Childhood victimization and lifetime revictimization

OBJECTIVE: To examine the fundamental hypothesis that childhood victimization leads to increased vulnerability for subsequent (re)victimization in adolescence and adulthood and, if so, whether there are differences in rates of experiencing traumas and victimizations by gender, race/ethnicity, and type of childhood abuse and/or neglect. METHODS: Using a prospective cohort design, participants are individuals with documented cases of childhood physical and sexual abuse and neglect from the years 1967 through 1971 and a matched control group. Both groups were interviewed in-person (mean age 39.5 years) in 2000-2002 using a new instrument to assess lifetime trauma and victimization history. RESULTS: Abused and neglected individuals reported a higher number of traumas and victimization experiences than controls and all types of childhood victimization (physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect) were associated with increased risk for lifetime revictimization. Significant group (abuse/neglect vs. control) by gender and group by race/ethnicity interactions were found. Childhood victimization increased risk for physical and sexual assault/abuse, kidnapping/stalking, and having a family friend murdered or commit suicide, but not for general traumas, witnessing trauma, or crime victimization. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide strong support for the need for early intervention with abused and neglected children and their families to prevent subsequent exposure to traumas and victimization experiences.     

Epidemiologic variations in childhood sexual abuse

We retrospectively reviewed records of 566 children ranging from 6 months to 16 years of age who presented to a sexual assault crisis center. They represented 33.2% of all alleged sexual assault victims seen over a 36 month period. There were 103 males (18.2%) and 463 females (81.8%). Significant differences in presentation were demonstrated with respect to the victim's age, sex, and race, but the major factor influencing the variation is the victim/assailant relationship. Younger children were more likely than older children to present with histories of multiple assaults (p less than .0005), by known assailants (p less than .0005), occurring in the child's or assailant's home (p less than .001) and to report less violence (p less than .05). More risk of violence (p less than .0005) or evidence of trauma (p less than .0005) and less reporting of home assaults (p less than .0005) or multiple assault episodes (p less than .0005) were found in assaults by strangers when compared with non-stranger assaults. A lower frequency of reporting was found in females between 7 and 11 years of age. The dynamics of childhood sexual abuse are discussed in relationship to these findings. A number of victim and assailant related factors determine reporting patterns of childhood sexual abuse.     

Obesity prevalence among youth investigated for maltreatment in the United States

The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence and correlates of obesity among youth investigated for maltreatment in the United States. Participants were drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II, a national probability study of 5,873 children aged birth to 17 years under investigation for maltreatment in 2008. From child weight reported by caregivers, we estimated obesity (weight-for-age ≥95th percentile) prevalence among children aged 2 through 17 (n = 2,948). Sex-specific logistic regression models by developmental age were used to identify obesity risk factors, including child age, race/ethnicity, and maltreatment type. Obesity prevalence was 25.4% and was higher among boys than girls (30.0% vs. 20.8%). African American adolescent boys had a lower risk for obesity than white boys (OR = 0.28, 95% CI [0.08, 0.94]). Compared with girls aged 2–5 with a neglect allegation, girls with a sexual abuse allegation were at greater risk for obesity (OR = 3.54, 95% CI [1.01, 12.41]). Compared with adolescent boys with a neglect allegation, boys with a physical abuse allegation had a lower risk for obesity (OR = 0.24, 95% CI [0.06, 0.99]). Adolescent girls with a prior family history of investigation were at greater risk for obesity than those without a history of investigation (OR = 3.97, 95% CI [1.58, 10.02]). Youth investigated for maltreatment have high obesity rates compared with national peers. Opportunities to modify and evaluate related child welfare policies and health care practices should be pursued.     

Practitioner and communities’ awareness of CALFB: Child abuse linked to faith or belief

This paper reports the results of an online survey which aimed to explore practitioners’ and faith community groups’ awareness and understanding of child abuse linked to faith or belief (CALFB) and to identify their further training needs in this area. The survey was founded in the work of the National working group for CALFB; a multi-agency response group committed to raising knowledge and awareness of this form of child abuse. Despite the relatively small number of recorded cases, CALFB continues to be a matter of concern to professionals and faith communities in the UK and beyond. One thousand three hundred and sixty two respondents comprising of frontline practitioners, faith and community group members completed the survey. A mixed-method analysis of the survey data illustrates a wide-ranging understanding of the term CALFB and disagreement about whether this is a specific form of child abuse. The results also indicate a relationship between confidence levels in identifying and responding to CALFB and specific training in this area. There is a call for specialised training to be more readily available. Further work is needed to develop a toolkit, which identifies indicators of CALFB and effective response pathways together with research across communities. The current research is timely and important in providing a foundation on which to build more effective identification of cases, policy and intervention.     

