Child abuse & neglect
-
We conducted a survey to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and effects of a history of childhood sexual and physical abuse among professionals responsible for evaluating child sexual abuse allegations. A gender-stratified random sample of 1,635 United States clinicians was drawn from the most current national directories of clinical social work, pediatrics, psychiatry, and psychology. We received 656 completed questionnaires, yielding a 42% response rate. ⋯ Both men and women who had been sexually abused were more likely to be in nonmarital relationships than were those who had not been sexually abused. Women who had been sexually abused were less likely to have raised children than were women who had not been sexually abused. Respondents who had been sexually abused and/or physically abused were more likely to believe allegations of sexual abuse contained in 16 vignettes alleging sexual abuse.
-
Child abuse & neglect · Mar 1993
Comparative StudyIntensive Family Preservation Services with abused and neglected children: an examination of group differences.
Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) have emerged as one of the most widely-employed placement prevention models in the field of Family-Based Services. Most IFPS evaluations have reported positive outcomes, but some results have been mixed. ⋯ It was found that: (a) Neglectful families, in contrast to abusive ones, were poorer, more reliant on public income, more likely to be headed by a single parent, had more children at imminent risk of placement, and were more likely to have medical, mental health, and substance abuse problems; (b) families referred for both abuse and neglect were more similar to the neglect-only group than the abuse-only one; and (c) although the majority of all children avoided placement, children from neglectful families were almost twice as likely to be placed than children from abusive ones, with those from multiple maltreatment families being at highest risk. The implications for research methodology and service delivery are discussed.
-
Child abuse & neglect · Jan 1989
Sexual abuse of English boys and girls: the importance of anal examination.
Child sexual abuse is attracting increasing attention in the United Kingdom. In Leeds this is reflected in the work of two pediatricians who receive multiagency, direct referrals for children of all ages. Over two years 1,368 referrals were received for all kinds of abuse and neglect, including 608 for suspected sexual abuse (Hobbs & Wynne, 1987a), of which 337 (243 girls, 94 boys) were confirmed or probable cases. ⋯ Healing and resolution of anal physical findings on follow-up were observed from days to months after initial examination. The general absence of these findings in the group of children judged not to have been sexually abused supports a cause and effect hypothesis, but further research is required. Medical examination of every child where symptoms, signs, or situation raise the possibility of abuse or neglect must include anal inspection, but instrumental or digital examination is not recommended.
-
Child abuse & neglect · Jan 1989
Parental compliance to court-ordered treatment interventions in cases of child maltreatment.
The authors reviewed 136 court cases representing 218 parents of children maltreated enough to warrant custodial transfer of the child from the parents to the state. The court's psychotherapeutic treatment orders were noted and parental compliance with those orders documented and analyzed. ⋯ Treatment compliance was significantly lowered in those parents presenting with substance abuse. Compliance was also significantly lower among those parents who sexually and/or physically maltreated their children than among parents who neglected but did not physically or sexually maltreat their children.
-
Interdisciplinary teams for the treatment of child abuse and neglect are becoming more common. Studies have shown that decisions made by groups who have had the opportunity to discuss their perspectives are more accurate than judgments made by individuals. Why this may be true is not clear. ⋯ The decision-making process of the team was characterized by multiple observations of family members by multiple observers in multiple settings over time. This decision-making process is similar to processes used by many other treatment teams. The findings of the present research, then, are likely to be generalizable to other teams whose decision-making processes are similar.