The importance of adjudication in the treatment of child abusers: Some preliminary findings☆

Demographic characteristics and court dispositions of 71 abusive families referred to a treatment program emphasizing child management skills were investigated to determine the influence of these variables upon parental participation and benefit from treatment. These analyses determined that parents who were court-ordered to complete treatment as a requirement for full return of child custody were approximately five times more likely to successfully complete treatment than a family who was not required by the court to participate (voluntary). Similarly, a voluntary family was approximately five times more likely to refuse or withdraw from treatment than a court-ordered family. The discussion of these findings focused on the importance of delineating clear objectives for abusive parents which can be accomplished in a parent training program in order to avoid uncertain expectations and poor attendance. The use of the family court or similar procedure to underscore to abusive parents the importance of active involvement in learning more appropriate child management skills was supported by these data.