Preface -- 1. The maltreatment of children from a historical perspective -- Children as property -- Issues of life and death -- Issues of dependence -- Issues of discipline -- Child labor -- Sexual values, attitudes, and exploitation -- Early history -- The nineteenth century -- The twentieth century -- The incest taboo -- History -- Reasons for taboo -- Legal and social prohibition -- Recent history of helping the abused and neglected child -- Further efforts on behalf of children -- Professional awareness and response to the movement to protect children and families -- Child protection today -- Current framework -- The role of child protective services -- Child rearing, maltreatment, and public opinion -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- Endnotes -- References -- 2. The family : roles, responsibilities, and rights -- The definition and function of the family -- The family as a system -- Subsystems and boundaries -- Roles -- Communication -- Bonding and attachment -- Minority family systems -- African American families -- Hispanic -- American families -- Asian and Pacific Islander families -- Native American families -- Changing families -- Family problems and dysfunction -- The family and child maltreatment -- Parents' rights -- Children's rights -- Impact on the child protection movement -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 3. Maltreatment and the developing child -- Developmental stages -- Pregnancy and birth -- Birth to one year -- One to four years -- Four to eight years -- Eight to twelve years -- Adolescence -- Development, maltreatment and resiliency -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 4. The neglect of children -- The neglect of the concept of neglect -- Definition and measurement of neglect -- Causes of neglect -- Economic causes -- Ecological causes -- Personalistic/individual causes -- Problems in intervention -- Neglected children -- Symptoms and effects of neglect -- Neglectful parents -- Efforts to explain the behavior of neglectful parents -- Substance-abusing families -- Domestic violence and neglect -- Plight of the parent and the social worker -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References --

5. The physical abuse of children -- Causes of physical abuse -- Interactional variables -- Environmental/life stress variables -- Social/cultural/economic variables -- Risk assessment and physical abuse -- Child risk and protective factors -- Parental risk and protective factors -- Family system risk and protective factors -- Symptoms of physical abuse -- physical symptoms -- Behavioral indicators of abuse -- Abusive parents -- Parents' unlearned tasks from childhood -- Munchausen syndrome by proxy -- Abusive parents and adolescents -- The impact of war on family violence -- Domestic violence and other abuse within the family -- Domestic violence -- Abuse by siblings -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- Endnote -- References -- 6. The sexual abuse of children -- Two groups' approaches to child sexual abuse -- Child protection movement -- Feminist movement -- Definition of child sexual abuse -- Types of sexual abuse -- Intrafamilial abuse -- Extrafamilial abuse -- Progression of sexual abuse -- Engagement phases -- Sexual interaction and secrecy phases -- Disclosure phase -- Suppression phase -- Incidence of sexual abuse -- Studies of abuse -- Influence of reporting on statistics -- False allegations movement -- Profile of the abused child -- Children at risk -- Female victims -- Male victims -- Degree of trauma -- Profile of the perpetrator -- Multifactor theories -- Single-factor theories -- Process models -- Which people become perpetrators? -- Female abusers -- Juvenile sexual offenders -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 7. Incest, or familial abuse -- Incest as a problem today -- Societal contributions to incest -- Father-daughter incest -- Family patterns -- Profiles of the family -- Father-son incest -- Family dynamics -- Effects of father-son incest -- Mother-daughter incest -- Family dynamics -- Effects of mother-daughter incest -- Mother-son incest -- Family dynamics -- Effects of mother-son incest -- Brother-sister incest -- Family dynamics -- Effects of brother-sister incest -- Homosexual sibling incest -- Incest with uncles, grandfathers, and cousins -- Why incest stops -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- Endnotes -- References --

