Child sexual abuse: victim age, victim gender, and observer gender as factors contributing to attributions of responsibility

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of victim age, victim gender, and observer gender on the tendency to attribute responsibility for extrafamilial child sexual abuse to the victim and the nonoffending parents.Method: A 2 (Victim Age) × 2 (Victim Gender) × 2 (Observer Gender) between-subjects design was employed. Undergraduate students (N = 145) read a vignette describing a sexually abusive interaction between an adult male neighbor and a child. In this vignette, the child’s gender and age (6 years old, 13 years old) varied. After reading the vignette, participants used a 5-point scale to indicate the degree to which they believed the victim and the parents (a) were responsible for, (b) were to blame for, (c) caused, and (d) could have prevented the abuse.Results: Greater responsibility was assigned to older than younger victims. Both parents were ascribed similar levels of responsibility, and were ascribed greater responsibility when the child victim was younger than older. Male observers attributed greater responsibility and causality to the victim and the parents than did female observers.Conclusions: The results indicate that responsibility attributions directed toward the victim and the nonoffending parents may be a function of the victim’s age. In addition, the findings support previous research suggesting that male observers may tend to hold victims more responsible for their abuse than female observers. Implications for treatment and research are discussed.Spanish abstract was not available at time of publication.     

“Just dreaming of them”: The Berlin Project for Primary Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse by Juveniles (PPJ)

The Berlin Project for Primary Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse by Juveniles (PPJ) offers diagnostic and therapeutic help to 12-to-18-year-old juveniles with a sexual preference for the prepubescent and/or early pubescent body of children and who apply for treatment on a voluntary basis. The project goal is to prevent primary or recurrent child sexual abuse as well as primary or recurrent use of child abuse images. Treatment aims to enable affected juveniles to obtain control over their conflictual sexual behaviors. In the present article, the origin of the PPJ; its main approach, including the conception of a media campaign; as well as results from the first year of a three-year study are presented. Further, initial characterizations of juveniles taking part in the project for the first 12 months are provided. The results confirmed that the group of 12-to-18-year-old juveniles with a sexual preference for prepubescent and/or early pubescent minors exists as a target group for primary preventive measures and that they can be assessed for their sexual preferences.     

完善我国未成年人犯罪预防、治理的立法思考

未成年人犯罪的不断攀升,已经成为全球性的严重社会问题,为我国乃至世界各国刑事法律界所关注.如何有效预防、治理未成年人犯罪,是一项系统工程,需要全社会的共同努力.国家立法机关通过制订、完善预防、治理未成年人犯罪的有关法律制度,则是这一系统工程中的不可缺少的基础性环节.但我国在这方面的立法还很不完善,应当借鉴国际社会中有关未成年人犯罪预防、治理立法的成熟经验,在实体上,修改或者补充刑法,建立专门的有关未成年人犯罪的刑事实体法律规范体系;在程序上,修改刑事诉讼法,设立适用未成年人身心特点的未成年人刑事司法程序;在对未成年人的特殊保护上,进一步强化、完善有关未成年人保护、犯罪预防及其治理的综合性立法;在司法体制上,确立少年法庭体制.     

Emotion dysregulation as a mechanism linking child maltreatment exposure and self-harm behaviors in adolescents

Although child maltreatment exposure is a recognized risk factor for self-harm, mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. Self-harm may function as a compensatory strategy to regulate distressing emotions. This cross-sectional study examines if emotion dysregulation mediates between the severity of maltreatment exposure and self-harm, adjusting for demographic variables and depressive symptoms. Participants were 108 adolescent patients recruited from a psychiatric hospital in Singapore (mean age 17.0 years, SD = 1.65; 59.3% female). Study measures included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). Path analysis was conducted to examine the direct and indirect effects of maltreatment exposure on self-harm via emotion dysregulation, controlling for demographic variables and depressive symptoms. Indirect effects were tested using bootstrapped confidence intervals (CI). Results showed that self-harm was highly prevalent in our sample (75.9%). Emotion dysregulation and depressive symptoms were found to be associated with higher self-harm frequency. In addition, results from path analysis showed that the association between the severity of maltreatment exposure and self-harm frequency was significantly mediated by emotion dysregulation B = 0.07, p < 0.05, 95% CI [0.02, 0.16]. Thus, emotion dysregulation may be a proximal mechanism linking maltreatment exposure and adolescent self-harm. Notably, self-harm may represent maladaptive attempts to manage emotion dysregulation that may have resulted from maltreatment. Findings from the study have implications for the prevention and treatment of self-harm in maltreated youth.     

青少年犯罪内在机理新探

目前人们往往把青少年犯罪归结为社会、学校、家庭、个体等因素的诱发物,但具体如何发生却研究不足,没有真正揭示青少年犯罪的内在机理。本文认为：社会基本矛盾是青少年犯罪的根本因素;外在环境和条件是青少年犯罪的诱发因素;权益侵害是青少年犯罪的激活因素;个体素质是青少年犯罪的调节因素;而青少年犯罪的行为选择是借助于心理机制来实现的。研究青少年犯罪的机理具有十分重要的理论价值和现实意义。     

预防未成年人犯罪的对策与建议

改革开放以来,未成年人违法犯罪案件呈明显上升趋势,对社会治安构成了极大的隐患。因此,应通过进一步完善立法,健全、完善未成年人培养教育机制,加强社会治安综合治理和落实刑事政策、实施司法预防来积极预防未成年人犯罪。     

家庭暴力及其对青少年犯罪的影响

家庭暴力和青少年犯罪作为共存于家庭和社会的两大问题,二者之间存在着密切的联系。家庭暴力是导致青少年犯罪的一个重要原因。就家庭暴力对青少年犯罪的影响进行深入的分析,并提出了一些防控措施来预防和减少青少年犯罪。     

The case of literacy: a response to John Wilson

Contemporary theories of academic motivation seek to explain students’ behaviours in academic settings. While each theory seems to possess its own constructs and unique explanations, these theories are actually closely tied together. In this theoretical study of motivation, several theories of motivation were described and an underlying theme of the influence of emotions was used to unify the theories. In these theories, emotions and beliefs are thought to elicit different patterns of behaviour such as pursuit of mastery, failure avoidance, learned helplessness and passive aggression. Implications emerged which focused upon creating classroom contexts that foster feelings of autonomy, competence and meaning as the catalysts for developing adaptive, constructive learning.     

如何看待社区服务令

我国目前刑事制度中尚无“社区服务令”这种刑罚,虽然在法律框架内找不到法律依据,但在尊重我国国情的具体的实践中,尤其是对未成年犯实施“社区服务令”已经取得了良好的效果。