Child Maltreatment

Social workers' perspectives on parental engagement when children are at risk in Romanian society

by Ioan Popoviciu

S. Popoviciu, D. Birle & D. Bara (2012), Published in Child and Family Social Work

This paper presents the findings of a study that looked at social workers' perspectives on parental engagement in... more This paper presents the findings of a study that looked at social workers' perspectives on parental engagement in making the difficult choice of either taking the child into care or keeping the family together. The paper first explores the specific context of children at risk in Romanian society and explains that in this middle-income nation there is an absence of evidence-based risk assessment tools, which prompts social workers to use their own ‘common sense’ risk assessment indicators. The findings of this small-scale, non-representative study on several public non-voluntary child protection services in Romania suggest that social workers' perceptions of specific dimensions of parental engagement in non-voluntary child protection may influence service delivery decisions and outcomes.

Cognitive mediation of childhood maltreatment and adult depression in recent crime victims*

by Debra Kaysen

Heightened neural reactivity to threat in child victims of family violence

by Catherine Sebastian

Co-authored with Eamon J. McCrory, Stéphane A. De Brito, Andrea Mechelli, Geoffrey Bird, Phillip A. Kelly and Essi Viding

Heightened neural reactivity to threat in child victims of family violence. Current Biology

by Geoff Bird

McCrory E.J., De Brito, S.A., Sebastian, C.L., Mechelli, A., Bird, G., Kelly, P.A., Viding, E. (in press) Heightened neural reactivity to threat in child victims of family violence. Current Biology

Exposure to family violence affects a significant minority of children: estimates of physical abuse range from 4 to... more Exposure to family violence affects a significant minority of children: estimates of physical abuse range from 4 to 16%, while intimate partner violence affects between 8 and 25% of children. These maltreatment experiences represent a form of environmental stress that significantly increases risk of later psychopathology, including anxiety. To date no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have probed the neural correlates of emotional processing in children exposed to family violence. Previous psychological and electrophysiological studies indicate a selective hypervigilance to angry cues in physically abused children, which is in turn associated with elevated levels of anxiety. fMRI research has demonstrated increased reactivity of the anterior insula (AI) and amygdala to angry faces in individuals with anxiety disorder, and in psychiatrically healthy soldiers exposed to combat, making these regions plausible neural candidates for adaptation to threat. We demonstrated that children exposed to family violence (with normative levels of anxiety) show increased AI and amygdala reactivity in response to angry, but not sad faces. While such enhanced reactivity to a biologically salient threat cue may represent an adaptive response to sustained environmental danger, it may also constitute a latent neurobiological risk factor increasing vulnerability to psychopathology.

From parent education to collective action: "Childrearing with love" in post-war Guatemala.

by Mark Burton

McMillan, Anita  Schrader, & Burton, Mark (2009). From parent education to collective action: "Childrearing with love" in post-war Guatemala. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 19(3), 198-211.  DOI: 10.1002/casp.990

The paper discusses the implementation and effect of group-based parenting workshops oriented by the principles of... more The paper discusses the implementation and effect of group-based parenting workshops oriented by the principles of liberation psychology in a low-income, hispanicized community in Guatemala City. The objective of this initiative was not only to improve outcomes in the parent–child relationship, but to galvanize the formation of community-based support groups that could have multiple ends. The theoretical foundations of the project are introduced, before illustrating their practical application. Sixteen months post-intervention, largely positive effects were being sustained in parent child relations. The project was also successful in generating social action through the formation of grass-roots women's organizations.

Unacceptable Risk Factors In Child Maltreatment: Formulations From Caseworkers.

by Cesar Merino

Breaking the Wall of Silence: Practitioners' responses to trafficked children and young people.

by Silvie Bovarnick

Research report summarising the findings on a study on practitioners' responses to trafficked children and young people in the UK.

Child Neglect

by Silvie Bovarnick

NSPCC research briefing (2007)

Neglect is a serious form of maltreatment. It is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or... more Neglect is a serious form of maltreatment. It is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs resulting in serious impairment of heath and/or
development (Turney & Tanner 2005). Neglect has harmful consequences in the short and long term and it can be fatal. In practice, neglect exists as a continuum ranging from reactive and short term to chronic and severe neglect (ibid.). Although relatively little attention has been paid to neglect in terms of research and policy, existing research challenges the common misconception that neglect is not as serious as other forms of child maltreatment.

Neglect is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to define. In the face of pluralistic notions of what constitutes adequate care, defining children’s needs and determining what constitutes neglect has been problematic. The lack of clarity around what child neglect means and includes has practical implications. As most neglectful families have complex needs, interventions frequently entail responses from different service providers.
Practitioners’ understandings of neglect, however, are often shaped by different professional backgrounds and can vary within and across different services. This can contribute to vital pieces of information in neglect cases not being picked up, information being lost or not being effectively communicated across different agencies. An effective interagency approach is indispensable for successfully intervening in cases of child neglect and in safeguarding children.

Child and Adolescent Information System (SIPIA) Evaluation: content and methodology

by santiago varella

The article analyses Sipia’s (Child and Adolescent Information System) data and methodology, evaluating children... more The article analyses Sipia’s (Child and Adolescent Information System) data and methodology, evaluating children rights violation classification, and children rights violators and requestors information, by its data collection and presentation methods. Sipia is the only data source based on administrative registers in Brazil. The possibility of identifying reincidence cases from Sipia data is tested in order to see if there were adjustments to be done so that it becomes measurable. Besides the evaluation, alternatives to improve data quality are proposed. The article concludes that Sipia has unreliable data but great intentions and innovative strategies with great potential.

Este trabalho analisa o conteúdo e a metodologia do Sistema de Informações para aInfância e Adolescência (Sipia), avaliando o sistema de classificação dos direitos violadose das principais informações adjacentes a partir das inconsistências na definição dosconceitos e nos métodos de coleta das informações. O Sipia é a única fonte deinformações sobre a infância baseada em ocorrências e nunca havia tido seus resultadosanalisados ou avaliados. Além disso, testa-se a possibilidade que o sistema apresenta deidentificar casos de ?reincidência? constatando-se a necessidade de que sejam efetuadosalguns ajustes. Além de avaliar, o texto demonstra quais caminhos poderiam serpercorridos para efetuar aperfeiçoamentos do sistema. Conclui-se demonstrando autilidade social e as características inovadoras que o Sipia possui, como, por exemplo,o fato de servir de instrumento agilizador das relações da juventude com a sociedade,a família e o Estado no Brasil.

BUILDING BRIDGES TO PROMOTE EDUCATIONAL WELL-BEING: A POPULATION-BASED STUDY OF THE IMPACT AND TIMING OF OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENT, …

by Staci Perlman

Timing and Influence of Early Experiences of Child Maltreatment and Homelessness on Children's Educational Well-Being

by Staci Perlman

The Unique Impact of Out-of-Home Placement and the Mediating Effects of Child Maltreatment and Homelessness on Early School Success

by Staci Perlman

Perceived neighborhood social disorder and residents’ attitudes toward reporting child physical abuse

by Enrique Gracia

Child Abuse & Neglect, 30 (4), 357-365, 2006

Beliefs in the necessity of corporal punishment of children and public perceptions of child physical abuse as a social problem

by Enrique Gracia

Child Abuse & Neglect, 32 (11), 1058-1062, 2008

Is It Considered Violence? The Acceptability of Physical Punishment of Children in Europe

by Enrique Gracia

Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 210-217, 2008

Visible but unreported: A case for the “not serious enough” cases of child maltreatment

by Enrique Gracia

Child Abuse & Neglect, 19, (9), 1083-1093, 1995