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Between a rock and a hard place: Where do we go from here in defining psychological maltreatment?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Robin A. McGee  and
David A. Wolfe
Robin A. McGee
Affiliation:
The University of Western Ontario and The Institute for the Prevention of Child Abuse
David A. Wolfe*
Affiliation:
The University of Western Ontario and The Institute for the Prevention of Child Abuse
*
Address reprint requests to: David A. Wolfe, Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London. Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada.
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Extract

Including our own (McGee & Wolfe, 1991), there are 13 articles in this volume on psychological maltreatment — and there appear to be 13 different opinions regarding the subject. Psychological maltreatment and its measurement are controversial topics. We were delighted that our article served to stimulate such thoughtful discussion. Unfortunately, there are several instances in the critiques where we were quoted out of context or our arguments were misconstrued. We do not have the space to deal with every such instance; rather, we will respond to the general themes arising from the articles. The first theme concerns the role of research on psychological maltreatment in the social policy process. The second theme deals with assumptions regarding measurement. We provide a brief description of our own research efforts in an effort to illustrate how we are dealing with the problems inherent in our definition.

Type
Authors Response
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , January 1991 , pp. 119 - 124
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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