Understanding how social worker compassion fatigue and years of experience shape custodial decisions

BackgroundCompassion fatigue (i.e., a worker’s diminished ability to empathize with clients) is common among “helping workers” and can result in psychological detachment from clients as a coping mechanism.ObjectiveIn the present research, we explored the relationship between social workers’ compassion fatigue and years of job experience on hypothetical child custody case judgments.Participants and settingIn two separate studies, individuals with experience working with children in child dependency court (predominantly social workers, Study 1: N = 173, Study 2: N = 119) were recruited on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and read a vignette depicting a mother attempting to regain custody.ResultsSupporting hypotheses, compassion fatigue significantly mediated the relationship between increased years of social worker job experience on recommendations that a neglectful mother receive custody, Indirect Effect = .06, CIs [.026, .127] (Study 1). We also found preliminary support for our hypothesized theoretically derived serial path model, in which (a) social worker compassion fatigue predicts anticipated secondary traumatic stress associated with the child neglect case, B = .54, p = .0001; (b) secondary traumatic stress predicts detachment from the neglected child, B = .27, p = .0003; (c) detachment from the child predicts job efficacy cynicism B = .65, p < .0001; and (d) job efficacy cynicism predicts decisions to allocate custody to the neglectful mother, B = .46, p = .005 (Study 2).ConclusionOur research shows that compassion fatigue among social workers may change the lens through which they perceive cases of child abuse.     

Sexual abuse,residential schooling and probable pathological gambling among Indigenous Peoples

Sexual abuse leads to short-term and long-lasting pervasive outcomes, including addictions. Among Indigenous Peoples, sexual abuse experienced in the context of residential schooling may have led to unresolved grief that is contributing to social problems, such as pathological (disordered) gambling. The aim of this study is to investigate the link between child sexual abuse, residential schooling and probable pathological gambling. The participants were 358 Indigenous persons (54.2% women) aged between 18 and 87 years, from two communities and two semi-urban centers in Quebec (Canada). Probable pathological gambling was evaluated using the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), and sexual abuse and residential schooling were assessed with dichotomous questions (yes/no). The results indicate an 8.7% past-year prevalence rate of pathological gambling problems among participants, which is high compared with the general Canadian population. Moreover, 35.4% were sexually abused, while 28.1% reported having been schooled in a residential setting. The results of a logistic regression also indicate that experiences of child sexual abuse and residential schooling are associated with probable pathological gambling among Indigenous Peoples. These findings underscore the importance of using an ecological approach when treating gambling, to address childhood traumas alongside current addiction problems.     

Parental absence,child victimization,and psychological well-being in rural China

Using cross-sectional data regarding 793 rural children aged 10–16 in Sichuan Province of China, the present study examined the preceding-year rates of seven forms of child victimization (physical assault, property crime, peer/sibling victimization, child maltreatment, sexual victimization, witnessing family violence, and exposure to community violence) and poly-victimization, and found children’s victimization experiences increased as the degree of parental absence increased (from the presence of two biological parents, to parental migration and parental separation and divorce). Elevated levels of depression were also found among left-behind children and children of separated or divorced parents, compared to children living with both biological parents; and child poly-victimization added to the risk of child depression. Certain demographic characteristics (being a boy and younger) and parental factors were associated with child victimization in rural China. This study highlights the need for child protection in rural China, and in particular for parent-absent children.     

Childhood sexual abuse by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church: A prevalence estimate among the Dutch population

Estimates of the extent of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) within in the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) in the general population are difficult to find. The independent Commission of Inquiry into sexual abuse of minors in the RCC in the Netherlands collected population-based data to estimate its prevalence. A large random online population sample was surveyed using a two-phase stratified sampling procedure. In Phase 1, 34,267 subjects aged 40 years and older were screened for childhood exposure to sexual abuse by non-family members, a history of institutionalization and a Roman Catholic upbringing. In Phase 2, a stratified subset of 2,462 subjects was assessed to obtain more detailed target information about sexual abuse reports within the RCC. We employed multiple imputation for the estimation of RCC CSA in the original Phase 1 sample. The prevalence of non-familial CSA in general (14.0%) was higher among women (17.2%) than among men (10.6%). The prevalence of CSA within the Dutch RCC (1.7%) was higher among men (2.7%) than among women (0.7%). As expected, older subjects reported more often CSA in the RCC than their younger counterparts. Respondents who stayed for some time in RCC run institutions for education or child protection had a higher risk to report sexual abuse. Although sexual abuse of minors by representatives of the RCC was a structural problem during a period that the Church was highly influential in the Netherlands, the estimated prevalence of the phenomenon is only a fraction of the prevalence rate of non-familial CSA.     

