STUDIES ON YOUTH'S SOCIAL EXPERIENCE IN THE U.S. INDICATE A GENERAL TREND TOWARD INCREASING PRIVACY. VALUE IS PLACED ON SOLITUDE, AUTONOMY, AND AVOIDANCE OF OBSERVATION, MONITORING, AND EVALUATION OF BEHAVIOR. INFREQUENT, IMPERSONAL OBSERVATION IS REPLACING FREQUENT, PERSONAL OBSERVATION. SIMILAR PATTERNS HAVE EMERGED FOR FAMILIES, AS INDICATED BY THE VALUE PLACED ON PRIVATE HOME OWNERSHIP. RESEARCH ON STRESS AS A CONTRIBUTOR TO SOCIOPATHOLOGIES INDICATES THAT THE SUBJECTIVE QUALITY OF LIFE IS LARGELY GOVERNED BY SOCIAL EXCHANGES AND PERSONAL INTERACTIONS AND NOT BY SOCIOECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS. RESEARCH ON DEPRESSION LINKS PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING TO INVOLVEMENT IN ENDURING, SUPPORTIVE, SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. KINSHIP OR NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKS CAN INHIBIT CHILD ABUSE BY PROVIDING CHILD CARE RESOURCES, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES TO HELP IN TIMES OF EXTREME STRESS, AND PERSONALIZED MONITORING OF THE FAMILY. THUS, ABUSE CAN BE INHIBITED OR IDENTIFIED AT AN EARLY STAGE. HOWEVER, CURRENT LEVELS OF GEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY BREAK THESE NETWORKS. ASCENDANCY INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS INVOLVES GIVING UP KINSHIP AND NEIGHBORHOOD BONDS IN EXCHANGE FOR BENEFITS OF PRIVACY. AS A RESULT, THE DANGER OF ISOLATION INCREASES, AND WITH IT THE POSSIBILITY OF CHILD ABUSE DUE TO SOME COMBINATION OF PERSONAL AND SOCIAL STRESS, DEPRESSION, AND EXCESSIVE OR INCONSISTENT PARENTAL BEHAVIOR. PSYCHOLOGISTS WHO COUNSEL LIBERATION AND INDIVIDUALITY MAY BE PROMOTING SOCIALLY DANGEROUS ATTITUDES. TO PREVENT CHILD ABUSE, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CULTURAL SANCTION FOR PRIVACY BE RESISTED, INTRUSIVE MONITORING NETWORKS BE ESTABLISHED, GREATER LEGAL SUPPORT FOR INTRUSION TO MONITOR PARENTING BE PROVIDED, MULTIVARIATE RESEARCH ON CHILD ABUSE BE CONDUCTED, AND THE CHILD'S RIGHT OF ACCESS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND SOCIETY'S RIGHT TO PROTECT THE CHILD BE AFFIRMED. THE U.S. CAN AND SHOULD PROVIDE A DEMOCRATIC, PLURALISTIC ALTERNATIVE TO A TOTALITARIAN MODEL OF CARING FOR CHILDREN. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)