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Etiological Models of Child Maltreatment

NCJ Number
132372
Journal
Behavior Modification Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1990) Pages: 230-254
Author(s)
R T Ammerman
Date Published
1990
Length
25 pages
Annotation
In its focus on current etiological formulations of child maltreatment, this article describes ecological, transactional, and transitional models that delineate the multiple pathways leading to child abuse and neglect.
Abstract
Theoretical models emphasize the combined roles of societal influences, community resources, contextual factors, individual characteristics, and family interactive processes in the development of maltreatment. Behavioral formulations include modeling (which contributes to the intergenerational transmission of violent conflict), skills deficits in perpetrators (and, as a consequence of maltreatment, in victims), impulse-control problems, and coercive family processes that lead to the escalation of parent-child conflict. Behavioral treatments have emerged directly from these findings and consist primarily of skills-based interventions designed to eliminate mistreatment and prevent further abuse and neglect through training of more effective parenting and self-control techniques. Such therapies need to be derived from a careful assessment that identifies etiological influences and to be used in conjunction with other interventions. 1 table and 90 references (Author abstract modified)