Physical maltreatment of children with autism in Henan province in China: A cross-sectional study

The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of child physical maltreatment (CPM) in children with autism aged 2–5 years in Henan province (China), and to explore the risk factors for severe CPM in these children. This cross-sectional study was performed at the Psychology Clinic of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between September 2012 and September 2013 with 180 parents of children with autism. Children and parents had no history of any cognitive therapy. The childhood autism rating scale (CARS) was used to evaluate the severity of autism in children. Data on parental CPM during the past 3 months were collected from parental self-reporting. Logistic regression was used to investigate the risk factors of severe CPM. CPM was self-reported by 88% of the parents of children with autism. One hundred and fifty four of these cases were in the minor CPM group (86%) and 64 in the severe CPM group (36%). Most cases of severe CPM were unlikely to have caused injury. Univariate analyses showed that child's age (p = .018), age started to speak (p = .043) and CARS score (p = .048) were associated with severe CPM. Child's age (p = .011) and CARS score (p = .041) were independently associated with severe CPM. The risk of severe CPM increased with age and CARS score. Our findings showed that CPM is widespread in families of children with autism in Central China and more knowledge should be provided to parents of children with autism, particularly in cases of severe autism (those with high CARS scores).     

Do early care and education services improve language development for maltreated children? Evidence from a national child welfare sample

Young children under 6 years old are over-represented in the U.S. child welfare system (CWS). Due to their exposure to early deprivation and trauma, they are also highly vulnerable to developmental problems, including language delays. High quality early care and education (ECE) programs (e.g. preschool, Head Start) can improve children's development and so policymakers have begun calling for increased enrollment of CWS-supervised children in these programs. However, it is not a given that ECE will benefit all children who experience maltreatment. Some types of maltreatment may result in trauma-related learning and behavior challenges or developmental deficits that cause children to respond to ECE settings differently. The current study uses data from a nationally representative survey of children in the U.S. child welfare system, the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II, to assess whether young CWS-supervised children (N = 1,652) who were enrolled in ECE had better language development outcomes 18 months later than those not enrolled in ECE. We also explore whether the type of maltreatment that brought children to the CWS’ attention moderates the relationship between ECE and children's language development. After controlling for children's initial scores on the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-3), type(s) of maltreatment experienced, and child and caregiver demographics, we found that ECE participation predicted better PLS-3 scores at follow-up, with a positive interaction between ECE participation and supervisory neglect. ECE seems to be beneficial for CWS-involved children's early language development, especially for children referred to the CWS because they lack appropriate parent supervision at home.     

安全情报概念的由来、演进趋势及涵义——来自安全科学学理角度的思辨

[目的/意义]安全问题是当前国家、政府、企业、社会、大众及学界广泛关注的一个重要现实问题，而安全情报是保障安全的必用之宝，故安全情报研究具有十分重要的理论与现实意义。[方法/过程]运用文献分析法和思辨法，从安全科学学理角度出发，论证基于安全科学视角解读与界定安全情报概念的必要性、重要性与紧迫性，探讨安全情报概念的由来与演进趋势，并分析安全情报的涵义。[结果/结论]从安全科学学理角度看，从安全信息到安全情报的安全管理新认识是提出安全情报概念的根本动力，安全情报概念的总体演进趋势是从分散到统一。同时，从系统安全学角度看，安全情报是指所有影响系统安全行为的安全信息。     

基于STAR-CCM+的汽车挡风玻璃除霜性能提升的仿真分析与研究

采用计算流体动力学的方法,利用STAR-CCM+软件对某一车型挡风玻璃除霜性能进行数值模拟分析。通过对出风口格栅进行调整,改变了暖风气流与挡风玻璃之间碰撞角的大小与碰撞点的位置,优化了挡风玻璃表面暖风气流的分布,提升了除霜性能,为汽车除霜风道的设计和改善车辆除霜性能提供了参考。     

Libraries and Spatial Literacy: Toward Next-Generation Education

The role of the library is to assist citizens in skills development critical to national interest and empowerment as literacy ambassadors, in general. Specifically, the work by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (1994) indicates that spatial literacy is for every citizen and not just a set of workforce specialists. Hence, the use of maps in decision making and problem solving will become fundamental to all professions, including library professionals. Thus, a spatial literacy awareness and rationale for such as standard job ability is discussed as a future librarian workforce proficiency and knowledge transfer medium.     

Externalizing behaviors of Ukrainian children: The role of parenting

The purpose of this study was to assess the association of positive and negative parenting with child externalizing problems. Quantitative data were collected during face-to-face interviews with 320 parents of children 9–16 years of age (50% males) in 11 communities in Eastern, Southern, and Central Ukraine. The study estimated the relationship between parenting practices and child externalizing behaviors such as aggression, delinquency, and attention problems. Results revealed that positive parenting, child monitoring, and avoidance of corporal punishment were associated with fewer child externalizing symptoms. Results also indicated that child male gender and single parenting had significant and positive association with child externalizing behaviors. This study extends international psychosocial knowledge on children and families. These findings can be used to design programs and foster dialogs about the role of family and social environments in the development of externalizing disorder among researchers, representatives of governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and mass media that work with child abuse prevention in Ukraine.