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Psychological maltreatment: Can an integration of research, policy, and intervention efforts be achieved?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Sheree L. Toth
Sheree L. Toth*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
*
Address reprint requests to: Sheree L. Toth, Mt. Hope Family Center, Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, 187 Edinburgh Street, Rochester, NY 14608.
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Extract

McGee and Wolfe's (1991) article has emerged at a critical time, a period during which child abuse and neglect has been declared a national emergency. In the last decade, reports of child abuse have increased dramatically. Unfortunately, the resources available to address the needs of maltreated children have not kept pace with the demand. This distressing state of affairs has caused some social policy theorists to conclude that only the most seriously abused and neglected children should be identified and served so as not to weaken further an already fragile service delivery system (Besharov, 1988; Wald, 1975). In fact, in the absence of greatly enhanced resources, some child advocates have argued that intervention into family life in other than life threatening circumstances may prove to be more detrimental than helpful (Goldstein, Freud, & Solnit, 1979).

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , January 1991 , pp. 103 - 109
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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