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The experience of physical abuse or neglect is a complex event that may trigger social, emotional, and physical consequences. It can also be invested with cognitive meaning about the self, others, and one's place in the world. These transactional problems typically occur within a dysfunctional family setting and tend to be nested in larger societal problems (e.g., poverty), both of which may contribute to girls' reactions. Unlike the literature in other areas of family violence (domestic violence or sexual abuse), work on physical abuse and neglect has remained relatively silent on the topic of gender. Interestingly, it is also only recently that their potential differential and interactive effects with other forms of family violence have been explored (Hennessy, Rabideau, Cicchetti, & Cummings, 1994; Hughes, Parkinson, & Vargo, 1989).

Only in about the last two decades have people realized that the sexual abuse of children in America occurs frequently. Prior to that time sexual abuse, and especially familial sexual abuse or incest, was viewed as very rare. The National Center of Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) sponsored three national incidence studies that were published in 1980 (Burgdorf, 1980), 1988 (NCCAN, 1988), and 1996 (NCCAN, 1996). All of these studies examined the annual incidence of child maltreatment in a representative sample of counties across the United States. Sexual abuse was one of four types of maltreatment examined and was defined as, “The…use, persuasion,…or coercion of any child to engage in…any sexually explicit conduct…or the rape,…statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children” (NCCAN, 1996). The Third National Incidence and Prevalence Study (NCCAN, 1996) documented that each year approximately 300,000 children are recognized (by public agencies such as protective service and mental health agencies and the schools) as being sexually abused. This is a rate of between five and seven per thousand American children known to be sexually abused each year. It represents an increase in recognized cases of child sexual abuse of more than 100% from 1988 (NCCAN, 1988) and of more than 600% from 1980 to 1996 (NCCAN, 1996).

Conceptualization of adolescent gender-based violence has been caught at the crossroads of the childhood peer aggression literature and the adult domestic violence literature. On the one hand, child peer aggression research recognizes female-perpetrated violence and “female types” of violence (Craig & Pepler, 1997; Olweus, 1991); on the other hand, the adult intimate relationship violence literature emphasizes a male-to-female, powerand control-based violence (Dobash & Dobash, 1992). In all likelihood, adolescent dating violence falls somewhere in the middle.

Divorce and remarriage are common events in Western industrialized countries, particularly the United States. Approximately half of American children experience the divorce of their parents before they reach the age of 18 years (Furstenberg, 1990). The likelihood of experiencing parental divorce is higher among African American and Hispanic youth, and lower among Asian American youth, than it is among European American youth (Emery, 1999). Many divorced parents remarry, and subsequently divorce again. About 15% of children experience at least two family disruptions by the time they are young adults (Furstenberg, 1990).

When we first met 16-year-old Shana she was “spainging”(spare-changing) on the Ave. She agreed to participate in the study because she could make enough money to buy pizza and drinks for herself and her boyfriend. They met at a church-sponsored shelter and had been hanging together for almost a week. With a boyfriend, Shana felt protected and more willing to spend the night in a squat or even under the bridge if the weather was good. This was a welcome change from the shelter, which was always crowded and had lots of rules. She said that sometimes Mike could be difficult and demanding, but people were also less apt to mess with her when he was around. She liked that part .

There is a scene in the Civil War epic Gone With the Wind in which Scarlett O'Hara is dressing to go to a barbeque at a neighboring plantation. Scarlett has her eye on one of the men who lives there and wants to appear particularly attractive. So, she orders her maid to tighten her corset so that her waist is abnormally small.

A chronic illness is “one that lasts for a substantial period of time or has sequelae that are debilitating for a long period of time” (Perrin, 1985, p. 2). Epidemiological studies estimate that 10–20% of children and adolescents suffer from one or more chronic illnesses (Gortmaker & Sappenfield, 1984; Hobbs, Perrin, & Ireys, 1985). Recent medical advances in technology have drastically improved neonatal survival rates and reduced the risks of lifethreatening complications of chronic illness (Elander & Midence, 1997). As a result of such advances, life expectancy among children and adolescents with more severe conditions is increasing. Thus, a current, prominent theme of child health research is enhancing the adaptation of children and their families to the stress associated with chronic disease conditions (Thompson & Gustafson, 1996).