8. Extrafamilial sexual abuse, misuse, and exploitation -- Dynamics and characteristics of sexual abuse outside the family -- Pedophilia -- Pederasty -- Sexual abuse by clergy -- Motivation of perpetrators -- Crisis in the Catholic Church -- Impact on victims -- Addressing clerical perpetrators -- Sexual abuse in day-care settings -- Types of day care abuse -- Reactions and resulting changes -- Sex rings -- Child pornography, sexual deviance, and the Internet -- Child pornography -- Possessors of child pornography -- Children at risk -- Child prostitution -- Profile of prostitutes -- Missing children -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- Endnote -- References -- 9. Psychological maltreatment of children -- Psychological maltreatment defined -- The roots of psychological maltreatment -- Characteristics of the psychologically maltreated child -- Family dynamics -- Difficulty in detecting and treating psychological abuse -- Ritualistic abuse -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 10. Intervention : reporting and investigation -- Culturally sensitive intervention -- The intervention process -- Reporting -- Investigating and validating -- Home visiting -- Assessing risk and protective factors -- Children -- Caregivers -- Perpetrators -- Incidence and environment -- Assessing causes and services -- Handling emergencies -- Assessment interviewing -- Interviewing adults -- Interviewing children -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 11. Intervention : case management and roles of other professionals -- Case management considerations -- Family reactions -- Custody of the children -- Other professionals involved in the intervention process -- The medical team -- The legal team -- The educational team -- The mental health team -- The community -- Clergy and church staff -- Toward a total team approach -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 12. The legal response to child abuse and neglect -- The legal rights of parents and children -- Types of court intervention -- Juvenile court -- Advantages and disadvantages of juvenile court -- Criminal court -- The impact of court on children -- Sex offender registration -- The media and the court -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- Endnote -- References --

13. Treatment : physical abuse and neglect -- Preparing to provide treatment -- Providing treatment -- Client resistance -- Client response -- Eligibility criteria -- Limited community resources -- Treatment methods -- Who provides treatment? -- Duration of treatment -- Family-centered services -- Shared family care -- Treatment of physically abusive families -- Treatment of the abused child-- Treatment of the parents -- Treatment of the siblings -- Treatment of neglectful families -- Equilibrium maintenance -- Disequilibrium techniques -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 14. Treatment : sexual abuse -- Issues surrounding treatment -- Assumptions about the treatment of the sexually abusive family -- Treatment models -- Child sexual abuse treatment programs -- Treatment methods -- Issues addressed in family treatment -- Phases of treatment -- Treatment of specific family members -- The child and adolescent -- The mother or nonabusing parent -- The perpetrator -- Treatment of juvenile offenders -- Is treatment effective ? -- Preservation of incestuous families -- Parents of children abused outside the home -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 15. Foster care as a therapeutic tool -- Problems with foster care -- Alternatives to foster care -- Therapeutic potential in foster care -- The role and importance of the natural parents -- The role of foster parents -- Other placement for abused or neglected children -- Residential treatment -- Adoptive placement -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 16. The social worker and the system -- A day in the life of a protective worker -- The role of a protective social worker -- Qualifications and skills -- Personal traits -- Responsibilities -- Frustrations and pressures -- Does the system work? -- Looking toward the future -- Surviving in an imperfect system -- Developing cultural awareness and competence -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References --

17. Adults abused as children -- Society's misconceptions -- Myth #1 -- Myth #2 -- Myth #3 -- Reasons for adults' disclosure -- Relationships -- Pressures of adulthood -- Loss, depression, or trauma -- Residual effects of child abuse and neglect -- Effects from the neglecting family -- Trust -- Anger -- Relational imbalances -- Low self-esteem -- Impaired social skills -- Substance abuse -- Physical problems -- Effects from the physically abusing family -- Trust -- Anger -- Relational imbalances -- Low self-esteem -- Coping skills -- Long-term effects of domestic violence -- Effects from a sexually abusing family -- Betrayal -- Traumatic sexualization -- Stigmatization and self-esteem -- Powerlessness -- Anger -- Relational imbalances -- Multiple victimization -- Effects from extrafamilial abuse -- A word about resiliency -- Treatment of adults who were abused as children -- Repressed memories -- Individual therapy -- Group therapy -- Self-help groups -- Writers' groups -- Legal actions -- Therapists' responses to working with survivors -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 18. Prevention -- Child empowerment models -- Prevention efforts in schools -- Life skills training -- Preparation for parenthood -- Self-protection training -- Educational services for the community -- Help for at-risk families -- Parent education models -- Evaluating home visitation programs -- Parent/child screening and prevention -- Culturally sensitive prevention -- Prevention efforts by professionals -- Prevention efforts within the community and nationally -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- 19. Toward a better tomorrow -- Society, change, and child protection -- Rethinking child protection -- Creating a unified response -- Looking within, between, and beyond agencies -- Changes in society -- Reversing the trend toward socially impoverished families -- Supporting parenting -- Realigning societal values -- What does the future hold? -- Research needs -- Summary -- Review questions -- Suggested readings -- References -- Index.