Importance of Adjudication in the Treatment of Child Abusers Some Preliminary Findings

• NCJ Number: 73290
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 4 Dated: (1980) Pages: 127-135
• Author(s): D A Wolfe; J Aragona; K Kaufman; J Sandler
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Manuscript is the result of research conducted at the Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.

Annotation

This analysis of characteristics of abusive families referred to a Florida Child Management Program (CMP) concludes that those parents who benefitted most from skills training had been ordered by the court to complete the program before the full custody of the child was returned.

Abstract

Demographic characteristics and court dispositions of 71 abusive families referred to the CMP were investigated to determine the influence of these variables upon parental participation and benefit of treatment. The admission criterion was investigated evidence of an abusive act or high risk for abuse. The CMP was designed to provide abusive parents with appropriate techniques for resolving difficult child-related problems and to control parents' impulsive tendencies to use excessive physical force with their children. Independent raters evaluated the families with regard to the benefits they received from the program. Analyses determined that parents who were ordered by the court to complete treatment as a requirement for full return of child custody were approximately five times more likely to successfully complete treatment than a family who was not required by the court to participate (a voluntary) family. Similarly, a voluntary family was approximately five times more likely to refuse or withdraw from treatment than a court-ordered family. These findings point to the importance of delineating clear objectives for abusive parents, which can be accomplished in a parent training program, to avoid uncertain expectations and poor attendance. The use of the family court or similar procedure to underscore to abusive parents the importance of active involvement in learning more appropriate child management skills was supported by the data. An additional finding is that families with younger children were more successful in reaping benefits from the program, perhaps because abusive habits were not as well established. Several tables and 12 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)