# Child abuse question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-question/129745 "2002-09-26T19:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-question/129745/1 "2002-09-26T19:45:42Z")
There’s a current thread in the Pit, [Tampa girl starved by her mother, boyfriend](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=136710), that caused me to think I remember reading of various cases over the years where there have been multiple siblings, yet only one child is the subject of the abuse. Am I imagining that? If not, is there a word for the phenomenon? Psycholoogical explanations? ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2002, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-question/129745/2 "2002-09-26T22:01:49Z")
The Cinderella syndrome, mayhaps? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2002, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-question/129745/3 "2002-09-26T22:23:38Z")
I don’t remember a name for the phenomenon, but there is one for the child- “target child”. As far as explanations, the only ones that I remember are that sometimes that child reminds the abuser in some way of the other parent or a grandparent who is disliked, and sometimes (and this one I’ve seen) the target child is a older child living with one parent, a step-parent and their children.