Symptomatology in adolescents following initial disclosure of sexual abuse: The roles of crisis support, appraisals and coping

ObjectiveThe present study examined possible explanations for symptom development and variability in sexually abused adolescents. A theoretical model of sexual abuse, in which appraisal, coping and crisis support play prominent roles, was tested in a clinical group of 100 sexually abused adolescents.MethodParticipants, aged 12–18 years, completed questionnaires regarding severity of abuse, negative appraisals, crisis support, coping strategies, and trauma-related stress symptoms.ResultsSince severity of abuse had no influence on the association between appraisals and symptoms it was eliminated from our model. Structural equation modeling analyses showed a significant interrelationship between the examined concepts. Adolescents who appraised the abuse as more threatening showed more internalizing and externalizing trauma symptoms. Moreover, more negative appraisals were associated with more avoidance as well as with more active coping strategies. Direct crisis support was associated with less negative appraisals and with the use of more active coping strategies.ConclusionsThe study showed that especially the buffering role of crisis support and the role of negative appraisals explained symptom development and variety in sexually abused adolescents.Practice implicationsAdaptation to sexual abuse includes the ways in which adolescents perceive the event as threatening and harmful, how they cope with the abusive experience, and how they receive direct support from their family. Clinicians, therefore, need to expand the focus of their assessments beyond age- and trauma-specific symptoms, to age- and trauma-specific appraisals, coping, and social support. The assessment of these factors should take place as soon as possible after the disclosure of the abuse. Individualized treatment plans and clinical interventions need to be based on these personal and environmental variables, rather than reliance on the influence of abuse-related characteristics, such as the severity or type of abuse.     

Dealing with the Aftermath of Child Sexual Abuse: A Reflection on Three Case Examples

This paper is based upon three stories which were told by respondents in a study of how survivors, mothers of survivors and teachers of survivors cope in the aftermath of child sexual abuse. These stories relate to interactions in the school or workplace and are discussed within the broader context of existing stereotypes and assumptions about abuse. The paper argues that assumptions about abuse can affect outcomes and can cause distress to others who become involved in dealing with it.     

Sexual abuse history among adult sex offenders and non-sex offenders: A meta-analysis

ObjectiveThe sexually abused–sexual abuser hypothesis states there is a specific relationship between sexual abuse history and sexual offending, such that individuals who experience sexual abuse are significantly more likely to later engage in sexual offenses. Therefore, samples of adult sex offenders should contain a disproportionate number of individuals who have experienced sexual abuse, but not necessarily other types of abuse, compared with samples of other types of offenders.MethodsWe compared rates of sexual and other forms of abuse reported in 17 studies, involving 1,037 sex offenders and 1,762 non-sex offenders. We also examined the prevalence of different forms of abuse in 15 studies that compared adult sex offenders against adults (n = 962) and against children (n = 1,334), to determine if the sexually abused–sexual abuser association is even more specific to individuals who sexually offend against children.ResultsWe observed a higher prevalence of sexual abuse history among adult sex offenders than among non-sex offenders (Odds Ratio = 3.36, 95% confidence intervals of 2.23–4.82). The two groups did not significantly differ with regard to physical abuse history (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 0.88–2.56). There was a significantly lower prevalence of sexual abuse history among sex offenders against adults compared to sex offenders against children (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.35–0.74), whereas the opposite was found for physical abuse (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.02–2.02).ConclusionThere is support for the sexually abused–sexual abuser hypothesis, in that sex offenders are more likely to have been sexually abused than non-sex offenders, but not more likely to have been physically abused. We discuss potential mechanisms for the relationship between sexual abuse history and sexual offending, including the possibility that a third factor might account for the relationship.Practice implicationsThe most obvious implications of these findings is that the prevention of sexual abuse of children, either through prevention programs directly targeting children or through treatment programs targeting individuals who are likely to sexually offend against children (e.g., known sex offenders against extra-familial boys), may eventually reduce the number of sex offenders. This implication is dependent, however, on a causal role of childhood sexual abuse, and on the effectiveness of prevention and treatment practices.     

The politics of education and the misrecognition of Wales

Abstract

This paper examines the positioning of the Welsh education system within contemporary policy debate and analysis. It begins by outlining some of the ways in which education policy and provision in Wales differs from that of its neighbour, England, and then goes on to critique how these differences have been represented in both the media and by members of the educational research community. Indeed, the paper argues that these representations constitute a form of misrecognition. It is tempting to counter this misrecognition with assertions of the superiority of the ‘Welsh way’—and certainly pronouncements of a ‘crisis’ in Welsh education appear to be as much politically-driven as evidence-based. However, such an approach would underplay the very real challenges that face Wales—challenges which are both like and unlike those facing England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The paper concludes that we need a serious engagement with national divergences across the four nations of the UK—as well as elsewhere. The case of Wales highlights the need to undertake not only comparative analysis but also relational analysis if we are to enhance our understanding of the changing politics of education.     

