educational and parenting programs (e.g., abusive head trauma educational programs, enhanced pediatric care interventions) have been found to be effective. Moreover, a few selective home visitation programs (e.g., the Nurse-Family Partnership…

Child abuse and neglect prevention is a complex field due, in part, to the diverse and numerous factors that can lead to maltreatment. As a result, prevention strategies, interventions, and initiatives must address multiple issues and rely on expertise from a variety of disciplines. This literature review considers recent and multidisciplinary…

People with intellectual disabilities have poorer health than their non-disabled peers. They are also more likely to be exposed to a wide range of environmental adversities in childhood. Research undertaken in the general population has demonstrated that exposure to environmental adversity in childhood can have an adverse impact on health and…

In this article we review the empirical evidence for the presumptions that children with disabilities are at increased risk for child maltreatment, and parents with disabilities are more likely to perpetrate child abuse and neglect. Challenges to the epidemiological examination of the prevalence of child maltreatment and disabilities are…

This paper addresses moderate- to long-term psychological effects of child abuse. It begins by discussing characteristics of effective and ineffective parenting to provide a background of potential contributors to child abuse within the family system. Belsky's (1984) developmental model of determinants of parenting behavior is explained and his…

Describes investigation utilizing data from panel study of 332 midwestern families to examine impact of harsh corporal punishment and quality of parental involvement on adolescent outcomes of aggressiveness, delinquency, and psychological well-being. Suggests that corporal punishment was not related to adolescent outcomes when effect of parental…

This book presents a critical and integrative review of extant literature on child abuse, and the methodology and results of a study investigating relationships among types of abusing parents (disciplinarian parents and inadequate parents), parental attitudes about childrearing and perceptions of their children, and severity of child abuse.…

Discusses family factors associated with child abuse from an ecological perspective. Identifies economic and cultural generative factors of child abuse. Explores special circumstances affecting occurrence of child maltreatment. Examines dimensions of responsiveness, demandingness, and parental authority patterns in their application to abusive…

This review of the literature and of 29 child abuse cases resulted in the conclusion that a complete assessment of risk of child physical abuse must include a measure of parental empathy, such as the Adult-Adolescent Parent Inventory. Child physical abuse was predicted by a negative correlation between parental empathy and stress in the…

Discusses discriminative parental solicitude within the framework of evolutionary biology. Suggestions of how parents should behave are based on what characteristics of parent behavior might be expected as a product of evolution by natural selection. (Author/JAC)

A search of the literature to differentiate among definitions of physical discipline, corporal punishment, and physical child abuse identified five studies which revealed that abusive parents spanked their children more often than did nonabusive parents. Aggregated data from nonabusive parents suggested a "normal range" of daily spanking…

Analyzed findings of previous studies of the adolescent parent population to determine the relationship between age of parent and maltreatment, and whether adolescent parents are overrepresented within the maltreating and foster care populations. Found that adolescents are not overrepresented, suggesting that programs for adolescents should focus…

Describes the role of empathy in psychosocial functioning and in the effective parenting of children. The need for empathy training to be a core component in treatment strategies with abusive parents is discussed and approaches to empathy training are suggested, including taking perspectives, emotional replication, and response decision.…

Investigates women's perceptions of generational influences of incest on their skills, abilities, and attitudes toward parenting their own children. Overarching themes that emerged were classified as unbalanced development, disconnected lives, and disowned dramas. Implications for clinical intervention, parent training, and future research are…