Effective Interventions for Child Abuse: An Evidence-based Approach to Planning and Evaluating Interventions

Why are some children abused or neglected? What can be done to protect and help them?

A key element of informed decision making is knowing what sort of problems are amenable to what sort of intervention, in what circumstances, and with what degree of certainty. Effective Interventions for Child Abuse and Neglect provides a thorough and detailed review of the available research, and makes suggestions as to how this evidence can be incorporated into professional child protection work.

Geraldine Macdonald first considers the range of evaluative tools available, with illustrations from existing research studies and reviews, and appraises their respective merits and limitations. She then describes the interplay of a range of causal factors in abuse and neglect, and considers different types of maltreatment and their potential consequences. Evidence for effective preventative and therapeutic measures are considered next, followed by a final section on accurate assessment and the use of formal tools in risk management.

Geraldine Macdonald is a qualified social worker, and Professor of Social Work at the University of Bristol. This careful, critical overview of studies of child abuse and negelct and their implications will prove a valuable resource for practitioners, managers, policy makers, academics and their students.