Special Intervention Programs for Child Victims of Violence (From Violence in the Home - Interdisciplinary Perspectives, P 169-192, 1986, Mary Lystad, ed. - See NCJ-100818)

• NCJ Number: 100826
• Author(s): H B Levy; S H Sheldon; J R Conte
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: Brunner/Mazel, Inc.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Interventions for victims of child abuse currently occur through an extensive array of community agencies and systems and rest on a knowledge base that has numerous gaps.

Abstract

The current system for responding to child abuse consists of professional groups that include social service, medical, judicial, law enforcement, and mental health disciplines. Several gaps in current knowledge hamper the ability of these systems to respond to domestic violence. The causes and prevalence of the problem are unknown. Knowledge gaps also exist regarding the physical findings in child sexual abuse, the best ways of treating either victims or perpetrators, and the extent to which the community's actual response to the violent home conforms to the model the community is operating. Theoretical analyses have resulted in the development of lists of 26 factors that may make a child more vulnerable to abuse, 40 factors that may make a parent more likely to abuse a child, and 16 crucial societal factors. Analyses of these factors' interactions and relevance to particular situations may provide a practical basis for community intervention in the violent home. Further research should address the cost of violence, the actual responses used by communities, the outcomes of interventions, and the etiology of child abuse. Better guidelines for investigation and decisionmaking as well as policy changes to reduce risk factors are also needed. 20 references.