Abstract
The battered-child syndrome, first described in 1962, refers to a constellation of signs and symptoms seen in children who have received non-accidental physical injury as a result of acts of commission or omission on the part of their parents or guardians.
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Recommended For Further Reading
GELLES, R. J. “Child Abuse as Psychopathology: A Sociological Critique and Reformulation”. Amer. J. Orthopsychiat. 43: 611–21, 1973. —highly technical but useful and relevant critical evaluation of a psychopathological theory of child abuse, suggesting greater emphasis on sociological and contextual variables for a more balanced approach to cases involving abuse.
GIL, D. G. Violence Against Children: Physical Abuse in the United States. Boston, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1973. —reviews the literature and documents of a scientifically conducted nationwide survey regarding the incidence, contributing causes, age distribution, etc., of all cases of abuse reported in the U.S. in 1967 and 1968.
GREEN, A. H.; GAINES, R. W.; and SANDGRUND, A. “Child Abuse: Pathological Syndrome of Family Interaction”. Amer. J. Psychiat. 131,2: 882–86, 1974. —child abuse is described as the end result of: the abuse-prone personality of the parent(s); characteristics of the child that invite scapegoating; current environmental stress.
GREENLAND, C. Child Abuse in Ontario. Research Report 3, Toronto, Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services, Research and Planning Branch, 1973.
HELFER, R. E.; and KEMPE, C. H. The Battered Child. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1974. —a classic text with excellent chapter on the psychiatric aspects of abuse.
KEMPE, C. H., and HELFER, R. E. Helping the Battered Child and His Family. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott, 1972. —a very practical text for those who must deal directly with the battered child and the abusing parent.
MINDE, K.; FORD, L.; CELHOFFER, L.; and BOUKYDIS, C. “Interactions of Mothers and Nurses with Premature Infants”. Canad. Med. Assoc. J. 113: 741–45, 1975. —studies the interaction between mothers and their premature infants in a premature nursery, defining criteria that can be used to predict a possible failure of bonding and an increased incidence of parenting disorders.
NEUBERGER, E. H. “The Myth of the Battered Child Syndrome: A Compassionate Medical View of the Protection of Children”. Current Medical Dialogue. 40: 327–34, 1973. —this excellent, concise article seeks a coherent and humane approach to child abuse, which is viewed as a symptom of distress in a complex family system.
OLIVER, J. E., and COX, J. “A Family Kindred with Ill-Used Children: The Burden on the Community”. Brit J. Psychiat. 123: 81–90, 1973. —discusses the problems of ill-used children in the family, mental and personality disorders in family members, and community support for the family.
VAN STOLK, M. The Battered Child in Canada. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1972.
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© 1977 Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Kreindler, S. (1977). The Battered Child and His Family. In: Steinhauer, P.D., Rae-Grant, Q. (eds) Psychological Problems of the Child and His Family. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-81464-0_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-81464-0_19
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-81466-4
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