A survey of 500 admissions to a chemical dependency treatment program for adolescents found that 30 percent had been victims of physical and/or sexual abuse. There was a higher incidence of acting out behavior, runaways, legal involvement, and sexual promiscuity within the abused group. (Author/DB)

Forty-seven boys between the ages of four and 13 are described who have sexually molested children younger than themselves. Half (49 percent) of the boys had been sexually abused themselves and 19 percent physically abused. Mean age of perpetrators was 8 years 9 months with victims a mean age of 6 years 9 months. (Author/DB)

Objective: To examine whether children with substantiated maltreatment reports between 4 and 8 years of age differ from children with unsubstantiated reports on any of 10 behavioral and developmental outcomes. Method: Longitudinal data from 806 children and their adult caregivers collected in four US study sites were pooled and analyzed using…

The purpose of the current study was to assess a structural level explanation of racial disparity in child maltreatment. Using data from Florida counties (1998-2001) and the 2000 census, the effects of poverty, concentrated poverty, and female-headed families in poverty on Black, White, and the difference between Black-White rates of child…

The authors assessed perceived control, dysphoria, hopelessness, self-esteem, and optimism in 280 college students involved in abusive and nonabusive relationships. Women reported higher levels of dysphoria and lower levels of self-esteem and optimism than men. Women in abusive relationships reported more psychological symptoms than men in abusive…

The complex issues associated with barriers to treatment entry for parents who are involved with child welfare has not been well explored. Accessing "timely" treatment is now critical for these parents since the introduction of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, limiting the time until a permanency decision is made. Using a longitudinal,…

Developmental psychology and psychopathology has in the past been more concerned with the quality of self-representation than with the development of the subjective agency which underpins our experience of feeling, thought and action, a key function of mentalisation. This review begins by contrasting a Cartesian view of pre-wired introspective…

During a 4-year period, aggregated data from Adult Protective Services case files in Virginia revealed 17 cases of sexually abused young, middle-age, and old men. The most common types of sexual abuse across age groups involved instances of sexualized kissing and fondling and unwelcome sexual interest in the individual men's bodies. The majority…

This paper discusses the behavioral and psychological assessment of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in clinical practice. Following a brief introduction regarding definition and etiology of CSA and discussion on issues of behavioral/psychological consequences of CSA, the paper reviews the various approaches towards behavioral/psychological assessment in…

The role of the therapy alliance in therapy outcome for families dealing with child abuse and neglect was examined using the family as the unit of analysis. The alliance was tested as a moderator in relationship to posttreatment levels of symptom distress and physical violence. Results show that the bonds, goals, and tasks subscale scores are…

The 2005-2008 Australian National Sexually Transmissible Infections Strategy identifies young people as a key target group in need of sexual health education, screening and management. For young people who are in contact with the New South Wales (NSW) juvenile justice system, a dire need for remedial sexual health education exists. NSW young…

Sexually abused (N=37), physically abused (N=35), and nonabused clinical children (N=130) were compared. Family background of both abused groups had more family stress factors; the sexually abused children had a higher frequency of inappropriate sexual behavior. Sexually abused children were often victimized in single acts by nonrelated…

Discusses the role of the librarian in child abuse prevention, including the identification of high risk situations, provision of appropriate literature and support group information, and acting as a role model. An annotated bibliography of books for children and young adults in families at risk is provided. (8 references) (CLB)

A 3-year study examined effects of two prevention programs (life-skills esteem-building and life-skills parent-training) for sole-support mothers with school-aged children. Lack of competency enhancement effects appeared to be a function of reduced exposure to the interventions. There was no support for connections between short-term competency…

Reviews various models for understanding, treating and preventing child abuse. Describes an ecological model of human behavior that provides a comprehensive perspective for integrating the diverse models. Discusses an ecological model of child abuse. (RJC)