ABSTRACT
In spite of large-scale concern and legislation among Western countries to try to eradicate childhood neglect and abuse, many children and adolescents are still subject to maltreatment, with only a fraction obtaining relevant services (Tunstill and Aldgate 2000). Those who do reach the services and are taken away from abusive parents suffer discontinuity in care, often in multiple care arrangements throughout childhood, where the residential and fostering arrangements often lead to poor outcomes, including psychological disorders and educational problems (Chamberlain et al. 2006; Rushton 2004). Rates of psychological disorders in childhood and adolescence attributed to maltreatment are high, and these effects commonly continue into adulthood, resulting in lifetime vulnerability and disadvantages (Bifulco and Moran 1998). It is particularly important to study the protective factors that may exist among those children who suffer from maltreatment but remain in their biological families. This can serve to inform both service intervention and policy in their attempts to counteract the negative impacts of poor parenting and abuse in the family.
