Childhood adversities have been linked to externalizing problems in adolescence. However, studies focusing on early adolescence are rare. Even less empirical attention has been given to the unique and joint influences of children's and maternal childhood adversity on children's externalizing behavior, particularly with a keen focus on the nature…

The impacts of violence for young children and their caregivers are multidimensional. The story of 2-year-old Tyronne, his mother, Josephine, and his father, James, illustrates the use of a relationship-focused treatment, child-parent psychotherapy (CPP), in addressing the traumatic consequences of exposure to violence. This family's story…

Examines the role of social support in the discrimination of physical child abusers and nonabusers, both with a childhood history of physical child abuse. In contrast to expectations, none of the social support factors distinguished between the abusers and nonabusers. (JPS)

A cohort of mothers (N=734) participating in a longitudinal study was examined for any relationship between their childhood sexual abuse and childbearing characteristics. No significant effects were found for age of first child after controlling for demographic factors; however, parity was higher for sexually abused women who were married.…

Examined cognitive and emotional reactions to family discussions as experienced by 8- to 11-year-old sons (n=35) and their mothers from homes with physically aggressive (PA), verbally aggressive (VA), and low-conflict (LC) marital relationships. Sons of PA couples demonstrated more self-interference, self-distraction, and arousal and less…

Reports on interviews with 20 assaulted women about their concerns for their children and how these concerns affected the decision to leave the assailant. Fifty-five percent of the women's children had witnessed violence, and 90 percent of these children had become involved in the physical or psychological abuse in some way, even after separation.…

Mothers (n=113) of child psychiatric patients and nonpatients were classified as being at low, moderate, or high risk of child abuse. Mothers with high abuse potential reported greater child externalizing and depressive symptoms, child rejection, psychological dysfunction, stressful life events, and family problems, but there were few differences…

Recounts author's life as wife of an abusive alcoholic and mother of three preschool children. Describes how, through exposure to Head Start, the author provided her children with a preschool education, gained personal self-esteem, educated herself, left the abusive relationship, and ultimately returned to Head Start as a teacher. (SD)