Child fostering and the educational outcomes of Jamaican children

The practice of informal fostering is prevalent in many developing regions of the world. Our paper investigates the effects of this practice on school attendance in Jamaica using a rotating panel data set of children constructed from the 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 rounds of the Jamaican Survey of Living Conditions. Using panel data allows us to deal more effectively with the problem of endogeneity by being able to control for household and child fixed effects. Our findings indicate that the effect of fostering on school attendance depends on whether the household is a beneficiary of PATH, a conditional cash transfer programme instituted by the Government of Jamaica in 2001. We find that a foster child that lives within a non-PATH household is associated with being less likely to be absent from school than a foster child who lives in a household that benefits from PATH. This is true especially for foster girls. Although the PATH programme generally appears to be linked to the improvement in school attendance of Jamaican children, the benefits of the programme may be skewed towards biological children.     

Identifying determinants of risk of sexual victimization of youth: a multivariate approach

The present study argues that a greater understanding of the factors which contribute to a youth's sexual victimization is likely to not only be based on what we know about the youths who are victimized but also on comparative information on youths who are not. Selected social background variables from a sample of young victims (n = 20) and nonvictims (n = 21) representing a population of youths with histories of antisocial behavior were compared. Using stepwise discriminant analysis several factors relating to youths' home environment significantly discriminated victims from nonvictims. The results suggest that the probability of being sexually victimized is increased when the home environment is unstable and lacks adequate control over youths' activities. The need for improved research methodologies to achieve better identification of determinants of risk is discussed. Multivariate assessment of social, situational, and personal factors of victims and nonvictims is recommended as a potentially promising approach for improving current rape prevention efforts.     

Joining two social institutions to counter rural Alaskan child abuse

Change in social customs and institutions is usually a slow process. This seems particularly true in attitudes about child abuse. Two key elements for change are being utilized for child protection in a rural area of Alaska with a predominantly Caucasian population. First, application of an old church custom of "constructive gossip" by volunteers is changing this rural community attitude about children. Second, use of an innovative federal government health care delivery program has established this community's first obstetric and pediatric service. With the oil boom in Alaska, widespread family disruption with frequent child abuse and neglect has become commonplace. Despite the oil tax wealth, State of Alaska Child Protection Services are strained to keep up with family and community violence. Deliberate cooperation with local community, church and service organization leaders is helping keep up with child protection needs. The obstetric and pediatric specialists of the National Health Service Corps non-profit practice were co-leaders, along with community leaders, in starting a lay volunteer service called "Friends of Families." Working cooperatively with the state child protection office, 24 families have received assistance from parent aides of Friends of Families. The influence of these two key elements of change on rural community attitudes and institutions are described.     

General population norms about child abuse and neglect and associations with childhood experiences

BACKGROUND: A variety of definitions of child abuse and neglect exist. However, little is known about norms in the general population as to what constitutes child abuse and neglect or how perceived norms may be related to personal experiences. METHODS: We conducted a random-digit-dialed telephone survey of 504 Washington State adults. Respondents were asked whether they believed each of 34 behaviors, identified in focus groups as possibly physically, sexually or emotionally abusive or neglectful, constituted abuse or neglect. Then, they were asked whether they had experienced 33 of the behaviors. RESULTS: Five of the six behaviors with the highest levels of consensus were for sexual abuse, whereas only one emotionally abusive behavior had a high level of consensus (95% agreement). Consensus that spanking constituted abuse increased with severity. Those respondents who reported experiencing a particular behavior were significantly less likely to believe the behavior abusive for 11 of the 33 behaviors and more likely to believe the behavior abusive for two of the behaviors. Where comparisons were possible, there was a high level of consensus that behaviors identified as abusive in Child Protective Service operational definitions constituted abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported childhood experiences were associated with perceived norms about child abuse. A better understanding of community norms about child abuse and neglect may be helpful in communicating with the public or allow for better targeting of educational messages through the media, parenting education classes, and so forth.     

The Experience of Columbian Child Soldiers from a Resilience Perspective

There are child soldiers fighting with government forces and opposition groups in more than 30 countries worldwide. Although studies have been conducted on the impact of war-related trauma on children, very few have focused on those children who do not exhibit trauma-related symptoms after experiencing armed combat. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand some of the mechanisms and resources that resilient children draw upon to overcome the trauma of child soldiering. Six Colombian child soldiers were recruited through purposive sampling techniques to participate in a narrative study focusing on their lived experiences and their personal understanding of how they were able to overcome the effects of war trauma. Six narrative themes were identified and discussed in terms of the literature on trauma and childhood resilience and also related to counselling needs and services.     

