child abuse and neglect exam 1

Types of child maltreatment

• Physical abuse: non-accidental injury.

• Sexual abuse: exploitation of a child for sexual purposes.

• Emotional abuse: behaviors that harm a child’s emotional development.

• Neglect: failure to provide basic needs (physical, medical, educational, emotional).

History of child protective services

• Grew from private charity and legal interventions into government-based systems.

• Sparked by cases like Mary Ellen Wilson.

• Influenced by creation of organizations: ASPCA, Children’s Bureau, Child Welfare League.

Pederasty

• Practice in ancient Greece of sexual relationships between adult men and adolescent boys.

• Historically tolerated, shows shifting cultural views of child exploitation.

Infanticide

• Killing of infants; practiced historically for reasons such as poverty, disability, or unwanted births.

• Seen in ancient societies as population control.

Incest taboo

• Universal social prohibition against sexual relationships between close family members.

• Helps preserve family structure and prevent role confusion.

Sigmund Freud

• First highlighted sexual abuse in children but later retracted focus.

• His “seduction theory” suggested abuse reports were fantasies, which delayed recognition of abuse.

Mary Ellen Wilson (1874)

• First widely publicized U.S. child abuse case.

• Rescued through legal action when ASPCA applied animal cruelty laws to her case.

Henry Bergh

• Founder of ASPCA.

• Advocated for Mary Ellen Wilson when no child protection laws existed.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

• Founded 1866 by Henry Bergh.

• Played early role in child protection by intervening in Mary Ellen Wilson’s case.

Children’s Bureau (1912)

• First federal agency dedicated to child welfare.

• Focused on children’s health, labor, and welfare.

Child Welfare League of America (1920)

• Private organization promoting professional standards in child welfare.

• Influential in shaping foster care and protective services.

John Caffey

• Radiologist who noted unexplained fractures in children.

• Helped identify medical evidence of abuse (“Caffey Syndrome”).

Henry Kempe

• Pediatrician who raised awareness of child abuse.

• Lead author of “The Battered Child” (1962).

“The Battered Child” (1962)

• Seminal medical article by Kempe and colleagues.

• Linked injuries to parental abuse, legitimized child abuse as a medical issue.

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA, 1974)

• First federal child protection law in the U.S.

• Provided funding, guidelines, and required states to establish reporting systems.

Analogic communication

• Nonverbal communication that conveys meaning.

• Example: tone, gestures, posture, facial expressions.

Metacommunication

• “Communication about communication.”

• Clarifies the meaning of messages or interactions.

Subsystems in families

• Spousal: couple relationship, provides model of intimacy.

• Parental: authority and caregiving roles, guides children.

• Sibling: peer relationship, teaches negotiation and social learning.

Four categories of family dysfunction (failure)

• Enmeshment: overly involved boundaries.

• Disengagement: overly rigid, little emotional connection.

• Rigidity: inflexible roles and rules.

• Chaos: lack of structure or consistency.

“Beyond the Best Interests of the Child” (1973)

• Goldstein, Freud, & Solnit.

• Emphasized psychological needs of the child in custody decisions over parents’ rights.

Family scapegoat

• One member blamed for family’s dysfunction.

• Relieves pressure on the rest of the family system.

Types of family boundaries

• Clear: flexible but firm, allow healthy functioning.

• Rigid: overly strict, lead to disengagement.

• Diffuse: overly loose, lead to enmeshment.

Role complementarity

• Roles that support and balance each other (e.g., caregiver and dependent).

Role conflict

• When demands of two roles clash (e.g., parent vs. employee).

Double Bind communication

• Conflicting verbal and nonverbal messages.

• Creates “no-win” situations for the child.

Roles in families

• Patterns of behavior expected of members.

• Provide identity, predictability, and function.

Rules in families

• Explicit or implicit guidelines for behavior.

• Maintain order and expectations.

Communication patterns in families

• Established styles of interaction.

• Can be supportive, critical, hostile, avoidant, etc.