Assesses the relationship between treatment intensity and rehabilitation of 89 child abusers whose MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) profiles revealed high levels of psychological distress. The relationship was positive and statistically significant. The client receiving intense weekly treatment for longer durations was assessed…

Warns of the damaging, even fatal, effects of whiplash shaking and jolting of infants and very young children. (Author)

Sex education for children in foster care raises special problems in part because the background of most youngsters in placement usually includes insecure relationships with the family adults. Another special risk may lie in the sex attitudes of foster parents and child care workers. Orientation programs for them are a first step toward sex…

Discusses the topic of reciprocity of needs between children and caregivers and argues that children need to learn dependency before they can securely learn independence. (Author/RH)

Reports findings from a survey completed by 105 Canadian families with adopted children from Romania. Results reflect the parents' perceptions of the adoption experience, the condition of the child on adoption, the parents' subsequent developmental concerns, and the children's progress. Parents' perceived needs and concerns are reported, and…

Suggests that a simple videotape of biological parents can open up avenues of development and self-exploration for an adoptee that are unavailable in printed information or third-hand verbal information. Notes that generational continuity is a secondary benefit offered by the videotape medium. (HTH)

Running away is a frequent but little studied phenomenon among adolescents in foster care. Repeated running from care often leads to premature discharge and homelessness for youth. This article uses cumulative risk theory in the context of normative adolescent development to investigate predictors of running away from foster care. Results indicate…

Illustrates by citing personal experiences how one approach to citizen advocacy programs for the retarded make it possible for the disabled to achieve greater independence and fuller citizen status. (Author/ED)

Describes group therapy techniques involving the whole family of a child with a behavior or learning difficulty. A direct question approach is used, with major responsibility for behavior change placed upon the family. The therapist's role is minimized and the influence of parent expectation on child behavior stressed. (BF)

A parental continuum scale designed to measure parenting capacities is presented as a tool to help child welfare agencies decide whether and when to separate children from their natural parents. (NH)

Studies mothers from poverty-stricken Appalachia who exhibit the apathy-futility syndrome or childish impulsivity. Suggestions for treatment are made. (MG)

The Instrument for Systematic Assessment of Parent Attachment Behaviors (ISAPAB) can be used to help families in need of information and support concerning parent-infant interaction. The ISAPAB is based on the assumptions that parent attachment behavior can be placed on a continuum from most optimal to least optimal, and that critical behaviors…

Research on the link between parental abuse and delinquent behavior indicates that abuse is more likely to lead to withdrawn, rather than aggressive, behavior. (Author/MP)