A Definitional Discussion of Elder Maltreatment

Currently, there is no one uniform accepted or acceptable definition of elder maltreatment. As an important first step in the continued understanding of elder maltreatment, a differentiation is made between legal and social work definitions and a classification system for defining elder maltreatment from a social work orientation is suggested as a guide for assessment and intervention. Distinctions within each of three major categories of elder maltreatment (elder neglect, elder abuse and violation of the elder's rights) is presented.     

Developing Evidence-Based Interventions for Foster Children: An Example of a Randomized Clinical Trial with Infants and Toddlers

Children who enter foster care have usually experienced maltreatment as well as disruptions in relationships with primary caregivers. These children are at risk for a host of problematic outcomes. However, there are few evidence-based interventions that target foster children. This article presents preliminary data testing the effectiveness of an intervention, Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up, to target relationship formation in young children in the foster care system. Children were randomly assigned to the experimental intervention that was designed to enhance regulatory capabilities or to a control intervention. In both conditions, the foster parents received in-home training for 10 weekly sessions. Post-intervention measures were collected 1 month following the completion of the training. Outcome measures included children's diurnal production of cortisol (a stress hormone), and parent report of children's problem behaviors. Children in the experimental intervention group had lower cortisol values than children in the control intervention. Also, the experimental intervention parents reported fewer behavior problems for older versus younger foster children. Results provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of an intervention that targets children's regulatory capabilities and serve as an example of how interventions can effectively target foster children in the child welfare system.     

Addressing common forms of child maltreatment: evidence‐informed interventions and gaps in current knowledge

This paper reviews interventions for preventing the occurrence and recurrence of major types of child maltreatment. We begin with an overview of the challenges of establishing evidence‐based interventions to prevent child abuse and neglect in many countries, and underscore the importance of this need with child maltreatment incidence rates in the USA, and how much each type and subtype contribute to child out‐of‐home placement. Next, we identify the well‐supported, supported and promising interventions for each child maltreatment type and subtype, according to their level of research evidence using an evidence‐based clearing house. The paper closes with a discussion of the implications for practice, evaluation, policy and agency management, including intervention knowledge gaps that showcase areas that need additional practice research.     

Child maltreatment types and adolescent substance use: The role of deviant peer affiliation

This is the first study to examine the mediating effects of deviant peer affiliation on the association between different types of child maltreatment and adolescent substance use that includes alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Peer deviance is a well‐established correlate of adolescent substance use, but most studies exploring the relationship between child maltreatment and adolescent substance use have failed to include peer deviance. Structural equation modelling was conducted to examine the direct effects of each type of child maltreatment (i.e., physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and neglect) on adolescent substance use, as well as indirect effects via deviant peer affiliation, using Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. The results indicated that deviant peer affiliation fully mediated the individuals who had been emotionally abused showed increased deviant peer affiliation, which in turn was associated with higher levels of adolescent substance use. None of the four types of child maltreatment was directly associated with adolescent substance use. The study's findings underscore the importance of early assessment and intervention for the peer relationships of youth who have been emotionally abused.     

Talking out the rage: an ego‐supportive intervention for work with potentially abusive parents

Child abuse experts agree that the single factor ultimately responsible for child maltreatment is the inability of parents to control their aggressive impulses. This paper describes a verbalizing, ego‐supportive intervention for work with potentially abusive parents. It is designed to give parents increased understanding of the experience of parenting and greater control over their angry impulses. The intervention is based on two well‐supported premises: anger towards one's children is natural and inevitable; and putting angry feelings and thoughts into words significantly diminishes the tendency to put them into action. The engagement, ego‐building and prevention benefits of the intervention are discussed.     

Why Have Child Maltreatment and Child Victimization Declined?

Various forms of child maltreatment and child victimization declined as much as 40–70% from 1993 until 2004, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, sexual assault, homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, and larceny. Other child welfare indicators also improved during the same period, including teen pregnancy, teen suicide, and children living in poverty. This article reviews a wide variety of possible explanations for these changes: demography, fertility and abortion legalization, economic prosperity, increased incarceration of offenders, increased agents of social intervention, changing social norms and practices, the dissipation of the social changes from the 1960s, and psychiatric pharmacology. Multiple factors probably contributed. In particular, economic prosperity, increasing agents of social intervention, and psychiatric pharmacology have advantages over some of the other explanations in accounting for the breadth and timing of the improvements.     

Ethnicity, Culture, and Child Maltreatment

Increasingly, child maltreatment research has begun to address ethnicity and culture in both empirical studies and theoretical articles. Despite the expansion of these efforts, cross-cultural research in child maltreatment has raised more questions than it has answered; and it has highlighted the elusiveness of culture-specific constructs to scientific study. Research to date has been hampered by several challenges including the failure to disentangle ethnicity and culture. In this article, we provide a review of research in this area and offer a critique and recommendations for enhancing the study of the role of culture and ethnicity in child maltreatment.     

