The assessment of child abuse potential and the prevention of child abuse and neglect: A policy analysis

Abstract

A frequently advocated strategy for increasing the efficiency of child abuse prevention programs is to deliver prevention services to "high-risk" populations. This article critically reviews procedures for the reliable and valid assessment of child abuse potential within an ecological perspective. Factors that limit the usefulness of child abuse risk assessment are discussed. These factors include the uncertain criteria of child abuse and neglect, the low base rate of the phenomenon, and the financial and social costs of such procedures. Finally, the prevention implications of the current and future state of the art in child abuse risk assessment are considered and preventive interventions that do not depend on individual case risk screening are advocated.

Predicting child maltreatment: A meta-analysis of the predictive validity of risk assessment instruments

“…Some researchers have argued that risk assessment instruments can be examined retrospectively, using file information from sources such as institutional files, psychological reports, and/or court reports (e.g., De Vogel, De Ruiter, Hildebrand, Bos, & Van de Ven, 2004). On the contrary, other researchers have argued that prospective research is required to adequately examine the predictive validity of a risk assessment tool (Caldwell, Bogat, & Davidson, 1988). Therefore, we examined the effect of study design on predictive validity.…”

Community psychologists as consultants, II: A national survey of children's trust and prevention funds

“…The provision of medical, legal, correctional, mental health, special education, and social services to victims of abuse, in combination with the loss of future tax revenues from those children who die, consumes nearly $l,OOO,OOO,OOO of public monies every year in Michigan alone (Caldwell, 1992). These issues, coupled with rising official incidence rates (U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services, 1988, 1989), clearly make prevention the best strategy for addressing child abuse (Caldwell, Bogat, & Davidson, 1988).…”

La prévention des problèmes sociaux : réalité québécoise

“…C'est le cas des programmes centrés sur le processus de résolution de problèmes élaborés par D'Zurilla et Goldfried (1971dans Heller, 1990, ainsi que par Spivack et Shure (1974( dans Heller, 1990). Un consensus de plus en plus clair émerge selon lequel l'entraînement aux compétences sociales n'est pas suffisant lorsque parallèlement coexistent des normes culturelles défavo-rables ou des conditions socio-économiques qui maintiennent le comportement indésirable (Caldwell et al, 1988).…”