Psychological Interventions Can Reduce Child Abuse And Neglect

"Although the prevention and eradication of child abuse and neglect is a high-priority societal goal, the fact remains that an overwhelming number of youth will become victims," Skowron said. "Results of the current study indicate that psychological treatments for child abuse and neglect are effective and can assist children and their families to regain their functioning and facilitate the development of healthy, productive lives."

These researchers review 21 rigorous studies that included over 1000 children. They found that not only did children who had suffered abuse and neglect improved with treatment, they found that parents who had parent skills training improved their parenting skills.

This is good news for victims and for programs who provide these critical services. Families at risk for child maltreatment are difficult to reach. Finding enough licensed providers to work with this population has been difficult at best. Funding has been generally been inadequate to meet the need. Often programs rely on trained and supervised para-professionals who provide home-based family therapy. This is difficult work. This study provides encouragement to a dedicated crew working with what is often a very difficult clientele. A BIG hand for family therapists!