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Beyond Psychotherapy: Treating Abused Children by Changing Their Social Ecology

NCJ Number
213388
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: March-April 2006 Pages: 120-137
Author(s)
Cynthia Cupit Swenson; Mark Chaffin
Date Published
March 2006
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article offers a review of the research on child sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect, focusing on the social ecological factors related to abuse, recovery, and interventions.
Abstract
A social ecological model maintains that human development occurs within an interchange between the environment and an individual. According to this perspective, child maltreatment is determined by a variety of factors and the interactions between them. The research on risk and protective factors for child maltreatment are reviewed, including child factors, parent factors, family factors, community factors, and the ecological factors related to abuse outcomes and interventions. The implications for effective child maltreatment interventions include the need to address a broad range of the factors that expose children to risk for maltreatment. Since the contributory factors vary across cases, any one-size-fits-all approach to child maltreatment intervention will necessarily be less effective than one that assesses and treats each case according to the factors impacting it. The authors review the research on the treatments offered for child maltreatment and then suggest how interventions working within a social ecology model would address targeted behaviors at various levels of the ecology. The authors outline how a social ecology approach to intervention would address assessment, treatment goals, and treatment strategies. A case illustration of a 13-year-old girl who was physically abused by her mother is offered to show how a social ecological intervention would address her treatment goals and strategies. Table, references