The increasing rate of child abuse and neglect is a special concern for educators who are legally mandated reporters of suspected maltreatment, are often the first to identify and refer children who have been harmed, are in contact with parents and are aware of the family conditions contributing to child maltreatment, and who must often work closely with other professionals in their efforts to ...

Introduction Preventing child abuse and neglect spares children physical and psychological pain and improves their long-term health outcomes. Dubowitz (2002) noted that prevention “is intuitively and morally preferable to intervening after the fact.” Therefore, the potential for harm to adults from child maltreatment calls us to action. Early intervention may be more effective in preventing abu...

The above-mentioned risk factors are not definitive predictors of child abuse or neglect. In fact, many parents experience one or more risk factors, and do not abuse their children. While many factors place families at risk for abusing their children, there are a host of other factors that may protect them from vulnerabilities and promote resilience. However, risk factors, especially co-occurri...

Effects of early and extended postpartum contact and paraprofessional home visits on maternal attachment, reports of child abuse and neglect, and health care utilization were determined by random assignment of 321 low-income women to intervention or control groups immediately after delivery. Observations of maternal attachment were made at four months and 12 months. Hospital, health and welfare...

Child abuse and neglect is a central issue in several kinds of legal proceedings in which forensic psychiatry consultants may be involved. Thorough and responsive consultation in these cases calls for the consultant to be aware of a broad range of issues, some of which may not be explicitly raised in referral questions. These issues include: (1) determining the history of abuse or neglect; (2) ...

The terms child abuse, neglect and sexual abuse overlap; while child abuse, neglect and sexual abuse can often be diagnosed on the basis of somatic symptoms, deprivation and other psychological sequelae can be identified only in interviews and by observing the interaction of children with their mothers/fathers. Social difficulties are reflected in a disturbance of the mother/doctor interaction ...

During the past 20 years, states have increasingly expanded the lists of individuals who are obligated to report their suspicions of child abuse and neglect. These legal requirements are juxtaposed with ethical considerations in research and professional practice. The ethical issues include the obligation to maintain both confidentiality of information provided by human participants and the s...

The recent history of federal support for child maltreatment research paints a mixed picture of inadequate funding and uncertain administrative guidance against a backdrop of growing public concern about the prevalence of child abuse and neglect. This article describes some of the problems that have been identified in federal research funding, administration, and support of research initiatives...

Widespread efforts are being made to increase awareness and provide education to pediatricians regarding risk factors of child abuse and neglect. The purpose of this clinical report is to ensure that children with disabilities are recognized as a population that is also at risk of maltreatment. Some conditions related to a disability can be confused with maltreatment. The need for early recogni...