Viewing the Abusive Parent and the Abused Child as Captor and Hostage: The Application of Hostage Theory to the Effects of Child Abuse.

Many behavioral characteristics found in the terrorist/hostage literature appear to have a parallel in the behavior of the abuser, including personality characteristics, circumstances around the violence, beliefs held, and similar defensive behavior adopted by the hostage and the abused child. These parallels indicate the need for different approaches to intervention in child abuse. (JPS)