Abstract
Hundreds of thousands of children are being abused and neglected in the United States annually. The structures devised to respond to this abuse and neglect have been unsuccessful. The United States government continues to spend billions of dollars on programs to deal with the effects of these unsuccessful responses. Child abuse and neglect in the United States now represent a national emergency. In this article, we will provide a historical, cultural, and contemporary perspective on child abuse and neglect. This perspective throws light on the complexity of the national emergency and provides a context for further exploration of the issue.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alpert, J. L. (August 1990). Child sexual abuse reporting: Narrow proposals and broader perspectives. Invited address to Division of School Psychology, American Psychological Association, Boston.
Alpert, J. L. (in press). Reconstruction in the treatment of an incest survivor.The Psychoanalytic Review.
Alpert, J. L. (Chair), Becker, J. V., BigFoot-Sipes, D., Bonner, B. L., Bricklin, P., Henggeler, A. W., Kaufman, K. L. (October 1991). American Psychological Association Child Abuse Treatment Working Group.
Barth, R. P., & Derezotes, D. S. (1990).Preventing adolescent abuse: Effective intervention strategies and techniques. MA: Lexington Books.
Breiner, S. (1990).Slaughter of the innocents; child abuse through the ages and today. New York: Plenum Press.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (1986).Half of 19 mothers with children under 3 now in the labor force. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor.
Chapman, S., & Terry, T. (1986). Treatment of sexually abused children from minority urban families: A socio-cultural perspective.Clinical Proceedings: Children's Hospital National Medical Center, 40, 244–259.
Daro, D., & Mitchell, L. (1990).Current trends in child abuse reporting and fatalities: The results of the 1989 annual 50 states survey. National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse.
Finkelhor, D. (1990). Early and long-term effects of child sexual abuse: An update.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 21(5), 321–330.
Finkelhor, D., & Korbin, J. (1988). Child abuse as an international issue.Child Abuse and Neglect, 12, 3–24.
Gelles, R. (1973). Child abuse psychopathology: A sociological critique and reformulation.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 43, 611–621.
Gil, D. (1970).Violence against children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Giovannoni, J., & Becerra, R. (1979).Defining child abuse. New York: Free Press.
Gordon, L. L. (1988).Heroes of their own lives: The politics and history of family violence. New York: Viking Press.
Hines-Cunningham, L. (May 1992).The Afro-American sexually abused child. Paper presented at the Meeting of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, New York.
Hofferth, S., & Phillips, D. (1987). Child care in the United States, 1970–1995.Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49(3), 559–571.
Kahn, A., & Kammerman, S. (1987).Child care: Facing the hard chokes. MA: Auburn House.
Kalichman, S. D., Craig, M. E., & Follingstad, D. R. (1989). Factors influencing the reporting of father-child sexual abuse: Study of licensed Practicing Psychologists.Professional Psychology. 20(2), 84–89.
Korbin, J. (1991). Cross-Cultural perspectives and research: Directions for the 21st century.Child Abuse and Neglect, 15, (suppl.l), 67–77.
Krivacska, J. J. (1990).Designing child sexual abuse prevention programs: Current approaches and a proposal for the prevention, reduction, and identification of sexual misuse. IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Lauderdale, M., Valiunas, A., & Anderson, R. (1980). Race, ethnicity, and child maltreatment: An empirical analysis.Child Abuse and Neglect, 4, 163–169.
Levy, B. (1988) Taking care of me: Preventing child sexual abuse in the Hispanic community. In L. Walker (Ed.),Handbook on sexual abuse of children: Assessment and treatment issues (pp. 387–407). New York: Springer Publishing Co.
National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. (1981).Study findings: National study of incidence and severity of child abuse and neglect. Washington, D.C.: Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
New York City Board of Education (1984).Child abuse and neglect prevention training manual: Working together to make a difference. New York: Office of the Chief Executive for Instruction, Office of Student Progress, and Guidance Services Unit.
Parke, R., & Collmer, C. (1975). Child abuse: An interdisciplinary analysis. In M. Hetherington (Ed.),Review of child development research (Vol. 5). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
Pelton, L. (1978). Child abuse and neglect: The myth of classlessness.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 48, 608–617.
Pogge, D. L. & Stone, K. (1990). Conflicts and issues in the treatment of child sexual abuse.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 21(5), 354–361.
Silverstein, L. (1991). Transforming the debate about child care and maternal employment.American Psychologist, 46(10), 1025–1032.
Towns-Mirands, L. (May 1992).Hispanic Family's Reaction to Children's Sexual Abuse. Paper presented at the Meeting of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, New York.
U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect (August 1990).Child abuse and neglect: Critical first steps in response to a national emergency. Washington, D.C.: Author.
U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect (September 1991).Creating caring communities: Blueprint for an effective federal policy on child abuse and neglect. Washington, D.C.: Author.
U.S. Department of Labor (1989).Working mothers and their children. Washington, D.C.: Department of Census.
Walker, L. E. A. (1990). Psychological assessment of sexually abused children for legal evaluation and expert witness testimony.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 21(5), 344–353.
Wolfe, D. (October 1991). Report of the American Association Child Abuse Prevention Working Group.
Wyatt, G. E. (1990). Sexual abuse of ethnic minority children: Identifying dimensions of victimization.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 21(5) 338–343.
Zigler, E., & Lang, M. (1991).Child card choices. New York: Free Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alpert, J.L., Green, D. Child abuse and neglect: Perspectives on a national emergency. J Soc Distress Homeless 1, 223–236 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01073951
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01073951