Psychosocial Interventions for Maltreated and Violence-Exposed Children

Child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse as well as child neglect and domestic violence, community violence, and Childhood Traumatic Grief may result in significant and long-lasting emotional and behavioral difficulties. This article reviews randomized controlled studies that have assessed child mental health outcomes for maltreated and violence-exposed children. Key points of this review include the following: (1) maltreated and violence-exposed children typically experience more than one of these types of traumas; (2) effective psychosocial treatments are available to address Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems in these children; (3) it is likely that treatments which effectively reduce mental health symptoms in children exposed to one type of child maltreatment or violence exposure will also be effective for other or multiple types; and (4) mental health outcomes are not the only important outcomes to address in future treatment or intervention efforts. These future directions for treatment intervention research are addressed.     

Current Issues in Child Protection: An Overview of the Debates in Contemporary Journals

Correspondence to Celia Doyle, School of Behavioural Studies, Nene College, Northampton NN2 7AL Summary This article provides an overview of the current debate andconcerns in child protection work as reflected in current, mainlyBritish, academic and professional journals. Some of the concernswhich have been expressed during the past twenty years are stillpart of contemporary discourse. These include the divide betweenphysical punishment and abuse, child fatalities, assessment,procedures, intervention and prevention. Some more recent themeshave also emerged, in particular ritual abuse, the links betweendomestic violence and child maltreatment, children as witnessesand the plight of children with disabilities and young corers.Perhaps the most prominent feature is the overwhelming pre-eminenceof articles about child sexual abuse. Physical neglect remainson the sidelines while emotional abuse, as the main or soleform, merits barely a mention.     

The Changing Focus of Child Maltreatment Research and Practice Within Psychology

Professions functionally define a field by the types of behaviors or circumstances to which they direct their attention and efforts. For psychology and mental health professionals concerned with child maltreatment, child sexual abuse has been the dominant interest over the past two decades and has been virtually synonymous with child maltreatment within psychology. This is discrepant from the broader scope of child maltreatment, as seen both in child welfare populations and in the general population. In child welfare, sexual abuse is an important but nonetheless relatively less frequent issue. Child neglect and physical abuse dominate child welfare caseloads, and historically always have. The disconnect between the interests of mental health professionals and child welfare appears to be waning, both in terms of dialogue within psychology and apportioning of research resources. This article examines what this emerging change may mean for practice and research in terms of the changing nature of populations involved, different types and locations of services, different roles and new multidisciplinary alliances.     

Patterns and correlates of co‐occurrence among multiple types of child maltreatment

This study examined the patterns and correlates of the types of maltreatment experienced by adolescents aged 9–12, participating in an ongoing longitudinal study on the impact of neglect on children's development. Using case record abstraction, the study compared the child protection classification and findings from the case record abstraction with regard to the rates of four types of maltreatment (i.e. physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect) as well as co‐occurrence across multiple types of maltreatment. Next, the study examined the frequently observed patterns of child maltreatment. Finally, the study investigated whether aspects of caretaker functioning and the detailed incident characteristics in the cases of neglect differed by the number of different types of maltreatment the children experienced. Results showed significant discrepancies between the Child Protective Service classification and case record abstraction. Child Protective Service classification considerably underestimated the rate of co‐occurrence across multiple types of maltreatment. Neglect accompanied by physical and emotional abuse was the most common form. Some of the caretaker functioning variables distinguished the number of types of maltreatment. Based on the findings, future‐research directions and practice implication were discussed.     

Responding to child maltreatment: Comparison between the USA and China

A recent study estimated that over one‐fourth of Chinese children have suffered maltreatment (Fang et al., 2015 ). However, the current child welfare policy in China is limited to orphans, abandoned children, and children with disabilities. Also, there is very little comparative research in China on Chinese and other countries’ child welfare systems. The purpose of this study was to analyze applicable US and Chinese child welfare policies, identify gaps in Chinese policy regarding child maltreatment, and make recommendations for a policy agenda for improving child welfare in China based on cultural values and existing policy structures. Results show that China has considerable capacity to make improvements in child protective services, foster care, and adoption policies. Based on the results of this study, several implications are provided to develop China's child maltreatment policy to increase children's outcomes of well‐being, safety, and permanency. Key Practitioner Message: ? To understand the background and system of current Chinese child maltreatment policy; ? To review US child maltreatment policy and its implementation to identify gaps in the Chinese child maltreatment system; ? To provide policy suggestions to develop Chinese child maltreatment policy and provide recommendations for social work education and practice in China.     

