Child abuse & neglect
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Child abuse & neglect · Nov 2011
Abusive head trauma at a tertiary care children's hospital in Mexico City. A preliminary study.
Determine the prevalence, clinical signs and symptoms, and demographic and family characteristics of children attending a tertiary care hospital in Mexico City, Mexico, to illustrate the characteristics of abusive head trauma among this population. ⋯ In a tertiary care children's hospital, 11% of the children presenting with head trauma, were considered of abusive origin. Unintended pregnancy among teen mothers and substance abuse in the father were associated with abusive head trauma in this descriptive study.
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The objective of this study was to describe malicious nonpharmaceutical exposures in children reported to US poison centers. ⋯ Clinicians should consider the possibility of child abuse when presented with these exposures.
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Child abuse & neglect · Oct 2011
ReviewEmotional maltreatment in Canada: prevalence, reporting and child welfare responses (CIS2).
To determine the prevalence and characteristics of reports of emotional maltreatment (EMT) in Canada, as well as changes in these reports between 1998 and 2003. ⋯ In 2003, EMT represented a significant increasing form of maltreatment and is detected nearly twice as often in situations in which abuse or neglect are also reported. Reports of emotional abuse are two and a half times more frequent than reports of emotional neglect. Nevertheless, lack of emotional engagement may also be difficult to identify, since an omission is more difficult to detect. Reports of EMT often reveal situations of chronic victimization that have been the subject of previous reports and are associated with greater emotional impact.
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Child abuse & neglect · Oct 2011
The linkages among childhood maltreatment, adolescent mental health, and self-compassion in child welfare adolescents.
Childhood maltreatment is a robust risk factor for poor physical and mental health. Child welfare youths represent a high-risk group, given the greater likelihood of severe or multiple types of maltreatment. This study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-compassion - a concept of positive acceptance of self. While not applied previously to a child welfare sample, self-compassion may be of value in understanding impairment among maltreatment victims. This may be most pertinent in adolescence and young adulthood, when self-identity is a focal developmental process. ⋯ Self-compassion may be a fruitful aspect of research to pursue in an effort to better understand the impact of childhood emotional abuse on adolescent functioning, particularly considering the under-researched group of those receiving child protective services.
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Child abuse & neglect · May 2011
Children's disclosures of sexual abuse: learning from direct inquiry.
Published protocols for forensic interviewing for child sexual abuse do not include specific questions about what prompted children to tell about sexual abuse or what made them wait to tell. We, therefore, aimed to: (1) add direct inquiry about the process of a child's disclosure to a forensic interview protocol; (2) determine if children will, in fact, discuss the process that led them to tell about sexual abuse; and (3) describe the factors that children identify as either having led them to tell about sexual abuse or caused them to delay a disclosure. ⋯ When asked, children identified the first person they told and offered varied and specific reasons for why they told and why they waited to tell about sexual abuse. Understanding why children disclose their abuse and why they wait to disclose will assist both professionals and families. Investigators and those who care for sexually abused children will gain insight into the specific barrier that the sexually abused child overcame to disclose. Prosecutors will be able to use this information to explain to juries why the child may have delayed his or her disclosure. Parents who struggle to understand why their child disclosed to someone else or waited to disclose will have a better understanding of their child's decisions.