Mental health articles

Characteristics of an ecological and transactional model of child abuse and neglect In 1980, Belsky developed an ecological model of child abuse and neglect. This paper was followed by Cicchetti and Rizley’s 1981 paper in which a transactional model of child abuse and neglect was developed. In more recent years, Cicchetti and Lynch (1993) combined these approaches to develop an ecological and transactional model of community violence. The model presented in this chapter applies the literature on child sexual abuse to the work done by these researchers. An ecological and transactional model suggests that, when attempting to develop a comprehensive model of a social problem, ecological/systemic influences and transactional/deveIopmental influences must be considered. Inspired by Bronfenbrenner’s (1 977) general systems theory, Belsky (1980) suggested that four systemic levels had to be considered when conceptualizing the problem of child abuse and neglect within an ecological context, as follows. • • • Microsystem-the family • Ontogenic system—the individual Macrosystem—the beliefs and values within the culture that contribute to the problem Exosystem—the community within which the individual lives For each level, Belsky explicated factors related to risk of child maltreatment. An ecological approach is insufficient, however, to explain the complex interactions among risk factors, especially when considering the developmental trajectory of the child. For capturing the dynamic nature of abuse development, Cicchetti and Rizley’s (1981) transactional model is more appropriate. “In a transactional model, environmental forces, caregiver characteristics, and child characteristics all influence each other and make reciprocal contributions to the events and outcomes” (Cicchetti & Lynch, 1993, p. 97). Their model focuses primarily upon transactions among risk factors, which are divided into two broad categories. Potentiating factors increase the probability of abuse, whereas compensatory (protective) factors decrease the risk of abuse. Both can be enduring (more permanent or chronic conditions) or transient (temporary conditions) (Cicchetti & Rizley, 1981), and proximal (those that impinge directly upon the child) or distal (those that are not experienced directly by the child, such as social class) (Baldwin, Baldwin, & Cole, 1990). Examples of proximal factors are inadequate nutrition, discord between parents, unsafe living conditions, or specific life stressors. Importantly, abuse is hypothesized to occur when “potentiating factors outweigh compensatory factors ” (Cicchetti & Lynch, 1993, p. 97). For example, children with supportive families (a compensatory factor) might only be at increased risk for abuse when there are numerous stressors (potentiators). An advantage of applying an ecological and transactional approach to the understanding of child sexual abuse is its breadth. Many previous theories and models of child sexual abuse have either focused upon only a single dynamic or are atheoretical. While single-focus theories may make critical contributions to the literature, by themselves they do not adequately explain the scope of the problem of child sexual abuse. Similarly, the problem with atheoretical models is that they do not explicate theoretical pathways to abuse. Instead, an encompassing model that subsumes other theories and that explicates pathways to abuse is needed.

Tags: child abuse