THE SOCIAL-CONTEXT OF CHILD MALTREATMENT

Family factors associated with child abuse and neglect are discussed f rom an ecological perspective. Economic and cultural generative factor s of child abuse are identified, thus situating the family system in i ts social context. Special circumstances affecting the occurrence of c hild maltreatment, such as parental youth and inexperience, parental d iscord and divorce, adoption, and problematic child attributes, are ex plored. Dimensions of responsiveness, and parental authority patterns, which are commonly invoked to understand normal parent-child relation s, are examined in their application to abusive families. The evidence for intergenerational transmission of abuse is also examined.