Experiences of fatherhood among men who were sexually abused in childhood

BackgroundFatherhood is a complex psychological process, which is shaped at a profound level by reflections on past childhood memories and parenting experienced in childhood. Fathers who were sexually abused in childhood may experience particular challenges for their fathering identity and parenting role.ObjectiveThis qualitative study explored the experiences of fatherhood for men who were sexually abused in childhood and how they perceived themselves in the fathering role.Participants and SettingEleven participants were recruited to the study from three therapy services for adult survivors of abuse in the Republic of Ireland.MethodsData collection comprised face to face semi-structured interviews, which were audio recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. Data analysis drew on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and two superordinate themes with associated subthemes were identified.ResultsParticipants’ experience of childhood sexual abuse provided a lens through which they experienced fatherhood and themselves in a fathering role. Fatherhood influenced participants to confront unintegrated aspects of the trauma they experienced in childhood, which manifested in hypervigilance with regard to their children’s safety and doubt that they were good enough fathers. However, fatherhood also offered an opportunity to heal. This occurred through striving to provide a better father-child relationship and through connection in restorative relationships, including the therapeutic relationship.ConclusionFatherhood was seen as a potential resource for positive change and can influence long held internal working models of the self and others.     

Girls and economic survival

Abstract

This article argues that the academic values associated with intellectual freedom are incommensurable with those of industry which permeate recent related government initiatives associated with enterprise education and quality audit and assessment. It concludes that if industrial values are implanted in universities, they will destroy the academic values on which open intellectual enquiry and the disinterested pursuit of knowledge depend.     

(Un)learning the city through crisis: lessons from Cape Town

ABSTRACT

Scholarly research has shown the importance of moments of crisis, in particular the direct aftermath of urban crises, as opportunities to learn about urban vulnerabilities. However, if it is widely assumed that learning is important, in particular for resilience-building, we still know very little about how such learning occurs in a moment of crisis. This paper starts addressing this gap, arguing that moments of crisis constitute a specific type of ‘learning space’. This proposition is taken forward through the analysis of a large-scale (social and humanitarian) urban crisis in the city of Cape Town. The paper maps out the emergence of multi-stakeholder knowledge networks throughout the crisis management process and explores the extent to which these were embedded into city-wide learning infrastructures after the crisis. It shows that moments of crisis represent an opportunity for ephemeral transsectorial knowledge coalitions to come about around issues that are made visible through the crisis itself. This can also be seen as an opportunity for potential learning spaces to open up.     

Childhood sexual abuse is significantly associated with subsequent sexual offending: New evidence among federal correctional clients

BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences are associated with multiple negative behavioral outcomes and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is particularly damaging. There is controversial evidence that CSA has a specialized effect on subsequent sexual offending.ObjectiveThe current study tested the hypothesis that CSA is associated with sexual offending.MethodUsing a near-population of correctional clients on supervised release in the Midwestern United States, we examined the hypothesis with hierarchical negative binomial regression models.ResultsCSA was significantly associated with official charges for rape/sexual abuse despite controls for sex, race, age, arrest onset, total arrest charges, total adverse childhood experiences, Antisocial Personality Disorder, sexual sadism, and pedophilia. Age of onset of CSA was also inversely associated with sexual offending with effect sizes ranging between 2–5 standardized z-scores.ConclusionThe current study provides significant evidence that CSA is associated with later sexual offending even when accounting for powerful clinical and criminological covariates.     

Where are all the males? Gender-specific typologies of childhood adversity based on a large community sample

BackgroundMethodological issues have been identified when quantifying exposure to adversity and abuse. To address a single type may obscure covarying effects. To sum multiple exposures gives equal weight to each. Latent class analysis (LCA) addresses this by identifying homogenous subpopulations. Most studies using LCA have pooled gender data in spite of evidence that the nature and frequency of exposure differs by gender. Males report more interpersonal abuse, females report more of other exposures, particularly sexual.ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify if stratifying data by gender resulted in different profiles of adversity/abuseParticipants and setting: The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) wave II, a large community-based survey, nationally representative of the US population.MethodThis study used 14 indicators of childhood adversity as the basis for LCA.ResultsThe number and nature of classes differed by gender. The best solution for females was 4-class: a low risk class; a class at higher risk of sexual abuse; a class at higher risk of physical abuse; a class at higher risk of combined physical and sexual abuse. The best solution for males had only 3-classes; a low risk class, a class at higher risk of sexual abuse; a class at higher risk of physical abuse. The combined dataset resulted in a solution similar to the female solution.ConclusionThe importance of developing models for males and females separately was evidenced by the male and female classes being differentially associated with mental health variables.     

