Reactions of Inner-City Boys and Their Mothers to Research Interviews About Sex

Abstract

Our understanding of child sexuality is very unsatisfactory, in part because research in this area has progressed slowly due to concerns of parents, institutional review boards, school authorities, granting and community agents. Some members of these groups worry that this line of inquiry will have adverse consequences, such as causing distress in child participants or stimulating them to engage in sexual activities. The current study constitutes an exploratory investigation of the reactions of 98 boys (7-13 years) and their 84 mothers after completing individual interviews as part of a larger HIV-related study on the development of sexual behaviors. Most boys reported feeling positively about their participation, were not upset by any aspects of their participation, and indicated willingness to participate again. Most mothers had similar positive reactions. However, considerable reticence was noted on behalf of some boys in their responses to sexual knowledge questions as compared to other portions of the interview. This reticence appeared attributable primarily to limited sexual vocabulary knowledge, and learned inhibitions regarding sex talk with adults. Further refinement of methodologies appropriate for interviewing children about sex is needed.     

Representation of children's views in court hearings about custody and parental visitations — A comparison between what children wanted and what the courts ruled

PurposeFollowing the UN convention on the rights of children, a shift in policy towards greater emphasis on child participation in child protection case processing has occurred. A growing body of research has emerged concerning participation processes in child protection cases and the experiences of children in child protection cases. Very few studies have looked into if and when children get what they want, however. The aim of this study is to assess children's views about living arrangements and visitations in dependency court hearings and to compare these views with the rulings of courts.MethodThe study uses a retrospective cohort design. Cases where child welfare board rulings are in line with the wishes of children are compared to cases where rulings differ from the wishes of children. Data were collected from regional social welfare board archives. The study included 151 cases that were randomly drawn from a total population of 2481 cases. Simple and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the rulings being in accord with the child's wishes in each sample case.ResultsA child advocate was appointed in almost 95% of the cases (n = 142). Fifty-nine percent of the children did not want a change in care. Rulings about care were in line with the wishes of the child in 39% of the cases. Rulings about care were most likely to be what the child wanted, if the child was presently living in public care and did not want to move. Children wanted more visitations with their mothers in 60.5% of the cases and with their fathers in 39.8% of the cases. Whether children wanted more visitations with their mothers was associated with more visitations being granted. What a child wanted was not associated with the ruling on visitations with the child's father.ConclusionThe impact of children's views on visitations on dependency court rulings depends on what a child wants and how these desires coincide with what is proposed by child protection services. Children's views can be quite effective in blocking certain decisions but are less effective if the child requested a specific change. If a child does not want to stay with his or her birth parents, then the odds that the birth parents will be granted custody is minimal.     

The Importance of Adoption for Nurturing and Enhancing the Emotional and Intellectual Potential of Children

ABSTRACT

The present review examines whether the weight of the evidence indicates that adoption is, indeed, a benefit to the child. Several comparison groups have been used. In a number of studies, in United Kingdom, U.S.A. and India amongst others, a comparison has been made of the outcome of the child in his/her adoptive family to what it would have been had that child remained in her/his biological family, or in an institutional setting. Analyzing all the results, adopted children seem to function better than institutional children or children restored to their biological family.     

When Form Fails to Follow Function

Abstract

Benjamin and Gollan'S (2003) new primer on conducting child custody evaluations, published by the American Psychological Association, presents the authors' flawed evaluation protocol with little discussion of the risks and benefits of the practices they advocate. The authors fail to note where their model varies significantly from the custody evaluation guidelines required by law in some states, and promulgated by various professional organizations. The most troubling practices include not interviewing and assessing pre-adolescent children, destroying videotapes of interviews and observation sessions, organizing the evaluation around parental allegations, use of a suggestive allegation checklist, and limiting consideration of information from collateral witnesses to declarations submitted under penalty of perjury.     

Children with disabilities in Swedish child welfare – a differentiating and disabling practice

ABSTRACT

Research shows that children with disabilities are victims of violence and abuse to a higher extent than other children and thus need support from social services. In Sweden, cooperation between two different social services units is required to support children with disabilities in socially vulnerable families. In this study, we have examined the intersection between children and disability in a Swedish social services context from the perspective of childhood studies and disability studies. The reasoning of the two units including the child perspective emerged during focus group interviews based on two vignettes. The results show two different rationalities, which has consequences for the disabled child. In spite of a social policy where the ‘best interests of the child’ are meant to prevail and disabilities are meant to be interpreted as barriers in society, children with disabilities seem to be reduced to individuals who are lacking in ability and competency and who are profoundly victimised by power structures that favour the adult perspective in social services.     

