EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MULTIFAMILY GROUP-THERAPY IN CHILD-ABUSE AND NEGLECT

This article compares the effectiveness of multifamily group therapy ( MFGT) with traditional family therapy in the treatment of abusing and neglecting families. Eighty-one families were randomly assigned to the MFGT group or a comparison group where they received traditional fami ly therapy. Comparison of group means was conducted at pretest and at the close of service on child abuse potential and numerous measures of family functioning. Within-group changes were also examined between p retest and posttest. At posttest, families receiving MFGT reported sig nificantly lower child abuse potential scores and significantly better social support scores than families in the comparison group. Addition ally, within-group comparisons show that the MFGT group significantly improved in a larger number of areas of family functioning than the co mparison group. The findings argue for the expanded use of MFGT with m altreating families and its adoption of a greater number of family ser vice agencies dealing with this population.