Vicki Carlson

Child maltreatment: The effects of maltreatment on development during early childhood: recent studies and their theoretical, clinical, and policy implications

Introduction In several recent reports, we have presented initial results of studies of the socioemotional development and behavioral symptomatology of maltreated preschool and early school-age children (Aber and Allen, 1987; Aber, Allen, and Cicchetti, 1988; Aber, Trickett, Carlson, and Cicchetti, 1989; Cicchetti, Carlson, Braunwald, and Aber, 1987). The purposes of this chapter are to summarize the results of these studies and to discuss their implications for a variety of unresolved scientific, clinical, and policy issues. In order to accomplish these purposes, it is first necessary to briefly describe the theoretical, clinical, and policy contexts in which these studies were designed and conducted. Contexts for the research Scientific theoretical context As we have noted elsewhere (Aber and Allen, 1987; Aber and Cicchetti, 1984; Cicchetti et al., 1987), until very recently, the few scientific studies of the effects of maltreatment were largely atheoretical. In our opinion, atheo-retical research in child maltreatment is only slightly better than no research at all. This is because no single study or set of studies will provide us with all the knowledge necessary to guide our clinical and policy efforts on behalf of maltreated children. Rather, it is by developing accurate, comprehensive theories of the etiologies of child maltreatment and the development of maltreated children that cumulative knowledge may serve as the basis for effective actions. Thus, a central issue at the very start of our studies was the selection of the general and specific theoretical frameworks within which we could conduct our studies. Although rarely commented upon, the selection of theoretical frameworks within a scientific world of multiple and competing paradigms is a critical stage of scientific research.

Relationship of Socioeconomic Status to the Etiology and Developmental Sequelae of Physical Child Abuse.

This article studies how socioeconomic status (SES) may be related to the etiology of physical child abuse and to the consequences of abuse for child development. It reports a collaboration of two independent child abuse research projects. The general perspective and design of these two projects overlapped, which made possible the assessment of the generalizability of findings across samples from two geographical locations that differ in ethnic and socioeconomic composition. The total sample consisted of 132 4- to 8-year-old physically abused and comparison children and their mothers. Measures of child-rearing context and child development common to both projects were examined.

Current Perspectives in Attachment Theory: Illustration from the Study of Maltreated Infants.

While much of the current work on attachment is based on Bowlbys observations of clinical populations of infants, it is ironic that it is only recently that investigators have begun to study the quality of attachment in atypical populations of infants (e.g., Cicchetti & Serafica, 1981; Crittenden, 1981; Egeland & Sroufe, 198 a; Gaensbauer & Harmon, 1982; SchneiderRosen & Cicchetti, 1984; Serafica & Cicchetti, 1976). The study of atypical populations has implications for our current theories of normal development and for our understanding of the integrative nature of advances in the cognitive, social, and emotional domains (see Cicchetti & Schneider-Rosen, 1984, for a review). Furthermore, the examination of qualitative differences in the nature of the attachment relationship in atypical populations can help