Re: Evaluating abuse cases

["Barbara Meddin" <barbarme@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Can you give me the exact title of the Lutzker book?

thanks


Dr. Barbara Meddin
Principal Social Worker
Family and Children's Services
Perth, WA  

>>> <sazar@clarku.edu> 9/02/99 0:11:14 >>>
You might want to look at some of the chapters in a volume edited by John
Lutzker Handbook of child abuse research and treatment published by plenum
l998

There is a nice chapter by Tymchuk outlining areas of parenting competency
that you might want to consider in you evals. -- personality assessment
does not tell us a great deal regarding parenting --

I have argued for a behaviorally based approach with a focus on domains of
functioning in a couple of articles and chapters on evaluating parenting
for treatment or court purposes (e.g., Azar et al., l998 The evaluation of
parental fitness in termination of parental rights cases: A functional
contextual perspective, Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1,
77-100  or a chapter --Azar & Wolfe in Mash and Barkley's volume on
treatment of childhood behavioral disorders).

Depanfilis an Dubowitz also have a volume coming out that will offer some
examples of instruments to use. We have a chapter in this volume on
assessing parenting.

I would be glad to send you some reprints.

Sandra Azar, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Frances L. Hiatt School of Psychology
Clark University
950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 0l602


On Thu, 4 Feb 1999 BRubin525@aol.com wrote:

> Child Protective Services has asked my clinic to provide evaluation services
> for physically abusive adults who are entering our treatment program.  This
> has often meant psychological testing which traditionally includes a
> Rorschach, intelligence tests and an MMPI.  However,  these usually aren't
> particularly helpful especially with their questions which are related to the
> parent's likelihood of reoffending and/or prospects for reunification.  I
> imagine that their are empirically validated measures that have been found
> more useful than these more traditional tests.  What have people found to be
> most useful for evaluating physically abusive clients, both at intake and
> toward the end of treatment?  Has there been research in this area or anything
> written that might be helpful.
> Thanks,  Bart Rubin, Ph.D.
> Berkeley, CA
>