Aggressive Children in a Day Treatment Program: Changed Outcome and Possible Explanations

• NCJ Number: 127726
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: (1990) Pages: 515-523
• Author(s): S Gabel; A J Swanson; R Shindledecker
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study compares the outcome of an earlier study of severely disturbed children treated in a day hospital program to that of a more recent group of children treated in the same setting.

Abstract

The earlier study found that the outcome was particularly poor for children with preadmission histories of severe aggressive/destructive behavior. The recent group of children, like the earlier one, was made up of youngsters who were often from dysfunctional and abusive families. Results show a significant change in the outcome of severely aggressive destructive patients when compared with the previous sample. This change includes a more favorable outcome for aggressive children who have histories of suspected child abuse/maltreatment. This outcome may be due to improved staffing at the program, increased usage of pharmacological approaches and behavioral treatment, and strong emphasis on parental and active social service involvement. 5 tables and 12 references (Author abstract modified)