NCJ Number
46368
Editor(s)
M J FITCH,
R V CADOL,
E J GOLDSON,
E K JACKSONS,
D F WARTZ,
T PL WENDELL
Date Published
1976
Length
101 pages
Annotation
THE FINAL REPORT OF THE CHILD STUDY PROGRAM COMPARES 140 ABUSED CHILDREN (FROM BIRTH TO 72 MONTHS OLD) WITH NONABUSED CONTROLS TO DETERMINE DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES ASSOCIATED WITH ABUSE AND NEGLECT.
Abstract
THIS STUDY, CONDUCTED BY THE DENVER, COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS, USED A BATTERY OF PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE, AND EMOTIONAL TESTS TO DETERMINE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ABUSED CHILDREN (NONACCIDENTAL TRAUMA), NEGLECTED CHILDREN (FAILURE TO THRIVE), AND CONTROLS. TREATMENT CONSISTED OF ROUTINE SERVICES, ROUTINE SERVICES PLUS THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERVENTION PROGRAM WAS EVALUATED. IT WAS FOUND THAT BOTH ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN DIFFERED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM NONABUSED CHILDREN OF THE SAME AGE AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. THEY WERE SMALL PHYSICALLY AND DID NOT PERFORM WELL IN THE COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL AREAS. IT WAS FOUND THAT ABUSED CHILDREN LIVE UNDER MORE ADVERSE FAMILY CONDITIONS AND MORE OF THEM HAVE LIVED IN FOSTER HOMES. THERE SEEMED TO BE A CONNECTION BETWEEN ETHNIC GROUP AND ABUSE. ALTHOUGH THE TOTAL STUDY POPULATION WAS SPANISH-SPEAKING OR BLACK, A LARGER PROPORTION OF ABUSE CASES OCCURRED AMONG WHITE CHILDREN. ALSO, MOTHER-INFANT ATTACHMENT PATTERNS DIFFERED BETWEEN ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN. WHILE THE MAJORITY OF THE BIOLOGICAL MOTHERS IN BOTH THE ABUSED AND NEGLECTED GROUPS WERE BETWEEN 18 AND 29 YEARS OF AGE, MOTHERS OF ABUSED CHILDREN WERE CLUSTERED IN THE 18-20 YEARS AGE RANGE. THE MOTHERS OF NEGLECTED CHILDREN WERE ALSO IN THEIR EARLY 20'S, BUT GENERALLY HAD LESS INCOME AND EDUCATION THAN THE MOTHERS OF ABUSED CHILDREN. THE PARENTS OF ABUSED CHILDREN WERE MORE FREQUENTLY USERS OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL AND HAD MORE OFTEN BEEN ARRESTED FOR CRIME. PARENTS OF NEGLECTED CHILDREN HAD OFTEN BEEN NEGLECTED THEMSELVES AND SEEMED INSENSITIVE TO OR UNAWARE OF A CHILD'S NEEDS. INTERVENTION PROGRAMS STOPPED FURTHER ABUSE BUT DID NOT RAISE THE PERFORMANCE LEVELS OF THE ABUSED CHILDREN ON THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL TESTS. CASE STUDIES AND A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ARE INCLUDED. TABLES PRESENT DESCRIPTIVE DATA ON THE CHILDREN, THE BIOLOGICAL PARENTS, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ABUSERS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, THE ABUSIVE INCIDENT WHICH LED TO INTERVENTION, AND TEST SCORES. (GLR)