Understanding Abusive Families: An Ecological Approach To Theory And Practice, Revised Edition

An up-to-date analysis of the factors contributing to abuse

This newly revised edition of a classic in the field of child abuse and neglect presents effective guidelines for prevention, protection, and rehabilitation.

Compelling and compassionate, this book explores why and how families become abusive. It then offers both the wisdom and specific clinical interventions that will aid in the understanding of abuser and victim.

Understanding Abusive Families offers cutting-edge information and prescriptions for change reagrding:


* the patterns of incidence and prevalence
* the community context of child abuse and the issue of social support
* psychological and sexual maltreatment
* child abuse in institutional families
* the special issues involved in adolescent maltreatment

JAMES GARBARINO is director of the Family Life Development Center and professor of human development at Cornell University. He is the author of Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment (1995) from Jossey-Bass.

JOHN ECKENRODE is associate director of the Family Life Development Center and professor of human development at Cornell University.

Part One: An Introduction to Basic Concepts .

1. The Meaning of Maltreatment (James Garbarino, John Eckenrode).

2. The Scope and History of Child Abuse and Neglect (Frank Barry, Patrick Collins).

3. The Community Context of Child Abuse and Neglect (James Garbarino, Frank Barry).

4. Disturbances in Relationships: Parenting, Family Development, and Child Maltreatment (Kerry Bolger, Marney Thomas, John Eckenrode).

Part Two: Special Issues.

5. The Elusive Crime of Psychological Maltreatment (James Garbarino, John Eckenrode, Kerry Bolger).

6. Family Sexual Abuse (Marney Thomas, John Eckenrode, James Garbarino).

7. Child Maltreatment in Loco Parentis (Michael Nunno, Martha Holden, Brian Leidy).

Part Three: Adolescent Maltreatment.

8. The Maltreatment of Youth (James Garbarino, John Eckenrode, Jane Levine Powers).

9. Youth in Trouble Are Youth Who Have Been Hurt (John Eckenrode, Jane Levine Powers, James Garbarino).

10. In Conclusion: Family Life Development and Child Protection (James Garbarino, John Eckenrode).