Many researchers believe that child neglect, or a failure to provide for some basic need of a child, is one of the most common forms of child abuse. Although society has advanced in many ways in addressing child abuse, neglect, which is related to the care of children, has not been an area that has
Child sexual abuse (CSA), a social problem of endemic proportions, has existed in all historical eras and societies (Conte 1994; Fergusson and Mullen 1999; Wekerle and Wolfe 1996; Wolfe 1999). Since antiquity, anecdotal records (e.g., legal, artistic, philosophical, and literary accounts) have documented activities that would today be classified as CSA (deMause 1974; Kahr 1991;
The generic term child art often refers to graphic and even three-dimensional work done by children. The term was first made popular by a leading art educator of the last century, Victor Lowenfeld (1947). It is occasionally used to refer to “real” artworks produced by “wunderkinder” such as Alexandra Nechita (Plagens 1996) who paints only
Since the 1960s, growing proportions of children worldwide have been experiencing their parents’ separation at an increasingly early age. Parental separation entails a series of transitions and family reorganizations, including changes in parenting arrangements, residence, family relationships, and standard of living, that influence children’s development and adjustment over time. All pose risks for children. When
Children and youth who have experienced abuse are at risk for subsequent victimization. Additionally, those who have experienced abuse at home are more likely to become perpetrators of violent crime. A number of forms of child abuse exist, including verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, negligence, and maltreatment. Although it is sometimes difficult to clearly
Traditionally, research into the effects of television has assumed that children are passive recipients on whom television has a powerful influence. Since the mid-1970s, however, media effects research has increasingly recognized the child viewer as an active and motivated explorer, rather than a passive receiver. Recent research suggests that children are critical evaluators of what
Child maltreatment has occurred throughout history and across cultures. Anthropology’s cross-cultural approach has contributed to efforts to define and explain aggressive or inadequate treatment of children. Child maltreatment was brought to public and professional attention when it was identified in the medical and social work literature in the United States and Europe during the 1960s
On July 27, 2006, President George Walker Bush signed into law H.R. 4472, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (AWCPSA 2006). The act addresses four issues: L. 109-248 provides the reformulation of federal standards regarding sex offender registries for states, territories, and tribal lands, resulting in more inclusive, informative, publicly available
Approximately 50 percent of all first marriages in the United States end in divorce. The rate of divorce is even higher among second marriages. Approximately 1,000,000 children are affected each year by divorce. Determination of where a child will live after a parental divorce and whether the child will have ongoing contact with the noncustodial
Child maltreatment is a broad term encompassing child neglect and abuse. It has been identified at the national and international levels as a tragedy of drastic proportions, drastic in the number of people it affects and drastic in the costs it exacts from the individual, the family, and society. Concern about the problem of child