Defines the problem of child abuse, indicates problems of researching the phenomenon, and presents the thesis that the maltreatment of children is fundamentally a cultural problem. Proposes four hypotheses concerning the origins of child abuse and discusses the role of schools in prevention and treatment. (RH)

Explores the meaning and significance of cultural and ethnic influences on child maltreatment. Takes a cross-cultural and sociobiological perspective to address three issues: differences in child maltreatment not accounted for by social class, the role of social change, and the role of ethnic factors in research and intervention efforts. (JAC)

The thesis underlying this paper is that maltreatment of children is fundamentally a socio-cultural problem, rather than a personal one. The use of an ecological model of human development is advocated to provide insight into the dynamics of child maltreatment, with emphasis on organism-environment interaction, social policy and second-order…

The prevention of child abuse is bound up in the joining together of social nurturance and social control, which flow directly from the concept of support systems. Families involved in maltreatment are likely to be cut off from prosocial support systems. In contrast to psychiatric approaches, more recent behavioristic methods concentrate on…