Exploratory assessments of child abuse: Children's responses to interviewer's questions across multiple interview sessions

ObjectiveThe present study extends field research on interviews with young children suspected of having been abused by examining multiple assessment interviews designed to be inquisitory and exploratory, rather than formal evidential or forensic interviews.MethodsSixty-six interviews with 24 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years who were undergoing an assessment for suspected child abuse were examined. Each child was interviewed 2, 3, or 4 times. The interviewer's questions were categorized in terms of openness (open, closed or choice), in terms of the degree of interviewer input (free recall, direct, leading, suggestive), and for topic (whether the question was abuse-specific or nonabuse-related). Children's on-task responses were coded for amount of information (number of clauses) reported in relation to each question type and topic, and off-task responses were categorized as either ignoring the question or a diverted response.ResultsChildren provided a response to most questions, independent of question type or topic and typically responded with one or two simple clauses. Some children disclosed abuse in response to open-ended questions; generally, however, failure to respond to a question was more likely for abuse-specific than for nonabuse-related questions.ConclusionThe findings are discussed in terms of the growing literature on interviewing children about suspected abuse, particularly in interviews conducted over multiple sessions.Practice implicationsAssessment of suspected child abuse may involve more than a single investigative interview. Research examining children's responses to questioning over multiple interviews (or single interviews conducted over multiple sessions) is necessary for the development of best practise guidelines for the assessment of abuse.     

School and program related factors influencing disclosure among children participating in a school-based childhood physical and sexual abuse prevention program

BackgroundSchool-based child abuse prevention programs were created to provide knowledge so that children can recognize abuse, teach skills that decrease children’s risk for abuse, normalize the disclosure process, and provide a pathway for children who may be experiencing abuse to report the abuse.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to explore school and program factors that trainers in a school-based prevention program believed were associated with disclosure among youth from kindergarten through 12th grade.Participants and settingThis study is based on eighteen trainers and administrators who work with the Play it Safe!® school-based program in Dallas-Fort Worth area.MethodsUsing the qualitative case study method, in-depth interviews were conducted.ResultsData analysis revealed three factors that influenced disclosure: school, school personnel, and program features. The school-related factor was time allotted to the training. The school personnel-related factors were disengagement, ambiguity concerning abuse, prior history with children, and professionals’ personal history of abuse. Finally, the program-related factors were the core messages of the training, providing specific examples, and repetition of the program. To date, there is a dearth of studies that explore the role that schools and school personnel play in the disclosure process.ConclusionChild abuse has devastating effects on children’s physical, social, emotional, and psychological well-being. Understanding more about schools, personnel, and program-related factors that lead to disclosure, which are more amenable to change, is critical to ensuring the safety of children.     

Comparing Southern Europe: the difference,the public,and the common

ABSTRACT

After criticising the solutionist drift, this article argues for the need for three gestures, in order to build a more problematised Comparative Education: estrangement, that is, the ability to see the unknown and therefore to distance ourselves from what is already known; intercession, that is, the ability to perceive the importance of mediators; communication, that is, the ability to work in common with others, from different positions and perspectives. Based on these three gestures, the article argues for a Comparative Education that seeks to develop three lines of work: to build a science of difference, rather than a ‘solution’ that tends to homogenise educational directions throughout the world; to strengthen the public space, instead of contributing to the authority of experts; to revitalise the common, instead of yielding to the current fragmentation, in which we interact only with what is similar to us. The arguments are not limited to Southern Europe, as they intend to open up a set of general questions about the meaning of comparative work in education.     

Development and initial validation of the institutional child abuse processes and coping inventory among a sample of Irish adult survivors of institutional abuse

ObjectiveTo develop a psychometric instrument to evaluate psychological processes associated with institutional abuse and coping strategies used to deal with such abuse.MethodsAs part of a comprehensive assessment protocol, an inventory containing theoretically derived multi-item rational scales which assessed institutional abuse-related psychological processes and coping strategies were administered to 247 Irish adult survivors of institutional child abuse. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to derive 6-factor scales, the reliability and validity of which were assessed.ResultsFactor scales to assess the following constructs were developed (1) traumatization, (2) re-enactment, (3) spiritual disengagement, (4) positive coping, (5) coping by complying, and (6) avoidant coping. There were varying degrees of support for the validity of the scales with most support for the traumatization and re-enactment scales.ConclusionsThe Institutional Child Abuse Processes and Coping Inventory (ICAPCI), particularly its traumatization and re-enactment scales, may be used in future research on adult survivors of institutional child abuse because they are currently the only scales that have been developed with this population to provide reliable and valid assessments of these constructs.Practice implicationsThe ICAPCI may be used, cautiously, to assess adult survivors of institutional child abuse.     

