Physical Abuse and Neglect in Girls

The experience of physical abuse or neglect is a complex event that may trigger social, emotional, and physical consequences. It can also be invested with cognitive meaning about the self, others, and one's place in the world. These transactional problems typically occur within a dysfunctional family setting and tend to be nested in larger societal problems (e.g., poverty), both of which may contribute to girls' reactions. Unlike the literature in other areas of family violence (domestic violence or sexual abuse), work on physical abuse and neglect has remained relatively silent on the topic of gender. Interestingly, it is also only recently that their potential differential and interactive effects with other forms of family violence have been explored (Hennessy, Rabideau, Cicchetti, & Cummings, 1994; Hughes, Parkinson, & Vargo, 1989).