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.     

Judges’ delivery of ground rules to child witnesses in Australian courts

Ground rules directions are given to children in forensic interviews to explain what is expected of them, and to reduce their tendency to acquiesce to erroneous or incomprehensible questions. Ground rules may also be necessary when children provide testimony in court. Drawing on research conducted for the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the present study examined the use of ground rules directions delivered in court in 52 trials by 24 presiding judges in three jurisdictions to 57 child complainants (aged 7–17.5 years). Eleven categories of rules were identified. The number of words spoken to deliver each rule was counted, and grade-level readability scores were calculated as a proxy for the complexity of the ground rules. When judges asked comprehension or practice questions, the question types were coded. More than one third of the children (35%) received no ground rules directions from the judge; the remaining 65% received directions on an average of 3.5 types of ground rules out of a maximum of 11 types. While comprehension questions were common, practice questions were rare. Comprehension questions were most often presented in a yes/no format that implied the expected response, although this form of question is unlikely to provide an effective assessment of a child's comprehension. Neither the number of rules delivered nor the number of words used was related to children's age. Implications for children's court testimony are discussed.     

What factors increase Dutch child health care professionals’ adherence to a national guideline on preventing child abuse and neglect?

Guidelines to support health care professionals in early detection of, and responses to, suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) have become increasingly widely available. Yet little is known about professionals’ adherence to these guidelines or the determinants that affect their uptake. This study used a cross-sectional design to assess the adherence of Dutch Child Health Care (CHC) professionals to seven key activities described in a national guideline on preventing CAN. This study also examined the presence and strengths of determinants of guideline adherence. Online questionnaires were filled in between May and July 2013 by 164 CHC professionals. Adherence was defined as the extent to which professionals performed each of seven key activities when they suspected CAN. Thirty-three determinants were measured in relation to the guideline, the health professional, the organisational context and the socio-political context. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses tested associations between determinants and guideline adherence. Most of the responding CHC professionals were aware of the guideline and its content (83.7%). Self-reported rates of full adherence varied between 19.5% and 42.7%. Stronger habit to use the guideline was the only determinant associated with higher adherence rates in the multivariate analysis. Understanding guideline adherence and associated determinants is essential for developing implementation strategies that can stimulate adherence. Although CHC professionals in this sample were aware of the guideline, they did not always adhere to its key recommended activities. To increase adherence, tailored interventions should primarily focus on enhancing habit strength.     

Community differences in the implementation of Strong Communities for Children

In 1993, the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect recommended a neighborhood-based strategy to prevent child abuse and neglect. The Board further recommended the development of Prevention Zones to allow for testing of the effectiveness of community-wide child protection efforts in neighborhoods of differing population density, ethnic and cultural composition, and social and economic resources. Following the Board's recommendation, this article presents the results of a trial of the effectiveness of a neighborhood-based strategy in low- and high-resource communities. Using management, survey, and administrative data, the research showed that both community types experienced declines in founded cases of and injuries suggesting child maltreatment for children under age 5. Low-resource communities experienced greater levels of mobilization, as measured by community and institutional engagement, and a greater number of positive outcomes related to changes in the quality of life for families and community norms relative to child and family well-being. In particular, the low-resource communities experienced the largest increases in receiving help from neighbors, neighboring, perceived household safety for neighborhood children, and observed positive parenting. High-resource communities experienced greater increases in intermediate outcomes related to self-reported parenting practices. The findings suggest that, ultimately, community mobilization can occur and be an effective means of preventing child maltreatment across community types. It appears, however, that community mobilization may play a more significant role in low-resource communities.     

Psychological complaints reported by sexually abused children during criminal investigations: Istanbul example

The present study aims at describing the psychological complaints reported, as a part of the criminal investigation process, by the victims of sexual abuse as a part of the criminal investigation process, without attempting at reaching a medical diagnosis; and it discusses the relation of these reports with variables such as victim's gender, age and relation to the offender, type and duration of abuse, and parental marital status of the victim. Data is obtained from the statements of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) victims under the age of 15, as taken by Istanbul Juvenile Justice Department between the years 2009 and 2012. The sample consists of 175 cases with a total of 202 victim statements. Through the use of content analysis, the main and sub-categories of themes of the statements were determined. By means of the evaluation of the psychological condition of victims, we evaluated them in two categories: psychological complaints including self-harm and risk taking behaviors and psychological complaints with no self-harm and risk taking behaviors. The statistical analyses yield significant relations between the psychological complaints and children's parental marital status. Analysis of initial statements of sexual abuse victims is important as it may greatly contribute to professionals diagnosing and treating psychological complaints of these victims. It is essential that victims of sexual abuse should receive immediate psychological support starting with the criminal investigation process.     

