Child and adolescent homicide survivors. Complicated grief and altered worldviews

The act of homicide may influence the worldviews of children and adolescents. Problematic beliefs of uncertainty, inadequacy, perceiving the world as dangerous, self-denial, and lack of control can contribute to complicated grief in children and adolescents, and can potentially disrupt their normal psychosocial growth and development. Mental health professionals' understanding of grief after the homicide of a family member enhances their ability to intervene with and support young people struggling to cope with and adapt to a sudden loss.     

Child & adolescent depression: review of the latest evidence-based treatments

(1) Depression is a serious mental health problem particularly in children and adolescents that requires early identification and intervention. (2) Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a highly effective treatment that decreases symptoms within 3 months and maintains gains at 2 years posttreatment. It works by changing cognitive distortions and teaching problem solving and coping strategies. (3.)Interpersonal psychotherapy demonstrates effectiveness by teaching adolescents how to self-monitor feelings, problem solve, link affect to events, and foster communication skills within the context of a supportive relationship. 4(.)Psychopharmacological treatment has shown moderate effectiveness in treating depression in children and adolescents, but close monitoring is required to evaluate for adverse events, including suicidal behavior and agitation.     

Child neglect and adolescent violence: examining the effects of self-control and peer rejection

Child maltreatment researchers have often suggested that experiences with child neglect have long-term, negative effects. Child neglect is thought to have particularly adverse effects on self-control, peer relations, and delinquency. In this research, we examine the relationship of child neglect with adolescent violence via self-control and peer rejection. Using prospective, longitudinal data from a community sample, we find that child neglect adversely affects peer rejection and violence. Neglected children were more likely to be rejected by their peers in early adolescence and were more likely to be violent later in adolescence. Contrary to theoretical predictions, child neglect was not a significant predictor of self-control. Implications for delinquency and child maltreatment researchers are discussed.     

Child Protection and Child Custody

Abstract

A child'S need for safety should trump any and all other considerations in family law. Child-service agencies cannot be expected to both promote reunification and child protection simultaneously. The author asserts that legislatures need to change the laws such that it is clear to the court that children come first and that safety is paramount. Although visitation between child and parent is considered to be a fundamental right, this right can and should be abrogated when initial evidence shows that such contact poses a risk of danger to the emotional or physical health and safety of the child. A new and specially trained court dealing only with issues of family violence and abuse may need to be considered.     

Parent loss and childhood bereavement: some theoretical considerations

This paper attempts to review critically the major psychoanalytic positions on the impact of parent loss during childhood. An effort is made to review systematically the issues of the loss of a parent as a love object, the loss of a parent as a narcissistic injury, children's cognitive understanding of death, and the relationship between loss and trauma. Two questions are raised by our efforts to understand the impact of the loss of a parent through death on children under ten years of age. First, what psychological tasks do children confront and what modes of coping do they use to deal with such an event? And, second, does such an event invariably lead to some pathological result for the child, or may its effects be normalized in the course of time? Although these questions may be seen as empirical questions needing to be answered through the collection of data that would confirm or negate the hypotheses generated, the questions are always posed within the context of a theoretical framework that colors how data is collected and which data is collected. By reviewing the theoretical positions, we come to the conclusion that no single approach is sufficient to explain the complexity of the impact of the death of a parent on a child. We propose that since no integrated conceptual framework presently encompasses all that needs to be explained, it is necessary to use a multivariant approach. Such an approach may be helpful in generating hypotheses and in beginning the task of systematic data collection.     

Cultural perspectives of death,grief, and bereavement

The cultural makeup of the United States continues to change rapidly, and as minority groups continue to grow, these groups' beliefs and customs must be taken into account when examining death, grief, and bereavement. This article discusses the beliefs, customs, and rituals of Latino, African American, Navajo, Jewish, and Hindu groups to raise awareness of the differences health care professionals may encounter among their grieving clients. Discussion of this small sample of minority groups in the United States is not intended to cover all of the degrees of acculturation within each group. Cultural groups are not homogeneous, and individual variation must always be considered in situations of death, grief, and bereavement. However, because the customs, rituals, and beliefs of the groups to which they belong affect individuals' experiences of death, grief, and bereavement, health care professionals need to be open to learning about them to better understand and help.     

Multiple social contexts in qualitative bereavement research

Little research focuses on the ways that bereaved family members react to and make meaning of their experience of the death of an elderly father and husband. In a qualitative, ethnographic study of 34 bereaved families we examined how family members respond to two inter-related social contexts: 1. social-cultural values and attitudes such as attitudes toward grieving for old persons, and 2. the inter-personal dyadic relationship between interviewer and interviewee. An underlying theme of uncertainty pervades the study participants' views of what is normal and expected in their own process of bereavement. Implications for future bereavement research are suggested.     

Holocaust Child Survivors and Child Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT

This study utilized a qualitative analysis of child survivors of the Holocaust who were sexually abused during World War II. The research study aimed to give this specific group of survivors a voice and to explore the impact of multiple extreme traumas, the Holocaust and childhood sexual abuse, on the survivors. Twenty-two child survivors of the Holocaust who were sexually abused during the war completed open-ended interviews. The data was qualitatively analyzed according to Tutty, Rothery, and Grinnell's (1996) guidelines. Three major themes were found: issues relating to the sexual abuse trauma, survivors' perceptions of the abuse, and survivors' general perspectives towards life. The identity of the offenders, Jewish or non-Jewish, determined the survivors' feelings towards themselves, the perpetrators, and about the worth of life.     

