A Comprehensive Treatment Program for Abusive Parents: An Exploratory Study

Estimates of the incidence of child abuse range from 200,000 to 500,000 (Light, 1973) to over one million children each year (O\u27Brien, 1980). Child abuse is a leading cause of childhood death and injury (Starr, 1979). Demographic studies (e.g., Steele & Pollock, 1968) suggest that parents who abuse their children were often abused or neglected themselves. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that many of the present victims of abuse will become abusing parents in the future unless the cycle is broken. The need for effective interventions to reduce this pervasive social problem is obvious