The Cyclical Pattern of Child Abuse A Study of Research Methodology: OVERVIEW OF METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS DEFINITION OF CHILD ABUSE INADEQUATE COMPARISON GROUPS MULTIVARIATE APPROACH TO RESEARCH RESEARCH DESIGNS CYCLICAL HYPOTHESIS CONCLUDING REMARKS NOTES REFERENCES

Abstract

The beginnings of modern concern about child abuse are attributed to Kempe, Silverman, Steele, Droegemueller, and Silver, who identified the "battered child syndrome" in 1962. This article was followed rapidly by others that addressed the causes of child battering (e.g., Bennie & Sclare, 1969; Steele & Pollock, 1968; for reviews, see Gelles, 1979; McLeer, 1988). These articles tended to concentrate on the characteristics of the parents who perpetrated this egregious act. Soon, it was discovered that many of these parents reported being maltreated themselves (Curtis, 1963; Spinetta...