Child maltreatment and adult socioeconomic well-being

ObjectiveLittle empirical research has examined the impact that child maltreatment may have on victims’ long-term socioeconomic well-being. The current study sought to address this gap by exploring the relationship between childhood experiences of abuse and neglect and several indicators of socioeconomic well-being in adulthood.MethodData from the nationally representative National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) (n = 5004) were analyzed using logistic regression models to examine whether maltreatment in childhood (any maltreatment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, severe neglect, and multiple types of maltreatment) affected employment status, income, and health care coverage in adulthood. Several potential confounds of this relationship were included as covariates in the models, including race, sex, age, and several indicators of childhood socioeconomic status (SES).ResultsThe results show that adults who had experienced maltreatment differed significantly from non-maltreated adults across each of the socioeconomic domains examined. Effects were additionally found to differ depending on the number of types of maltreatment experienced.ConclusionsIncreased rates of unemployment, poverty, and Medicaid usage indicate the significant long-term personal impact of early victimization. They also suggest a substantial societal cost from this problem through lost economic productivity and tax revenue, and increased social spending. Low socioeconomic status among parents has also been identified as a salient risk factor for the perpetration of maltreatment, and, as such, these results indicate a potential mechanism in the intergenerational transmission of violence.Practice implicationsThe findings from this study suggest that victims of child maltreatment are at increased risk for financial and employment-related difficulties in adulthood. Approximately one million children are identified each year by state agencies as victims of maltreatment in the United States. Many maltreated children, furthermore, go undetected by protective service agencies, indicating the high prevalence of this problem, and underscoring its large economic costs to society. By highlighting the long-term socioeconomic costs of maltreatment, this research should encourage policy makers to focus on improving prevention, intervention, and treatment efforts for victims of abuse and neglect.     

The debate over standards and the uses of testing

Abstract:

This paper, which offers a positive assessment of the role of markets in education, is a ‘reply’ to an earlier contribution to the Journal (41, 4) in which Stewart Ranson argues that markets are intrinsically flawed as a vehicle for improving educational opportunities. The ‘reply’, among other things, argues that Ranson fails to address the shortcomings of education under democratic control and ignores the educational benefits of authentic markets.     

Incidence,type and intensity of abuse in street children in India

ObjectiveThe aims of this cross-sectional survey were to examine the prevalence, type and intensity of abuse in street children in Jaipur city, India.MethodBased on purposive random sampling, 200 street children, inclusive of equal number of boys and girls, were selected from the streets of Jaipur city, India, and administered an in-depth interview schedule which included five areas of abuse, namely, “general abuse,” “health abuse,” “verbal abuse,” “physical abuse,” and “psychological abuse.” Data was interpreted using percentages, t-test and correlations.ResultsStreet children reported experiences of abuse in all the five areas under study. Larger numbers of children (61.8%) scored in the “moderate” category of abuse while 36.6% children indicated abuse in “severe” and “very severe” categories on the intensity of abuse. Highest mean scores were obtained on the “verbal” and “psychological” area of abuse. Gender differences were significant in health and overall abuse, indicating boys to be significantly more abused than girls. There were significant positive correlations of abuse with increasing “age” and “income” of street children; and the occurrence of “multi-type” maltreatment and neglect in street children was clearly present.ConclusionDifferent forms of abuse are prevalent in street children in India. This area of study needs attention both by the researchers and the social workers.Practice implicationschildren who are identified in severe and very severe categories of abuse should be worked with in a follow up study with the help of governmental and nongovernmental agencies working in the field for child welfare.     

Reading between the lines: Implicit assessment of the association of parental attributions and empathy with abuse risk

ObjectiveResearchers in the child maltreatment field have traditionally relied on explicit self-reports to study factors that may exacerbate physical child abuse risk. The current investigation evaluated an implicit analog task utilizing eye tracking technology to assess both parental attributions of child misbehavior and empathy.MethodBased on the observation that readers experience comprehension difficulty when encountering passages inconsistent with their beliefs, an eye tracker gauged the extent of difficulty parents experienced reading vignettes that inappropriately characterized a child as culpable for misbehavior and that presented a non-empathic child interaction.ResultsResults suggest self-reports of attributions and empathy are related to both child abuse potential and discipline intentions; however, the eye tracking analog for empathy correlated with abuse potential but not punishment decisions whereas the analog for attributions correlated with punishment decisions but not abuse potential.ConclusionsSuch contrasts between self-report and analog assessment underscore the need for continued research studying theorized abuse risk constructs using alternative approaches to better identify the important risk markers associated with elevated child abuse risk and to minimize methodological overlap.