幼儿攻击行为的因素分析及干预策略

一般把任何有目的地伤害他人（或其它生物）,而被伤害者则试图回避的这种行为称作是攻击行为.幼儿攻击行为一直都是教师和家长特别关注的现象,它是幼儿健康领域中的一个重要问题,影响着幼儿性格与品德的形成,还可能成为今后各种各样行为问题的导火索.影响幼儿攻击行为发展的因素有很多,包括生物学因素和社会文化因素.如何正确引导和教育幼儿减少攻击行为,对于幼儿的身心健康发展起到了至关重要的作用.本文结合小班幼儿攻击行为的个案作出分析,从生物学因素、社会文化因素两种角度提出相应的解决策略和引导方法,正确引导幼儿的行为发展,提高幼儿的道德发展水平.     

Training day care program personnel in handling child abuse cases: intervention and prevention outcomes

Attempts have been made to provide day care services as part of a treatment plan and these services are also used as a preventive strategy. Day Care programs have the potential for providing growth experiences, supportive adult role models, and modeling parental skills in an atmosphere of understanding, respect and trust. There is a need, however, for day care professionals and paraprofessionals who come into contact with children to recognize problems of child abuse and neglect and to develop skills to deal with the range of inherent problems. A report on a training program for day care workers is presented in this article. A survey involving 84 day care programs in southeastern Pennsylvania was conducted and comparisons of intervention and prevention activities of two groups: those programs whose staff participated in the training and those whose staff did not, were made. Assessment of intervention activities shows that there is no difference between the groups. However, analysis of prevention activities shows that day care workers in the trained group were significantly more involved in prevention and high risk referral.     

Post-traumatic stress as a pathway to psychopathology among adolescents at high-risk for victimization

ObjectiveVictimization by violence elevates adolescents’ risk for developing internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Recent findings suggest that disruptions in developmental processes associated with post-traumatic stress (PTS) reactions may partially account for the relationship between victimization and the subsequent development of psychopathology during adolescence. The present study tested the temporal sequencing of these associations using multi-informant measurements in a large, diverse sample of adolescents at high-risk for victimization.MethodData were collected from a multi-site consortium of prospective studies, the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Information about 833 youth’s victimization experiences (i.e., direct, indirect, familial, and non-familial violence), PTS, and affective, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms were gathered from youth and their caregivers during biannual face-to-face interviews when youth were between the ages of 4 and 14 years, and continuously from official child protective services records.ResultsStructural equation modeling revealed that cumulative victimization contributed to elevations in youth and caregiver reported late childhood and early adolescent psychopathology. While PTS mediated the association between victimization and youth reported ADHD, ODD, CD, major depressive, and generalized anxiety symptoms during adolescence, it only mediated the association between victimization and caregiver reported affective symptoms.ConclusionsPTS reactions following childhood victimization partially accounted for escalations in psychopathology during the transition to adolescence. These findings underscore the importance of integrating trauma-informed assessment and intervention approaches with at-risk adolescents. Researchers should determine whether trauma-focused interventions sufficiently ameliorate other psychopathology among victimized adolescents or if additional interventions components are necessary.     

Child maltreatment severity and adult trauma symptoms: Does perceived social support play a buffering role?

Objectives

The current study investigates the moderating effect of perceived social support on associations between child maltreatment severity and adult trauma symptoms. We extend the existing literature by examining the roles of severity of multiple maltreatment types (i.e., sexual, physical, and emotional abuse; physical and emotional neglect) and gender in this process.

Methods

The sample included 372 newlywed individuals recruited from marriage license records. Participants completed a number of self-report questionnaires measuring the nature and severity of child maltreatment history, perceived social support from friends and family, and trauma-related symptoms. These questionnaires were part of a larger study, investigating marital and intrapersonal functioning. We conducted separate, two-step hierarchical multiple regression models for perceived social support from family and perceived social support from friends. In each of these models, total trauma symptomatology was predicted from each child maltreatment severity variable, perceived social support, and the product of the two variables. In order to examine the role of gender, we conducted separate analyses for women and men.

Results

As hypothesized, increased severity of several maltreatment types (sexual abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect) predicted greater trauma symptoms for both women and men, and increased physical abuse severity predicted greater trauma symptoms for women. Perceived social support from both family and friends predicted lower trauma symptoms across all levels of maltreatment for men. For women, greater perceived social support from friends, but not from family, predicted decreased trauma symptoms. Finally, among women, perceived social support from family interacted with child maltreatment such that, as the severity of maltreatment (physical and emotional abuse, emotional neglect) increased, the buffering effect of perceived social support from family on trauma symptoms diminished.

Conclusions

The results of the current study shed new light on the potential for social support to shield individuals against long-term trauma symptoms, and suggest the importance of strengthening perceptions of available social support when working with adult survivors of child maltreatment.