Study
Kolko (1996) randomly assigned 55 maltreated children and their guardians to either Individual Child and Parent Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT; n=25), Family Therapy (FT; n=18), or routine community service (RCS; n=12). The FT intervention taught families positive communication skills and how to solve problems by working together. The RCS control families were referred by caseworkers to appropriate local services based on the results of a risk assessment interview. This CrimeSolutions review focused on the comparisons between the CBT group and the RCS control group.
Families were included in the study if there had been a report of physical child abuse, of maltreatment, or of frequent or hash physical force without injury in the past 6 months. Children were 6 to 13 years old, had no developmental or intellectual disorders, were not treated for sexual abuse in the past year, were not participating in similar treatment, were interested and willing to participate in therapy, and resided locally. Guardians had no intellectual or psychiatric disorders, were not involved in similar treatment program, were interested and willing to participate in therapy, and resided locally.
Forty-seven families (one child and one parent) completed the treatment and both the pretreatment and posttreatment assessments. Among the children, the mean age was 8.6 years, and 34 were boys. Forty-seven percent were Black, 47 percent were white, and 3 percent were biracial. Of these children, 68 percent lived with their biological mothers. Additionally, 61 percent of the children met the criteria for an Axis I psychiatric diagnosis (e.g., mood, eating or substance abuse disorders) with two meeting criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Forty-two of the parents were biological parents, 70 percent had a high school education or less, and 61 percent received medical assistance or welfare. Thirty-four percent of the mothers and 32 percent of the fathers had a lifetime history of drug and alcohol problems, with 35 percent reporting crack cocaine and 67 percent reporting alcohol as the most frequently used substances. Of the parents, 79 percent were mothers who had committed abuse incidents of mild to moderate severity, 86 percent reported that these incidents happened more than once, and 78 percent reported that the incident(s) happened within the month prior to the pretreatment assessment. Forty-one of the parents who participated in the treatment were the alleged persons who committed the abuse. The only statistically significant difference between groups was in racial background. There was a higher proportion of Black participants in the RCS group (80 percent), compared with the CBT group (60 percent). However, as racial background was significantly related to only five outcome variables, it was not incorporated in planned treatment condition comparisons.
This study evaluated the three groups using measures based on violence and abuse risk, child and parent dysfunction, cognitive behavioral techniques, and family functioning. Interviews were conducted before treatment, immediately after treatment, after 3 months and after 1 year.