People often report perceptions of benefit from adverse life experiences. In this study, adult perceptions of benefit from child sexual abuse were examined in a sample of 154 low-income women who were sexually abused as children. Almost half reported some perceived benefit. The benefits fell into 4 main categories: protecting children from abuse, self-protection, increased knowledge of child sexual abuse, and having a stronger personality. Degree of perceived benefit was associated with several indicators of adult adjustment. In addition, those who perceived themselves as stronger had higher self-esteem, and those who perceived increased sexual abuse knowledge viewed others more favorably and were more comfortable getting close to others, when compared with other respondents.

Although child neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment, considerable confusion remains regarding its definition. A conceptual definition of neglect is presented based on an ecological model of child maltreatment. The definition focuses on the basic needs of children that are not met, rather than on the intentions or behavior of parents. The replacement of parental culpability by a shared responsibility including parents, families, the community, and society is suggested. Neglect is seen as a heterogeneous phenomenon that varies by type, severity, and chronicity. In addition, neglect is understood as existing on a continuum ranging from optimal to grossly inadequate care. The context within which neglect occurs, including parents' understanding of children's needs, religious and cultural beliefs, and poverty, influences the approaches of clinicians, researchers, and policymakers toward the problem of child neglect.

This report assesses current knowledge about the ecological determinants of child maltreatment and presents data from an aggregate study of co-variation between seven community characteristics and maltreatment rates. A review of these findings revealed literature in the early stages of development. Nothing is known about the ecology of sexual abuse, and studies of physical abuse and neglect have done little more than demonstrate co-variation between reported incidence and neighborhood population and housing characteristics. Study findings reveal that (a) five of the seven community characteristics are significant and independent correlates of neglect, and four are correlates of abuse; (b) the strongest predictors of both types of maltreatment are percentage of families with income less than 200% of poverty and percent of vacant housing; and (c) the pattern of co-variation between the two economic stress indicators and three inadequate social support indicators are consistent with the ecological hypothesis. Discussion focuses on interpretation of findings and recommendations for future research.

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