Predictors of the Characteristics of Parent-Adult Child Relationships and Adult Child Functioning in a College Student Sample

Abstract

The responses of college student participants who were in the process of transitioning through emerging adulthood were examined so that the relationships among the characteristics of their families, their relationships with their parents, the perceptions that they hold currently about their parents, and their current functioning could be described. Results of this study suggested that particular characteristics of families are related highly to characteristics of the parent-adult child relationship during emerging adulthood. Further, the findings of this study suggested that different outcomes for adult children during emerging adulthood were predicted by characteristics of the parent-adult child relationship. Such findings may allow clinicians to remediate poor relationships and to encourage more fulfilling relationships between adult children and their parents.     

Financial Abuse of Older People by Family Members: Views and Experiences of Older Australians and their Family Members

Abstract

Risk assessment in child protection services has been promoted as the most reliable way to ensure that maltreatment to children is prevented and has become central to practice with children and families. However, recent research in Australia has suggested that children are being left in unsafe situations, leading to further maltreatment, by the very agencies responsible for their protection. The present article explores the reasons why child protection has become central to child protection practice and presents a wide ranging critical appraisal of risk assessment and its application. It is argued that risk assessment is a flawed process and, as a central tenet of practice, is implicated in any problems that children's protective services face. Consequently, any future reconfiguration of services for children in need of protection needs to include a re-evaluation of the efficacy of risk assessment.     

Participatory discourse: Engagement in the context of child protection assessment practices from the perspectives of child protection workers,parents and children

ObjectiveThis article describes empirical results of the views of child protection workers, parents and children along different dimensions including interpretation of engagement, approaches with families in the engagement process, collaboration and relationship, barriers and factors promoting engagement.MethodA qualitative study was undertaken of a sample of eleven child protection workers, eleven parents and eleven children in one county in South-Estonia. The study explored the participants' experiences and perspectives of the engagement, within the context of assessment in child protection practice, through in-depth semi-structured interviews.ResultsResults indicate that child protection workers demonstrate an over-reliance on expert- and deficit-based approaches, indicating a requirement for a focus on traditional social work assessment, concentrating on problems, and more investigative, coercive, and judgement-focused approaches. Both workers and parents valued the quality of relationships, emphasising trust, dialogue and support as important elements of engagement. According to children, they were not always considered as a subject in the assessment process, including their needs as the primary focus; children expressed the wish to be more heard and understood, with their opinions being taken into account.ConclusionsFindings propose that child protection workers are ‘stuck in the past’, in traditional deficit-based discourse, however families prefer ‘modern’, strengths-based perspectives.     

Mental health services for children and caregivers remaining at home after suspected maltreatment

ObjectiveBehavioral problems are common among children remaining at home after suspected maltreatment, but the effectiveness of current mental health services to improve these behavioral problems is unknown. The objective was to determine whether receipt of child and caregiver mental health services was associated with improvements in behavioral problems in maltreated children remaining at home.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed Second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being data. We included 1117 children ages 2–17 remaining at home after a maltreatment investigation, excluding children with missing outcome, covariate, or survey weight data. We compared mean Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) change scores from baseline to 18 months between children who did and did not receive mental health services, before and after adjusting for child, caregiver, and child welfare agency factors using survey-weighted linear regression.ResultsNearly one-quarter (22.6%) of children and 16.0% of caregivers received mental health services. Children receiving services had worse unadjusted baseline and 18-month CBCL scores than children not receiving services (all P < 0.001). Adjusted CBCL change scores revealed behavioral worsening among children receiving services but improvement among children not receiving services (all P < 0.001). However, children had improved behavior, regardless of their own service receipt, if their caregivers received services and reported an absence of depression at 18 months.ConclusionsChildren receiving mental health services had worse behavioral changes than children not receiving services. Caregiver receipt of services was associated with improved child behavior, suggesting that a family-centered approach may be most influential in improving behavioral outcomes among this population.     

Mothers matter: A feminist perspective on child welfare-involved women

ABSTRACT

Mothers involved in child welfare services are often marginalized and misunderstood while the system focuses on protecting their children. These women are mothering within a context of poverty, violence, addictions, and racism, leaving them with minimal resources and supports. Using a feminist perspective, this article seeks to shift the common perception that children must always be regarded as needing to be protected from these mothers. Rather, a richer understanding of these women and more focus on attending to their needs may provide an added measure of safety and security for their children. An appreciation for the relationships central to these women’s experiences can provide child welfare workers with the ability to create strong working alliances and move families toward safe reunification.     

