NCJ Number
131289
Date Published
1986
Length
41 pages
Annotation
To encourage and assist community leaders in their efforts to prevent abuse, this booklet provides an overview of self-help groups in general and then considers how self-help groups, particularly Parents Anonymous, can be effective in the treatment of child abuse.
Abstract
The booklet presents the Parents Anonymous model and discusses the program's history, development, and effectiveness. Initiated in February 1970 as Mothers Anonymous, Parents Anonymous serves as a nurturing and therapeutic service which the users operate at no charge. Its intent is to reduce and prevent further child abuse within the family. The group experience consists of a weekly 2-hour meeting in a free meeting place and includes a sponsor, a volunteer professional who serves as a group consultant and as a resource for the parent-chairperson group leader. Research conducted by Behavior Associates in Tucson, Arizona in 1976 indicates that participation in a Parents Anonymous chapter often enabled parents to stop physically abusing their children within weeks after joining the program. Parents Anonymous also dealt effectively with emotional abuse and neglect, but these problems usually took several months to resolve rather than weeks. 12 notes