Reducing out-of-home placements of abused children: two controlled field studies

This study presents the outcome data on the effectiveness of social learning treatments in reducing out-of-home placements of abused children. Noteworthy are that true experimental designs used in both studies and their being conducted in a natural field setting, child protection services agencies. The results indicate that this model of family intervention is an effective alternative to out-of-home placements with this population for approximately 50% of typical child protection services caseloads. The cost benefits of social learning treatments are discussed along with potentially useful clinical and research directions.     

A cross-cultural examination of use of corporal punishment on children: a focus on Sweden and the United States

It appears that Sweden and the United States may be a study in contrasts regarding the sanction and use of corporal punishment on children. A 1979 study of American parents noted that 81% of them employed corporal punishment with children. A different study done in Sweden in 1978 noted that only 26% of parents used corporal punishment with children. What points to the differences in these parenting patterns within the two countries? In addition, a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court case entitled Ingraham vs. Wright ruled that “schools are empowered to carry out corporal punishment.” This court case involved two high school boys in Florida who had been repeatedly struck with wooden paddles. In contrast, Sweden had statutes which prohibited corporal punishment of children in their secondary schools as early as the 1920s. In 1957, the country passed a law which defined corporal punishment as unacceptable for small children in the schools. Then, in 1979, the Swedish government passed a statute prohibiting corporal punishment by parents. Are there differences in the way the two countries view law and its uses? Or, do the cultures sanction violence in general or just violence against children in different ways? This article examines some of the similarities and differences found in American and Swedish treatment of children and proposes what appear to be extreme differences in the way the countries and their people approach corporal punishment.     

美国双语教育的历史演变与政策反思

美国双语教育近年来引起了我国学者的关注,但是少有学者对此掌握第一手的资料,因而缺乏系统的观点.本文根据笔者对美国双语教育项目的亲身参与,①系统阐述了美国双语教育的历史与现状,并对双语政策的演变进行了反思.笔者认为虽然移民潮、国际环境变化、国内政局交替等因素直接推动了双语教育政策的演变,但是这些外在条件只是起到了催化剂的作用,双语教育争辩的真正根源在于不同的语言取向和语言意识形态.     

Risk factors for infant maltreatment: a population-based study

CONTEXT: Of the approximately 900,000 children who were determined to be victims of abuse or neglect by US child protective services in 2002, the birth-to-3 age group had the highest rate of victimization (1.6%) and children younger than 1 accounted for the largest percentage of victims (9.6%). OBJECTIVE: To identify perinatal and sociodemographic risk factors associated with maltreatment of infants up to 1 year of age. DESIGN AND SETTING: Observational cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: 189,055 children born in 1996 in Florida. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Infant maltreatment, defined as a verified report of abuse, neglect, or threatened harm that occurred between day 3 of life and 1 year. RESULTS: 1,602 children (.85%) of the 1996 birth cohort had verified instances of maltreatment by age 1. Of 15 perinatal and sociodemographic variables studied, 11 were found to be significantly related to infant maltreatment. Five factors had adjusted relative risks (RR) of two or greater: Mother smoked during pregnancy (RR 2.8); more than two siblings (RR 2.7); Medicaid beneficiary (RR 2.1); unmarried marital status (RR 2.0); low birth weight infant (RR 2.0). Infants who had four of these five risk factors had a maltreatment rate seven times higher than the population average. CONCLUSIONS: Data on nearly all risk factors found to be significantly associated with infant maltreatment are available on the birth certificate. Such information can be incorporated into a population-based risk-assessment tool that could identify subpopulations at highest risk for infant maltreatment. Because resources are limited, these groups should be given priority for enrollment in child abuse prevention programs.     

The development and evaluation of a training program for school-based professionals dealing with child abuse: The University of Toronto interfaculty child abuse prevention project 1978–1979

This paper reports on a child protection training program for teachers, social workers, and nurses. The training format consisted of two 5-day workshops, one for preprofessional students and the other for practicing professionals, and two one-day workshops for students. The evaluation employed a pre-test/post-test design. Data were obtained from a total of 254 workshop participants who were randomly selected from a group of 400 volunteers. The training program was designed to provide information and experience in the areas of identification, family dynamics, legislation, intervention, and team responses. Curriculum effects were the dependent variables; group characteristics were the independent variables. The general finding was that the program was an effective means of accomplishing its objectives. Some of the specific findings were that professionals wanted more content in contrast to students who were satisfied with experiences which simulated practice. Both social work professionals and students were more confident in their ability to deal with the problem of child abuse before and after the program than teachers and nurses. In contrast, teachers began and ended the program with relatively low confidence and information levels. Overall, nurses had the highest level of entry and exit knowledge at the beginning and the end of the program. While the results indicate that the three groups profited from shared training experiences they also suggest that certain areas of training may best be realized by specialized workshops.