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The child management program for abusive parents: Procedures for developing a child abuse intervention program
ChiMAbuse & Neglect, Vol. 8, pp. 123-124, 1985 Printed in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.
0145-2134/85 $3.00 + .00 Copyright © 1985 Pergamon Press LTD.
BOOK REVIEWS
The Child Management Program for Abusive Parents: Procedures for Developing a Child Abuse Intervention Program. David Wolfe, Keith Kaufman, John Aragona and Jack Sandier. Anna Publishing, Inc., Winter Park, Florida, 1981. 178 pp. $14.95• A L T H O U G H MODERATE IN PRICE A N D LENGTH, this paperback book by David Wolfe and his colleagues is necessary reading for anyone seriously interested in the treatment or prevention of physical or emotional child abuse. The audience to which the book is addressed primarily consists of those professionals who take daily responsibility for dealing with the problem of abuse. In response to the •need that these individuals have for information regarding effective intervention procedures, the authors note that the book was written " . . . to bridge the existing gap between social learning research with such disturbed families on the one hand and the need for comprehensive, community-based child abuse intervention programs on the other" (Preface, p. v). An important strength of the book is that it is based on experience, not speculation. The treatment recommendations evolved from over five years of programmatic research with abusive families in a community setting. The intervention model proposed in the text grew out of the authors' application of social learning or behavioral techniques developed with other clinical populations to the special problem of child abuse. Their rationale for taking this approach is based on an etiological model of abuse which suggests that child abusers generally have serious behavioral deficiencies that limit their ability: (a) to manage their children's activities, (b) to resolve effectively important family problems or conflicts, (c) to control their own angry or aggressive impulses, and (d) to maintain positive social relationships outside the family. The Child Management Program consists of a series of step-by-step procedures for improving an abusive parent's skills in each of these areas. The treatment program described in the book includes not only techniques for direct intervention but also procedures for assessing which components of the program are most important for a given family, or a particular community. The authors also present in detail various methods that may be used to determine the effectiveness of intervention for a specific parent. Although the evaluation studies they discuss support the authors' view that the Child Management Program is a useful approach to decreasing abusive behavior, they also note important limitations in the program in terms of the types of families and conditions which are appropriate for its use. To be sure, there are areas in which this book has its shortcomings. For example, it is not at all clear that the Child Management Program with its combined elements of individual therapy, group instruction and family assessment is a practical solution to the problems faced by many agencies dealing with child abuse. The human resources necessary for implementation will be available only in a few settings. Nevertheless, the program described in the book can serve as a model even if implemented only in part. To recapitulate, the book is must reading for chnicians and researchers interested in reducing the incidence of child maltreatment.
Department of Human Development and Family Ecology University of Illinois Urbana, lllinois
123
RAND
O. CONGER
0145-2134/85 $3.00 + .00 Copyright © 1985 Pergamon Press LTD.
BOOK REVIEWS
The Child Management Program for Abusive Parents: Procedures for Developing a Child Abuse Intervention Program. David Wolfe, Keith Kaufman, John Aragona and Jack Sandier. Anna Publishing, Inc., Winter Park, Florida, 1981. 178 pp. $14.95• A L T H O U G H MODERATE IN PRICE A N D LENGTH, this paperback book by David Wolfe and his colleagues is necessary reading for anyone seriously interested in the treatment or prevention of physical or emotional child abuse. The audience to which the book is addressed primarily consists of those professionals who take daily responsibility for dealing with the problem of abuse. In response to the •need that these individuals have for information regarding effective intervention procedures, the authors note that the book was written " . . . to bridge the existing gap between social learning research with such disturbed families on the one hand and the need for comprehensive, community-based child abuse intervention programs on the other" (Preface, p. v). An important strength of the book is that it is based on experience, not speculation. The treatment recommendations evolved from over five years of programmatic research with abusive families in a community setting. The intervention model proposed in the text grew out of the authors' application of social learning or behavioral techniques developed with other clinical populations to the special problem of child abuse. Their rationale for taking this approach is based on an etiological model of abuse which suggests that child abusers generally have serious behavioral deficiencies that limit their ability: (a) to manage their children's activities, (b) to resolve effectively important family problems or conflicts, (c) to control their own angry or aggressive impulses, and (d) to maintain positive social relationships outside the family. The Child Management Program consists of a series of step-by-step procedures for improving an abusive parent's skills in each of these areas. The treatment program described in the book includes not only techniques for direct intervention but also procedures for assessing which components of the program are most important for a given family, or a particular community. The authors also present in detail various methods that may be used to determine the effectiveness of intervention for a specific parent. Although the evaluation studies they discuss support the authors' view that the Child Management Program is a useful approach to decreasing abusive behavior, they also note important limitations in the program in terms of the types of families and conditions which are appropriate for its use. To be sure, there are areas in which this book has its shortcomings. For example, it is not at all clear that the Child Management Program with its combined elements of individual therapy, group instruction and family assessment is a practical solution to the problems faced by many agencies dealing with child abuse. The human resources necessary for implementation will be available only in a few settings. Nevertheless, the program described in the book can serve as a model even if implemented only in part. To recapitulate, the book is must reading for chnicians and researchers interested in reducing the incidence of child maltreatment.
Department of Human Development and Family Ecology University of Illinois Urbana, lllinois
123
RAND
O. CONGER