In-house consultation to support professionals’ responses to child abuse and neglect: Determinants of professionals’ use and the association with guideline adherence

This study examined the presence and strengths of determinants associated with consultation of an in-house expert on child abuse and neglect (CAN) by preventive child health care professionals who suspect CAN. This study also assessed the relationship between in-house CAN expert consultation and professionals’ performance of six recommended activities described in a national guideline on preventing CAN for preventive child health care professionals. A total of 154 professionals met the study’s inclusion criteria. They filled in a questionnaire that measured in-house consultation practices and twelve determinants associated with the professional, the in-house expert, and the organizational context. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed. Almost half of the participants (46.8%) reported to consult the in-house expert in (almost) all of their suspected CAN cases. Professionals who reported better recollection of consulting the in-house expert (i.e. not forgetting to consult the expert) (p = .001), who were more familiar with consultation (p = .002), who had more positive attitudes and beliefs about consultation (p = .011) and who reported being more susceptible to the behavior (p = .001) and expectations/opinions (p = .025) of colleagues regarding in-house expert consultation were more likely to consult the in-house expert. Furthermore, in-house expert consultation was positively associated with two of six key guideline activities: consulting the regional child protection service and monitoring whether support was provided to families. The implications of these results for improving professionals’ responses to CAN are discussed.     

Pedagogically bereft! Improving learning outcomes for children with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the most common non‐genetic cause of learning disability, affecting around 1% of live births in Europe, and costing an estimated $2.9 million per individual across their lifespan. In adulthood, non‐reversible brain damage is often compounded by secondary disabilities in adulthood, such as mental health problems and drug addiction. The challenge for today's educators is: ‘How do we teach children with FASD?’ Their unusual style of learning and their extreme challenging behaviour is out of the experience of many teachers. This article, written by Professor Barry Carpenter, OBE, National Director of the Specialist Schools & Academies Trust Complex Learning Difficulties and Disabilities Research Project, considers the status of FASD in the UK, and provides an overview of the author's recent research into effective educational strategies within the framework of Every Child Matters. Only government‐led approaches can lead to improvements in the quality of teaching and learning for children with FASD and their future life chances.     

Perpetrators and context of child sexual abuse in Kenya

Child sexual abuse (CSA) interventions draw from a better understanding of the context of CSA. A survey on violence before age 18 was conducted among respondents aged 13–17 and 18–24 years. Among females (13–17), the key perpetrators of unwanted sexual touching (UST) were friends/classmates (27.0%) and among males, intimate partners (IP) (35.9%). The first incident of UST among females occurred while traveling on foot (33.0%) and among males, in the respondent's home (29.1%). Among females (13–17), the key perpetrators of unwanted attempted sex (UAS) were relatives (28.9%) and among males, friends/classmates (31.0%). Among females, UAS occurred mainly while traveling on foot (42.2%) and among males, in school (40.8%). Among females and males (18–24 years), the main perpetrators of UST were IP (32.1% and 43.9%) and the first incident occurred mainly in school (24.9% and 26.0%), respectively. The main perpetrators of UAS among females and males (18–24 years) were IP (33.3% and 40.6%, respectively). Among females, UAS occurred while traveling on foot (32.7%), and among males, in the respondent's home (38.8%); UAS occurred mostly in the evening (females 60.7%; males 41.4%) or afternoon (females 27.8%; males 37.9%). Among females (18–24 years), the main perpetrators of pressured/forced sex were IP and the first incidents occurred in the perpetrator's home. Prevention interventions need to consider perpetrators and context of CSA to increase their effectiveness. In Kenya, effective CSA prevention interventions that target intimate relationships among young people, the home and school settings are needed.     

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.