Citation

Geeraert L, Van den Noortgate W, Grietens H, Onghena P. Child Maltreat. 2004; 9(3): 277-291.

Affiliation

Center for Disability, Special Needs Education and Child Care, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Scienes, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. liesl.geeraert@ped.kuleuven.ac.be

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559504264265

PMID

16382095

Abstract

In this article, a meta-analysis is presented on 40 evaluation studies of early prevention programs for families with young children at risk for physical child abuse and neglect with mostly nonrandomized designs. The main aim of all programs was to prevent physical child abuse and neglect by providing early family support. For the meta-analysis, a multilevel approach was used. A significant overall positive effect was found, pointing to the potential usefulness of these programs. The study demonstrated a significant decrease in the manifestation of abusive and neglectful acts and a significant risk reduction in factors such as child functioning, parent-child interaction, parent functioning, family functioning, and context characteristics.

Language: en