Child abuse & neglect
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Child abuse & neglect · Sep 2010
Psychosocial outcomes related to subjective threat from armed conflict events (STACE): Findings from the Israeli-Palestinian cross-cultural HBSC study.
This study investigates the relationship between exposure to armed conflict and terror events, and an array of mental and behavioral outcomes within a large cross-cultural scientifically representative sample of 24,935 Palestinian (7,430 West Bank and 7,217 Gaza) and Israeli (5,255 Jewish and 6,033 Arab) 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old school children. The children of the Middle East have been subjected to exposure from armed conflict and terrorism repeatedly with no adequate research or interventions aimed at shielding them from the hazards of such exposure to their mental and social well-being. ⋯ Regardless of the type of armed conflict events, the perception of threat and fear that a child experiences has a universal significant negative impact on mental, social, and behavioral well-being. The importance of the existence of a supporting significant adult in exposed children's lives is also emphasized. The findings show major implications for the development of community-based interventions focusing on enhancing parental, and other adult support in the lives of children living in armed conflict regions of the world.
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Child abuse & neglect · Aug 2010
Comparative StudyChildhood experiences of sexual abuse and later parenting practices among non-offending mothers of sexually abused and comparison girls.
The primary goal of this study was to explore the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and parenting practices among non-offending mothers of sexually abused girls. Guided by a developmental-ecological perspective of parenting, several models with different potential pathways starting from the mothers' childhood experiences of sexual abuse and culminating in their parenting practices (e.g., direct, spurious, indirect effect) were hypothesized and explored in the context of the mothers' past and current psychosocial risks and resources. Two dimensions of parenting were considered: providing positive structure (i.e., ratings of how consistent, fair, easygoing), and using punitive discipline. ⋯ The significance of these findings is discussed in the context of theories concerning childhood trauma and parenting, as well as the intergenerational process of child maltreatment. Practice implications of the findings are also presented and discussed in terms of intervention programs for families where intrafamilial child sexual abuse occurs.
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Child abuse & neglect · Jul 2010
Maternal violence, victimization, and child physical punishment in Peru.
This study examined whether mothers' experience of violence was a risk factor for physical punishment. ⋯ Increased public education is needed of the negative consequences of intimate partner emotional and physical violence victimization for mothers' childrearing strategies. There is a need to integrate intimate partner violence into child welfare programs and develop effective screening mechanisms for maternal violence victimization and child maltreatment.
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This article examines safe haven laws, which allow parents to legally abandon their infants. The main objective is to determine whether safe haven laws fit the criteria of crime control theater, a term used to describe public policies that produce the appearance, but not the effect, of crime control, and as such are essentially socially constructed "solutions" to socially constructed crime "problems." ⋯ Longitudinal studies and a nationwide database to better determine the effectiveness of safe haven laws are suggested. It is also crucial that agencies implementing SHLs closely monitor the reasons parents abandon their children, and adopt policies that re-focus the attention safe haven laws receive to address more frequent causes of harm to infants.
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Child abuse & neglect · Jul 2010
Adult adjustment of survivors of institutional child abuse in Ireland.
To document the adult adjustment of survivors of childhood institutional abuse. ⋯ Policies, practices and procedures should be regularly reviewed and revised to maximize protection of young people in institutional care. Evidence-based psychological treatment should be made available to adult survivors of institutional abuse.