Kinship Care: Analysis of the Health and Well-Being of Grandfathers Raising Grandchildren Using the Grandparent Assessment Tool and the Medical Outcomes Trust SF-36 TM Health Survey

ABSTRACT

As more and more children are being separated from their biological parents because of AIDS, substance abuse, mental and physical illness, incarceration, and child abuse and neglect, child welfare agencies are relying more often on kinship care as a viable option for out-of-home placements. In many cases, kinship care falls on the grandparents. While keeping children within their families is generally viewed as preferable by child welfare agencies, it can be a burden on grandparent caregivers, who often exist on severely limited incomes and without much assistance or support from social service agencies. A research project was conducted which used both quantitative and qualitative data from research conducted by Jones and Gibbons (2000) on grandparent care, but this study focuses on the experiences of grandfathers who participated in the project and examines their outcomes in several different areas.     

Adult images of childhood and research on client children

The point of departure in this article is a client study with children who had received services from child welfare, school counselling or child psychiatric clinics, compared to a cohort study targeting all children in the same community. It discusses whether parents' reservations towards letting their client children participate in the study indicates a fear of the researchers interfering in family life, and how the choice of research strategies influence the images constructed of client children and their families. A common finding in the two studies was that the children themselves provided the most positive information about their lives. It is argued that adult images of children as either vulnerable, and thus in need of protection, or competent, and thus with an ability to participate, influence access to, as well as construction of, client children's lives.     

Abusers gaining custody in family courts: A case series of over turned decisions

Abstract

This article presents findings and recommendations based on an in-depth examination of records from 27 custody cases from across the United States. The goal of this case series was to determine why family courts may place children with a parent that the child alleges abused them rather than with the nonoffending parent. We focused on “turned around cases” involving allegations of child abuse that were at first viewed as false and later judged to be valid. The average time a child spent in the court ordered custody of an abusive parent was 3.2?years. In all cases we uncovered the father was the abusive parent and the mother sought to protect their child. Results revealed that initially courts were highly suspicious of mothers' motives for being concerned with abuse. These mothers were often treated poorly and two-thirds of the mothers were pathologized by the court for advocating for the safety of their children. Judges who initially ordered children into custody or visitation with abusive parents relied mainly on reports by custody evaluators and guardians ad litem who mistakenly accused mothers of attempting to alienate their children from the father or having coached the child to falsely report abuse. As a result, 59% of perpetrators were given sole custody and the rest were given joint custody or unsupervised visitation. After failing to be protected in the first custody determination, 88% of children reported new incidents of abuse. The abuse often became increasingly severe and the children's mental and physical health frequently deteriorated. The main reason that cases turned around was because protective parents were able to present compelling evidence of the abuse and back the evidence up with reports by mental health professionals who had specific expertise in child abuse rather than merely custody assessment.     

Evaluating the Probative Value of Child Custody Evaluations

Abstract

The ultimate purpose of a child custody evaluation is to assist children and their families to restructure their family lives after divorce. A competent forensic work product is defined, in part, by the eval-uator'S use of current state of the art forensic methods and procedures applied to child custody evaluations (Gould, 1998). In this paper, a detailed structure for reviewing the reliability and relevance of a child custody advisory report is provided in order to help these professionals produce a work product of greater weight and sufficiency to the court and a work product that is increasingly useful to the families we seek to help.     

Caseworkers' perspective on risk factors in the family environment influencing mothers' difficulties in meeting children's needs

ObjectivesThis study examines, from the caseworkers' point of view, which needs of children are the most difficult for parents in neglectful contexts to respond to and which risk factors make this response more difficult.MethodA sample of 55 parents being followed by child protection services for neglect or high risk of neglect accepted to participate in the study. Their caseworker filled out a grid regarding the response provided to the children's needs and the risk factors in the family environment.ResultsThe results indicate that the children's age is related to the difficulties of responding to their needs. The caseworkers are particularly concerned about guidance and boundaries provided to preschool-age children, but less so about that provided to school-age children. When the children's age is controlled for, parents' mental health problems explains a significant proportion of the variance in parents' response to their children's need for stimulation, emotional warmth, and guidance and boundaries. Caseworkers' worries about drug and alcohol misuse also explain a significant proportion of their concerns about the mothers' ability to ensure their child's safety.ConclusionCaseworkers are more worried about the parental response offered to preschool children than to school-age ones. However, a constant and coherent response to growing children is still important for their developmental trajectories. Moreover, mental health and substance abuse explain caseworkers' concerns about mothers' engagement toward their child. These data raise questions about which type of services to offer, because intervening in families where parents deal with personal issues while addressing child neglect is complex.     

