The abuse clarification process in the treatment of intrafamilial child abuse

One aspect of treatment for child abuse and neglect addresses the attributions that the child victim, offender, nonoffending parents, and other family members have about the occurrence of the maltreatment. This paper describes a formal approach for abuse clarification to be used with families in which maltreatment has occurred. The four primary components of the abuse clarification process are: (a) clarification of the abusive behaviors; (b) offender assumption of responsibility for the abuse; (c) offender expression of awareness of the impact of the abuse on the child victim and family; and, (d) initiation of a plan to ensure future safety. The process of abuse clarification is described and suggestions made for appropriate use of the procedure.