Definition, Dynamics, and Prevalence of Assault Against Children - A Multifactorial Model (From Assault Against Children, P 1-46, 1985, John H Meier, ed. - See NCJ-98549)

• NCJ Number: 98550
• Author(s): J H Meier
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 46 pages
• Sale Source: College-Hill Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This overview of the child assault problem surveys parental, child, and ecological causes of assault, as well as international, national, State and local data on the incidence of assault.

Abstract

A discussion of the multifactorial model emphasizes that a wide variety of combinations and permutations of factors can cause or contribute to actual episodes of child assault. Parental factors include status, psychosocial or psychological problems, and sociogiological factors: age of parent perpetrator, socioeconomic status, abuse of the parent as a child, mental illness, poor impulse control, alcohol or drug abuse, and stress. Child factors contributing to abuse are reviewed, including the unwanted child and the child who has colic, a disability, hyperactivity, or other problems that make parenting difficult. The paper explores environmental factors that can influence the behavior of a parent or child. Topics covered include marital discord and value conflicts, single parent families, and family characteristics - size, parents' employment, social isolation, harsh disciplinary practices, and ignorance regarding human development. The paper summarizes statistics on child assault in foreign countries, the United States, the State of California, and its counties. A section on identification and reporting lists common characteristics of assaulted or neglected children, as well as characteristics of assaultive parents or caretakers. A diagram of the multifactorial model of child assault is supplied.