Does childhood victimization increase the risk of early death? A 25-year prospective study

BACKGROUND: Abuse and neglect have been shown to influence the mental and physical health of children; however, few studies have examined whether childhood victimization leads to an increased risk of early death. PURPOSE: This paper compares mortality data and examines cause of death for a sample of 908 abused and/or neglected individuals and 667 matched controls who were followed up into young adulthood. METHODS: Using data from a prospective cohort design study, a large group of children with substantiated cases of abuse (physical and sexual) and/or neglect approximately 25 years ago were matched with a control group of children and both groups were followed up into adulthood. The National Death Index was searched twice and official death certificates were collected for most individuals who had died. RESULTS: Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in rates of mortality for the two groups (abuse and neglect = 3.5%, controls = 3.0%). Furthermore, victims of child abuse and neglect were not more likely to experience a violent death. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not provide support for a heightened rate of early death in abused and neglected children followed up into young adulthood. Limitations of the study are discussed as well as potential reasons for these unexpected findings.     

Five Critical Stances Towards Liberal Philosophy of Education in Britain

In this paper John White argues that there has been a decline in interest in and support for liberalism in British philosophy of education. He provides examples of work by leading figures in the field that demonstrates scepticism about the key liberal value of autonomy and offers an analysis of new influences in the field that have contributed to this decline. In particular he notes the increase of work from a religious perspective. Doubts are expressed about the practical relevance to education of some of these avenues of thought, and the suggestion is made that they cause those within the field to be more out of touch with society at large, in which liberal values have continued to be the major source of animation. The paper is followed by short responses from four philosophers of education whose work he criticises.     

Learning To Read Each Other: Black Female Graduate Students Share Their Experiences at a White Research I Institution

This paper uses Black Feminist Thought to explain the lived experiences of three Black female graduate students at a White Research I institution. Through mentoring from Black female professors, the students received instrumental and psychosocial support that helped them to navigate through their graduate level work. Common themes of identity, community service missions, and empowerment provides a thread that ties the student’s narratives together. We close by offering some suggestions for further research on the Black graduate experience and mentoring Black graduate students. Meca R. Williams, Denise N. Brewley, R. Judith Reed and Dorothy Y. White are affiliated with University of Georgia. Rachel T. Davis-Haley is affiliated with University of New Orleans.     

Using Research to Improve the Cost Effectiveness of Early Intervention Programs

Since the implementation of Public Law 99457, the number of children served by early intervention programs has increased substantially. This article describes the d e s of advocacy and science in contributing to that expansion. A biosocial systems model of early development is used to explain how comparative experimental research can help to improve the cost effectiveness of early intervention programs. Examples of the benefits of such research are taken from the other articles reported in this issue of Early Education and Development.     

Toronto multiagency child abuse research project: The abused and the abuser

Information from 422 cases of child mistreatment in Toronto was gathered from the files of a child welfare agency and a children's hospital. These data were compared to patterns reported in previous studies and clinical writings on child mistreatment to investigate similarities and differences in families whose children have been abused in Canada, England, and the United States. Findings from the present study were similar to others in many respects. The differences were primarily in the area of lower incidences of such problems as perinatal difficulties in the children and intellectual limitations and social isolation in the parents; however, there was a higher incidence of single-parent families. The results suggest that clinicians should bear in mind that child mistreatment cannot be ruled out on the grounds that no serious problems have been noted for the child or the family.