This article sheds light on the larger ethical issues faced by professionals who intervene in the lives of children and focuses specifically on points raised by critics of the behavioral treatment of gender-disturbed boys. (Author/AM)

Childhood injuries are discussed in the context of the following host factors: (1) age; (2) sex; (3) behavioral characteristics of the child; (4) family background; and (5) use of drugs and alcohol. These factors interact with the physical, socioeconomic, and legislative environment. Approaches to injury prevention are suggested for research…

There is no coherent view of childhood providing a consistent influence on legal decisions. Laws regarding the legal status of children should be better related to the degree of protection required by the child's developmental stage. (Author/EB)

Reviews recent proposals for procedural reforms to protect child victims of crime in their role as witnesses. Focuses on the Supreme Court's decision in Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court. Argues that making the present system more responsive to the needs of child witnesses is more important than attempting major procedural changes. (Author/KH)

The historical roots of current child advocacy movements can be found in the period, characterized as the child-saving era, of political activities of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The historical discussion points to the contributions which developmental and social psychology can make to the study of children's rights.…

This article describes the development of a classification schema consisting of two conceptual orientations toward the rights of children (nurturance and self-determination) which cut across five different content areas. (Author)

It is proposed that the current norm of privacy surrounding child-rearing practices should be shifted toward greater openness and freer communication. The rationale for this proposal is considered in terms of society's responsibility toward the child and in terms of current psychological and legal views of the function of privacy. (Author/AM)

Notes that the papers in this issue stress the need for a conceptual framework (historical, social, legal, and developmental) for defining the critical parameters involved in arriving at a sound basis for social policy and child advocacy. (Author/AM)

This article examines critically the case for protecting children's rights as against the case for protecting children's welfare. The principle of reciprocity in parent-child relations is rejected. (Author/AM)

Recent legal decisions affecting the rights of children are reviewed and analyzed in terms of efforts to balance the often competing interests of children, their families, and the state. It is concluded that the political process, not the judicial process, will have to be engaged to provide what children need. (Author/AM)

Studies dealing with the definitions, incidence and prevalence, causes, consequences, and prevention and treatment of violence toward children are briefly reviewed in this argument for the development of a new, constructive perspective on the rights and treatment of children. (EB)