Recruitment and Retention in a Parenting Intervention: A Case Study with Parents Aging Out of the Child Welfare System

ABSTRACT

Parenting interventions are efficacious in reducing child maltreatment and negative child behaviors, yet the recruitment and retention of parents, especially vulnerable parents, in such interventions can be challenging. Prior research identifies several ways to improve recruitment and retention including laying the foundation for the intervention, fostering relationships with parents, ensuring fit of the intervention with the intended population, and identifying barriers to parents’ participation. This case study presents a process of recruiting and retaining a vulnerable group of parents, specifically parenting youth aging out of the child welfare system. In addition to outlining the strategies used, lessons learned are highlighted. Parents expressed interest in the parenting intervention, experienced significant needs, negotiated great instability in their lives, and valued the social connections facilitated by the group intervention. Despite the research team following best practices and investing significant time and resources, recruitment and retention remained challenging. Implications for future work in this area are presented.     

High-Risk Neighborhoods and High-Risk Families

Findings reported by Garbarino and Sherman have been widely cited as a justification for the use of social support interventions on behalf of families with children at risk of child maltrealment. The present study attempted to replicate their findings. Child maltreatment reports were mapped on census tracts and interviews with parents were conducted m a high risk and low risk area, matched on family income. Garbarino and Sherman's finding on the relationship between income and child maltreatment risk was supported in the present study but their finding on the relationship between social support and child maltreatment risk was not. An alternative model is suggested for further research and action.     

Development of an evidence‐informed in‐home family services model for families and children at risk of abuse and neglect

This paper describes the components of a programme designed to prevent child maltreatment which includes the promising practices of a continuous engagement process, cognitive‐behavioural parent and skill teaching, and development of formal and informal supports for families. The programme was also designed to be implemented wide scale. Methods for assessment of strengths and needs, individualization of goals and intervention strategies, and assessment of goal achievement are also described. Finally, preliminary results of a programme implementation fidelity and outcome evaluation are summarized. The authors conclude that this programme is ready for a more rigorous efficacy trial to continue to build the evidence base for this promising intervention addressing a prevalent social problem.     

Experiences of child welfare social workers in addressing substance use among maltreated young mothers to prevent child maltreatment

Substance use during the perinatal period and while parenting can pose a significant risk to children's safety and well-being. Mothers who have experienced child maltreatment are more likely to use substances than mothers without a history of maltreatment. This study explores how child welfare social workers experience supporting young, maltreated mothers struggling with substance use to prevent the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with four social workers working with young mothers with a history of maltreatment and substance use. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed two themes: (1) grappling with system challenges and (2) supporting strategies for disrupting intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment. The results highlight the need for systemic changes around support for social workers who work with young mothers who use substances and have a history of maltreatment, and substance use treatment and mental health programs themselves. Mothers need access to prenatal programs that are trauma-informed, non-judgemental and that support participants' basic needs and parenting skills.     

Exploring crisis and its effects on workers in child protective services work

An inquiry into child welfare protective services workers’ perceptions and experiences in the United States was conducted in order to examine their perceptions of crisis and crisis intervention, and the emotional impact of working with children who endured significant maltreatment. As there is presently little research that has explored these issues specifically from the point of view of the workers, a qualitative grounded theory approach was utilized. Four themes emerged from the data: workers perceived crisis as a result of biopsychosocial breakdown; workers routinely triage when faced with crises; workers are subject to vicarious traumatization; and workers’ personal lives are affected by their work. The findings add to an existing body of knowledge about secondary trauma in child welfare by providing information about the investigative workers’ subjective experience of it. This research adds a unique contribution to understanding workers’ subjective experience of crisis on the job, how it manifests, and whether they feel knowledgeable in the area of crisis intervention.     

The Maltreatment of Children: A Review of Theories and Research

This article reviews the literature pertaining to the causes of child maltreatment. The review discusses 68 articles from various disciplines and organizes them into four predominant theories; psychodynamic, social learning, social psychological, and sociological. Research evidence supporting each of the theories is described and critiqued.     

Recurrence of child maltreatment substantiation: findings from the administrative data of South Korea’s National Child Protection Agency

The recurrence of child maltreatment substantiation among families served by South Korea’s Child Protection Agency has yet to be thoroughly investigated. This study explores the recurrence of child maltreatment substantiation and related risk factors using the administrative data from the National Child Protection Agency (NCPA) . Multilevel discrete time-hazard analysis is employed. We found that the risk of recurrence is greatest during the first month after initial substantiation. Younger children, those with disabilities, children with a greater number of vulnerabilities, families on welfare, father-headed families and impoverished communities had a heightened risk of recurrence of child maltreatment substantiation. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Child maltreatment in Disney animated feature films: 1937–2006

The 45 fully animated, theatrical release feature films produced by Disney between 1937 and 2006 were analyzed for child maltreatment content. All child and adolescent characters were counted and coded for age, role type and incidents of child maltreatment, following US National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS) criteria. A total of 561 incidents of child maltreatment were identified among the 1369 child characters in the films. A total of 26 of the 42 (62%) main child characters were maltreated at least once. Findings are discussed in the context of previous research. Implications of the findings for understanding potential effects on film viewers’ understandings of issues around child maltreatment are outlined.