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Reducing the Risk of Child Maltreatment: Challenges and Opportunities

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Parenting and Family Processes in Child Maltreatment and Intervention

Part of the book series: Child Maltreatment Solutions Network ((CMSN))

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Abstract

Preventing child maltreatment has long been a key goal of many organizations but the term prevention is used broadly and has different meanings to different groups. The chapter explores the term prevention as it applies to reducing the risk of abuse or neglect on multiple levels from case by case approaches to community wide initiatives. The challenge of prevention of child maltreatment, with a myriad of expressions and causes, along with diverse facilitating social factors, is contrasted to more traditional public health approaches to disease prevention. The authors explore the need to integrate multiple theories of intervention ranging from Social Learning approaches to specific paradigms for reducing the risk of child sexual abuse. On a practical level the chapter explores the existing evidence base for models that have demonstrated efficacy in reducing the risk of maltreatment and how the application of these models may play out differently across multiple cultures. This history is used to set the stage for a look into future direction on prevention of child maltreatment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chadwick Center for Children & Families, Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, CA, USA

    Charles A. Wilson M.S.S.W.

  2. Pence-Wilson Training & Consulting, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA

    Donna M. Pence

Authors
  1. Charles A. Wilson M.S.S.W.
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  2. Donna M. Pence
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Correspondence to Charles A. Wilson M.S.S.W. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development & Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Douglas M. Teti

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Wilson, C.A., Pence, D.M. (2017). Reducing the Risk of Child Maltreatment: Challenges and Opportunities. In: Teti, D. (eds) Parenting and Family Processes in Child Maltreatment and Intervention. Child Maltreatment Solutions Network. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40920-7_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40920-7_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40918-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40920-7

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