Examines professional response to child sexual abuse. Considers problems with current practice and research, what maintains current professional behavior, and whether individual professionals improve children's welfare. Documents numerous professional practices that may harm children. Highlights ways that individual professionals can promote…

In responding to commentaries by Ceci and Bruck, Pezdek, and Faulconer, authors of original article (all this issue) on child sexual abuse restate original argument that children's well-being should determine all professional action, no matter how painful this may be for professional. Authors then address specific issues raised in commentaries,…

Notes that marital and family therapists working with families when child sexual abuse is disclosed or suspected face ethical confusion that may not be clearly addressed by professional codes of conduct or legal statutes. Discusses ethical dilemmas commonly encountered in family sexual abuse cases and provides recommendations for ethical decision…

Interviewed 27 battered women about violence and abuse to their children by themselves and the men involved. Reinterviewed 21 women six months later. Longitudinal comparisons indicated that the total group of children was abused less after the women's stay at a shelter. Most reductions resulted from women no longer living with abusive men.…

Describes adult-child incest involving 16 victims. Cases were analyzed and discussed in relationship to previous studies. Emphasis is placed on replicated and newly identified risk factors including alcohol dependency, spouse abuse, other (nonsexual) child abuse or neglect, inadequate housing, social isolation, birth order, and other family…

Responds to previous article by Fincham, Beach, Moore, and Diener (this issue) on child sexual abuse. Contends that other perspectives need further investigation to effectively serve children's best interests. Discusses ways that researchers and practitioners can help abused children by building on some of Fincham et al.'s ideas and introduces…

Examined the relationship between contracepting problems, unplanned fertility, and both child abuse and neglect in 518 urban, single parent, public assistance mothers. Findings revealed that increasing numbers of unplanned conceptions increased the probability of both abuse and neglect and that the unplanned conceptions were due to both failure to…

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…

Presents a study in which 134 college students judged children in vignettes varying on child gender and family history to test perceiver bias. Perceiver bias was confirmed. Perceptions of female sexual abuse victims were more biased than perceptions of male victims. (Author/SR)

Provides information on preventing and treating child sexual abuse to family life educators and other professionals who work with children and families. Provides a brief theoretical section, a review of major studies, and the opinions of key clinicians in the field of child sexual abuse. A list of resources is included. (Author/ABB)

Applies structural family systems perspective to clinical intervention in violent families. Describes structural family therapy techniques which were used with a multi-problem family whose symptoms included family violence. Discusses cooperation needed among researchers, therapists, and therapy trainers who would use a systems approach to analyze…

Studied 82 maltreating and normative families to determine whether reported maltreated children and their siblings differ in terms of maltreatment and/or developmental anomalies. Findings indicated reported abused children and their siblings were similar in stressful life experiences, quality of home environment, reported behavior problems, and…

Suggests that family life educators can help break the cycle of child abuse by teaching positive discipline strategies to future parents. Teaching suggestions are offered including inviting student perspective and reaction and role playing to help students confront attitudes toward discipline. (Author/JAC)

Because abuse affects all members of an abusive family, the entire family system must be assessed and treated. A three-phase comprehensive assessment and treatment model is proposed that includes individual, marital, sibling, and family dynamics. This combination of treatment approaches culminates in conjoint family therapy. (Author)

Explored relationship between situational variables, personality (relational competence) variables, and two outcome variables (perceived control and0d/AIW ssion) that increase risk of child abuse. Found control and depression among high-risk parents to be consistently predicted by relational competence variables such as shyness, assertiveness,…