Neglected fathers: limitations in diagnostic and treatment resources for violent men

In its examination of violent activity within the family, current literature assumes a "pecking order" exists: Larger and stronger family members attack those who are smaller and weaker. Adult males are usually studied as primary maltreaters of spouses, while females are considered mainly responsible for physically abusive behavior with children. Use of this perspective has led to neglect of male abusers, who injure half of the mistreated children in the United States. Through assessment of 66 studies of child abuse published during a 5-year period, this paper documents the lack of attention abusive fathers have received. Twenty-eight of these studies included only mothers, while two dealt exclusively with fathers. Most of the 36 remaining two-parent studies did not discuss sex differences. No diagnostic categories consistently differentiated male from female abusers. No study discussed specialized treatment needs of women and men. This survey suggests that the therapeutic field considers the child's mother the primary responsible parent, even though she may not be the perpetrator of violence in the family. As a result, inadequate treatment resources have been made available to maltreating fathers. The survey points to the need for much more comprehensive research comparing male and female maltreaters.