ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews a variety of instruments that child welfare workers can use in the assessment and treatment of child abuse and neglect. Research findings support an ecological approach to child maltreatment, with child abuse and neglect seen as complex problems occuring within a milieu of family dysfunction, environmental stress, and societal values relating to child rearing. Numerous studies suggest an association between child maltreatment and parental depression, low self-esteem, and poor interpersonal relationships. Child maltreatment is often embedded in general family dysfunction. In assessing parent and child factors individually, the practitioner may overlook significant family processes. Research efforts are taking into consideration the interrelationships among individual, family, and situational factors in examining child maltreatment. Studies have identified specific behavioral and temperamental characteristics of abused children that have been shown to precipitate their abuse, including aggressiveness, irritability, hyperactivity, and negativity.
