Table 2 Services delivered and study results
What country was the
study conducted in?
What is the formal
name, if any, of
the programme of
intervention?
Who provides the
services?
What is the specific Results
support provided?
De Paul and Arruabarrena
(2003) Evaluation of a
treatment program for
abusive and high-risk
families in Spain
Spain
The Gipuzkoa Program
• CounsellorZtherapist
see p 422 for description
of different therapies
used
• Social worker
home visitors included
social workers,
psychologists and
teachers
• TeacherZeducation
support staff
• Psychologist
• UnspecifiedZnot clear
unclear who ran the
parent training groups
• Parent training
• Psychological therapy
(play therapy and
Psicomotricidad (a
method developed in
France) was used with
children; problem-
focused psychotherapy
was used with adults;
and for family and
marital therapy, the
systemic model was
used, using its different
orientations)
• PersonaizsocialZfamily
support
• Assessment
• Other ("Families
received other
community services
in addition to the
treatment program,
when these services
were appropriate for
the treatment process.
Direct intervention of
the judicial system was
very infrequent.”) (.
423)
"The analysis obtained the lowest rates of success for neglectful and abusive-neglectful
families. Dropout and non-dropout families differed in two paternal characteristics:
alcohol problems and childhood experience of out-of-home care. Rehabilitated and non-
rehabilitated families differed in several variables, including time elapsed between case
detection and referral to the treatment program. Scores on measures showed significant
changes during treatment.” (p 413)
Of the 110 families who finished the treatment program, case co-ordinators indicated
that "the treatment was successful in 53.6% of the cases and unsuccessful in 46.4% of the
cases. Within the group rated as partially but not sufficiently improved (31.8%), workers
thought some families, with treatment and supportive services longer than 24 months,
were likely to reach a sufficient level of competence in their functioning and in the
parental role performance.”
Researchers "obtained the treatment results for the high-risk, physical-abuse, and
emotional-abuseZneglect groups, but the data about the physical-abuse, and emotional-
abuseZneglect groups are questionable because of the small number of cases. They
obtained the lowest rates of rehabilitation for the physical abuse and neglect as well as
the neglect groups (see table 4).
"No personal or psychosocial characteristics of parents and families were significantly
related to treatment results, except for the extent of economic dependence on social
welfare. Fewer economically dependent families were rehabilitated”; chi-square = 4.25,
p<0.05. (p 427)
"...families who reached rehabilitation provided better care for children’s needs at the
beginning of treatment...Children from families who reached rehabilitation showed fewer
behaviour problems at school at the beginning of treatment than children from families
who did not reach rehabilitation.” (p 432)
Appendix 4 Summary of in-depth studies 49