NCJ Number
149354
Date Published
1994
Length
805 pages
Annotation
This two-volume reference is designed to help physicians diagnose child maltreatment, recognize those children at high risk for abuse and neglect, and implement strategies for prevention and intervention in abuse cases.
Abstract
Although the information is presented from a medical perspective, it can also be useful for social service workers, attorneys, law enforcement workers, State agencies, and others involved with abused children. The first volume is a clinical guide and reference. It begins with a discussion of the identification, interpretation, and reporting of injuries to children, followed by a chapter on the radiology of child abuse. A chapter addresses each of the following types of injuries: thoracoabdominal, ophthalmic, head injuries, and burns. Four chapters on sexual abuse include an overview of sexual abuse, the physical examination, the victim interview, and sexually transmitted diseases in abused children. Other chapters related to abuse injuries focus on multiple personality disorder, poisoning, the Munchausen syndrome by proxy, neglect and abandonment, emotional abuse, and the cycle of abuse. Other chapters address the review process, legal issues, the role of the medical examiner in fatal child abuse, expert medical testimony in child abuse cases, and the prevention of child abuse. The second volume is a comprehensive photographic reference for identifying potential child abuse. The photographs are presented under sections on physical abuse, radiologic investigations, sexual abuse cases, cases involving the police, forms of neglect, and drawings by victims of abuse.