The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire

The measurement of meaning

The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life.

Risk factors in child maltreatment: A meta-analytic review of the literature.

Preface Part I. History And Denfinition: 1. Definitional issues in child maltreatment 2. Physical child abuse in America: past, present, and future 3. Pediatrics and child abuse 4. Sexual abuse of children: causes and consequences 5. The intergenerational transmission of child abuse Part II. Parental And Contextual Influences On Maltreatment: 6. Lessons from child abuse: the determinants of parenting 7. The antecedents of maltreatment: results of the Mother-Child Interaction Research Project 8. Parental attributions as moderators of affective communication to children at risk for physical abuse 9. Perceived similarities and disagreements about childrearing practices in abusive and nonabusive families 10. Cognitive foundations for parental care 11. Intergenerational continuities and discontinuities in serious parenting difficulties 12. The construct of empathy and the phenomenon of physical maltreatment of children Part III. The Developmental Consequences Of Child Maltreatment: 13. How research on child maltreatment has informed the study of child development: perspectives from developmental psychopathology 14. Child maltreatment and attachment theory 15. Patterns of maternal behaviour among infants at risk for abuse: relations with infant attachment behaviour and infant development at 12 months of age 16. Finding order in disorganization: lessons from research on maltreated infants' attachments to their caregivers 17. Peer relations in maltreated children 18. The effects of maltreatment on development during early childhood: recent studies and their theoretical, clinical and policy implications 19. Social cognition in maltreated children 20. The effects of maltreatment on the development of young children 21. Troubled youth, troubled families: the dynamics of adolescent maltreatment 22. Child abuse, delinquency, and violent criminality 23. The prevention of maltreatment Name index Subject index.

Child Maltreatment: Theory and Research on the Causes and Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect

A controlled investigation of 214 parents of battered babies shows that pre-marital pregnancy and illegitimacy, absence of the child's father, marital disharmony and rejecting attitude towards the child are precursors of baby battering. Battered babies are likely to be reared in broken homes and are at risk of social maldevelopment and death. Ineffectiveness and distrust of contraception by these parents suggests that various birth control measures are unlikely to be effective in reducing the prevalence of battered babies.

Battering parents compare reasonably with other low social class groups, in their standards of income, and weekly food expenditure. Housing is in some respects worse. Improvement in material benefits without regard to the parents' personality deficiencies is therefore unlikely to affect the increase in the number of battered babies. Social isolation is a characteristic of these parents and reflects their unhappy childhood. Lack of kinship support was particularly important among the non-White parents. Treatment can be supportive only, and true prevention must lie in effective education of the next generation and in possible changes in the law relating to child care.

Social Aspects of the Battered Baby Syndrome

A controlled investigation of 214 parents of battered babies shows that they were young and predominantly of lower social class. Premature parenthood is an associated feature. Among the mothers 76% had an abnormal personality and 48% were neurotic. Nearly half were of borderline or subnormal intelligence; 11% had a criminal record. Of the fathers 64% had an abnormal personality, more than half being psychopaths. Twenty-nine per cent. had a criminal record. Recidivism is an associated feature.The risk of battering possibly diminishes with time. The teaching of appropriate child-rearing skills, symptomatic relief, and social relearning are suggested as realistically based treatment methods and should be combined with a care order. When response to treatment appears unlikely permanent removal from parental care should be considered.

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/4/5889/388.full.pdf

Parents of Battered Babies: A Controlled Study

A case study is reported of an anorexia nervosa mother who battered her elder male child (‘battered baby’) and in collusion with her psychopathic husband starved to death her 10-week-old daughter. The association of anorexia nervosa in the mother with death by starvation has not previously been reported in the literature. The possible underlying psychopathology is briefly discussed.

https://pmj.bmj.com/content/postgradmedj/48/560/382.full.pdf

Ruth Hanson

Papers

Social Aspects of the Battered Baby Syndrome

Parents of Battered Babies: A Controlled Study

Failure to thrive and anorexia nervosa.