Child abuse as psychopathology: A sociological critique and reformulation.

Book reviewed in this article: Much of the current research on child abuse employs a psychopathological model, which explains child abuse as a function of a psychological pathology, or a “sickness.” This paper asserts that major deficiencies of this model are its inconsistency and narrowness. It is suggested that a more dimensional approach to child abuse is possible by focusing on the sociological and contextual variables associated with abuse.