Proposes model based on developmental psychopathology for conceptualizing effects of child sexual abuse. Argues that incest has negative effects on self and social functioning, by jeopardizing self-definition and integration, self-regulatory processes, and sense of security and trust in relationships. Reviews self and social development…

Research directed toward maltreated children possesses an urgency characteristic of all problems of great social import. Child maltreatment sets in motion a probabilistic path that is characterized by failure in the successful resolution of major stage-salient issues of development. These developmental disruptions contribute to a profile of…

Describes how intervention for families with abused or neglected adolescents usually focuses on the troubled youth with the abuse or neglect either overlooked or ignored. Argues that a developmental perspective is essential to the understanding and assessment of the family dynamics of adolescent mistreatment, and presents case examples. Offers…

This paper describes an ongoing project on the nature and effects of family structure and family interaction. The research presented involves the study of normal families, emphasizing the effects of system-level variables on the development of children within the family. A theoretical model is provided which focuses on the individuation process,…

Maintains that abusive parents are often the victims of child abuse and consequently experience conflict and trauma in development, leaving them unable to make normal adult adjustment to the role of parent. Presents a psychoeducational outpatient treatment model aimed at helping abusive parents acquire skills that they lack as a result of deficits…