This clear and compelling textbook provides a complete survey of the field of child abuse and neglect from the perspective of modern developmental attachment theory. It starts by describing the ways in which attachment difficulties manifest themselves in children's behaviour, and goes on looking at abuse, neglect, and compound cases of abuse and neglect, backing it all up with empirical research evidence and vivid case material. In its final section, it provides a comprehensive review of attachment-based interventions. Written by an extremely respected and successful author, this book, anchored in research evidence, places its emphasis on practice implementation and aims at answering all the kinds of questions practitioners and student practitioners specialising in child welfare are most likely to ask.

Professor David Howe OBE works in the Centre for Research on the Child and Family at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. He has research, writing and teaching interests in child abuse and neglect, adoption, and children's development, and was founding editor of the Blackwell Science journal, Child and Family Social Work (1996-2001). Other publications include On Being a Client: Understanding the Process of Counselling & Psychotherapy (Sage, 1993), Introduction to Social Work Theory: Making Sense in Practice (Avebury, 1987, and still selling) and Adopters on Adoption (British Association for Adoption and Fostering, 1996).