Child Maltreatment: Theory and Research on the Causes and Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect

Abstract

This important new volume provides a comprehensive account of the causes and consequences of child maltreatment from a developmental perspective. The chapters in the volume offer an historical and definitional context for future studies: What constitutes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse? What is child neglect and how has its definition changed over time? Why has the theory of the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment been overstated for so long? The heart of the volume lies in its careful description of well controlled research on the impact of maltreatment on the developmental process. Specific chapters address the effects of maltreatment on congitive, linguistic, social, and emotional development. Special attention is paid to age-specific deficits in social interaction, to parent-child interaction and attachment in the early years, and to peer relationships during later childhood and adolescence. The psychology of abusive and neglecting parents is also addressed. Who are the maltreating parents and how are they different from comparison parents? What are the conditions under which maltreatment recurs in subsequent generations? The volume concludes with a chapter on the processes at work in maltreatment can be applied to reducing the problem. Child Maltreatment will appeal to both researchers and clinicians in a range of disciplines including developmental and clinical psychology, psychiatry, social work, pediatrics, sociology, and law, as well as to policymakers and students in all of these areas.