Child Sexual Abuse and the Black Disabled Child

This paper seeks to document a previously neglected area of study, namely the effects of sexual abuse on black disabled children. With a particular focus on black children with learning disabilities, it examines how the interlocking dimensions of race, gender and disability compound the problems that they are faced with in the aftermath of sexual abuse. This paper presents case studies drawn from data generated from a broader research project of sexual abuse and black families to illustrate the specific ways the negatively valued position of black disabled children shape responses to them. It is argued that the way in which black disabled children and their families interpret their experiences is likely to differ from other groups of disabled children, as multiple marginalised identities shape their lived realities. The paper concludes with some reflections on the implications for making risk assessment for black disabled children.     

The availability and role of non-parental identity agents for institutionalized male adolescent social orphans in Colombia: Child and youth services review

An estimated 151 million social orphans exist worldwide, of which at least eight million live in institutions with little possibility of family reunification or legal permanency via the mechanism of adoption (RELAF, 2010; UNICEF, 2012). As such, institutional staff are uniquely situated to fulfill the role of identity agents, a role typically performed by parents, to facilitate a successful transition into post-institutional life for these youth. Drawing upon the concept of ambiguous loss and contextualized theories of identity formation, this qualitative study explores eighteen institutionalized male adolescent Colombian social orphans' perspectives on the nature of their relationships with non-parental adults in their immediate environment. In depth, on site interviews conducted in Spanish with these youth reveal that those who were able to successfully identify and form a bond with an adult identity agent are better able to imagine a future replete with academic, vocational and relational success. The findings suggest a rudimentary typology of the attributes that non-parental figures might possess in order to provide institutionalized social orphans with the requisite support to improve social outcomes upon their departure from the institution. These findings may also inform professional development strategies for adults entrusted with the care of these youth.     

Communal bereavement and the incidence of very low birthweight in Sweden

Prime minister Olof Palme's murder in 1986 and the sinking of the ferry Estonia in 1994 were stressful events for many Swedes, but did that stress affect health? We used an interrupted time-series design to measure the association between these events and the incidence of very low birthweight. Effects of male unemployment, size of the birth cohort, and temperature were controlled in our analysis of data for the period 1973-1995. The incidence of very low birthweight rose significantly in the months following the Palme murder and the Estonia catastrophe. Events that trigger communal bereavement at the scale we study may seem rare but they do occur (e.g., destruction of the World Trade Center and attack on the Pentagon). Events with less visibility, moreover, may induce communal bereavement in smaller populations defined by geography or organizational participation.     

A treatment outcome study of bereavement groups for children

An empirical study of the effectiveness of an eight-week children's bereavement psychotherapy group was undertaken. Children, aged 7–11, who had a parent and/or sibling die were initially assigned to either a treatment group or a waiting list control group and followed over an eight-week period. Participation in the experimental group was associated with a significant decrease in symptomatology, as assessed by multiple measures using multiple sources. Despite a small sample, the intervention was sufficiently powerful to suggest the use of short-term group therapy to help children cope with the death of a parent and/or sibling.The research reported here was originally included in a dissertation written in fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D. at Brigham Young University. We wish to acknowledge the helpful suggestions and support from Dr. John Flora-Tostado, Dr. John Lyons, Dr. Joanne Marengo and the participants in the Post-doctoral Research Seminar at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.Dr. Lambert is a Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University.     

A bereavement model for working with families of handicapped children

SUMMARY. This paper presents a model for counselling families of young handicapped children. It is argued that the process that parents go through following the birth of a handicapped child is akin to bereavement following loss. Therefore, professionals on a wide range of disciplines should be sensitive to the grief that parents are experiencing. The authors have used Le Poidevin s theory of adjustment to loss to structure their own theories and to devise a checklist to aid other professionals. Their experience indicates that the birth of the handicapped child may act as a catalyst for psychological growth in parents—mast particularly mothers.     

Child labour and inequality

This paper focuses on the role that inequality plays in shaping political support for child labour regulation policies. We provide a model of the evolution of child labour, fertility and human capital where the heterogeneity between low- and high-skilled workers allows for an endogenous analysis of inequality generated by child labour. Depending on the initial level of inequality, child labour regulation policies can affect the welfare of low- and high-skilled workers in different ways and therefore can have an impact on political support for their introduction. The possible conflicts of interest that may arise between the two groups can help explain the difficulties that many governments have when dealing with the issue of child labour.     

Understanding Child Outcomes: An Application to Child Abuse and Neglect

Recently, there have been several empirical studies exploring the effects of abortion on child outcome by correlating the availability of abortion to a mother at the time of a child's birth. This paper presents a model that helps explain the process, as well as establish that the incidence of child neglect is also reduced by access to abortion. It argues that the birth of a child reduces the desired quality of not only that particular birth but of all previous and subsequent offspring. More specifically, a family does not reduce the quality invested in a particular child, whether unwanted or not, but in all family members. Several propositions derived from the model are empirically tested. Some of the findings include that access to abortion reduces the neglect of children, yet is positively associated with sexual abuse. Furthermore, unlike the stylized facts, blacks and female-headed households are no more likely to neglect and abuse their children than other households once availability of abortion, employment status, income and other variables are taken into account. Finally, income and the poverty rate are found to be unrelated with maltreatment, while other variables such as the unemployment rate have better explanatory power.