Several recent articles have explored the effects of military deployment on U.S. service members' mental health outcomes. Although increased attention has also begun to focus on the effects of deployment on military families, providing a conceptualization for the mechanisms of this process can help organize existing information and inform future…

The term child sexual abuse has never been unequivocally defined, which inhibits research, treatment, and advocacy. Early researchers used broad, inclusive definitions that are still used today. Discusses the consequences of these definitions, suggesting strategies for reducing definitional ambiguity (e.g., allowing the definition of child sexual…

Reviews research demonstrating the variable effects of childhood sexual abuse, need for intervention, and effectiveness of available treatment. Proposes extending and modifying treatment from mainstream clinical child psychology to sexually abused children. Interventions range from psychoeducation and screening, to short-term, abuse-focused…

The Clinton administration prioritized the issue of improving the lives of maltreated children. Critical programs administered by the Administration on Children and Families included the Adoption and Safe Families Act, Children's Justice Act programs, and Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act research and demonstration projects. Projects serve…

Examines the history of registration and notification statutes for sex offenders and concerns and legal challenges they have faced, noting psychology's limited knowledge about normal versus abnormal sexual development and research suggesting that recidivism rates for sexual offenses may be lower for juveniles than adults who have received…

Summarizes the contents of the 54 articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The articles define the freedoms and rights of children and prescribe standards for their protection and nurturing. (DM)

The scientific study of child witnesses has influenced both developmental science and jurisprudence concerning children. Focusing on the author's own studies, 4 categories of research are briefly reviewed: (a) children's eyewitness memory and suggestibility; (b) memory for traumatic events in childhood; (c) disclosure of child sexual abuse; and…

Outlines a general theory of childhood victimology, with a typology that characterizes abuse as extraordinary, acute, or pandemic. Efforts to prevent childhood victimization must recognize its differential character and the importance of the child's stage of development in recognizing and dealing with victimization. (SLD)

Researchers and policymakers have begun to recognize the extent and severity of family violence, particularly its effects on children. But there is much disagreement about the definition of violence, its development, the consequences for victims, and the most effective avenues for intervention. Advances recommendations for further research.…