Parental denigration reports across parent–child dyads: Divorced parents underreport denigration behaviors compared to children

Abstract

Parental denigration is a phenomenon characterized by disparaging comments made by one parent about the other parent, in front of their children. It is an emerging area of research with implications that appear to follow from a conflict perspective, rather than a parental alienation perspective. In three prior studies of young adults, sibling pairs, and parents, denigration was found to be (a) measured reliably and validly, (b) reciprocally occurring, (c) related to children feeling more distant from both parents, particularly the more frequent denigrator, (d) associated with various measures of maladjustment, and (e) underreported by divorced parents. These results held across marital status and parent gender, in group and individual analyses, across sibling reports, and across studies. In the current study, parent reports of co-parent denigration behaviors were similar to child reports in both married and divorced families. However, divorced parents consistently underreported their own denigration behaviors compared to child reports, and their reports of parent–child closeness and attachment was not associated with child reports. This is consistent with findings from previous work that divorced parents may be less aware of their harmful behaviors and view co-parents in a globally more negative light than children perceive them.     

Remaining home: Well-being outcomes and co-occurring parental substance use following a maltreatment investigation in middle childhood

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to understand differences in child well-being related to parental substance use among children ages 6–12 who were investigated for maltreatment but not removed from their homes. Children with a substance-using parent in the home are compared to those without a substance-using parent in the home.MethodsLongitudinal data from waves 1 and 3 of the second National Study of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II) are used. NSCAW II is a national sample of families with children and youth aged birth to 17.5 investigated by child protective services (CPS). A subset of the data (analyzed with domain analysis methods) is used for this study (n = 575). Eight well-being outcomes from four domains (cognitive development, physical health, psychological/behavioral development and social/emotional competence) are analyzed.FindingsWe hypothesized that (among children investigated for maltreatment and not removed from home) children whose parents used substances would exhibit lower mean levels of well-being at thirty-six months follow-up compared to those whose parents did not use. Unexpectedly, we found no significant differences in well-being levels between children with parents in the home using substances and those without.ConclusionsChildren with substance-using parents may be able to remain at home over an extended period after investigation, while maintaining well-being levels similar to children at home with parents not using substances. If an effective safety plan can be put in place, this option may provide a path to maintaining safety, permanency and well-being for such children without placement in out-of-home care.     

Psychotherapeutic care for sexually-victimized children – Do service providers meet the need? Multilevel analysis

ObjectivesSurprisingly little is known on the decision to refer sexually-victimized children to psychotherapy. Previous research on service provisions for victims of child maltreatment has analyzed the impact of case characteristics, like child or caregiver functional levels, lack of social support, and socioeconomic status. Findings, however, show that the decision to provide services is not only needs-driven, but also affected by external factors like provincial legislation, institutional policies, and the availability and accessibility of services. By analyzing characteristics behind the decision to refer sexually-victimized children to psychotherapy at the case and institutional level, we aimed to disentangle the complex interplay of factors driving this decision.MethodsThe data for this analysis were drawn from the first nationally-representative agency survey on reported child sexual victimization (CSV) in Switzerland. Over a 6-month data-collection period, 165 child protective services, 87 penal authorities and 98 agencies in the health and social sector documented a total of 911 incidents of CSV. Multilevel logistic regression was applied to analyze factors at both the case and contextual level.ResultsThe main finding was that the severity of consequences was strongly associated with the probability of psychotherapeutic service referrals (OR = 10.4; p < 0.001). However, one bias was identified at the individual level: sexually-victimized children born in Switzerland were more likely to be referred to psychotherapy than immigrant children. Institutional disparities in the decision to refer a sexually-victimized child to psychotherapy were large (median OR = 3.83), with penal authorities referring significantly fewer cases to psychotherapy than specialized agencies in the health and social sector. What exactly was driving the difference between psychotherapy referral in different types of agency remains largely unexplained.ConclusionsFuture research should invest in scrutinizing contextual factors of child protective service decisions. As we operationalize the need for psychotherapy as proxy-rated consequences of victimization, routine screening for mental health needs using standardized measures for children in contact with child protection agencies should be implemented, to help frontline workers to identify the psychotherapeutic needs of victimized children.     

The Marginalization of Nonresident Fathers: Their Postdivorce Roles

ABSTRACT

A sample of 260 Australian men were surveyed about their experience as nonresident fathers and their contact with their children. Most reported having little input into decisions concerning children's postseparation living arrangements, the amount of child support they paid, and the spending of their child support payments. Many claimed to have very limited say in any parenting decisions, and little or no involvement in children's schools. Fathers' limited parental role was found to be negatively correlated with their ongoing contact and involvement with children, and positively with their reported level of interparental hostility. Many respondents viewed their marginalization as parents as an impediment to their capacity to develop meaningful relationships with their children.