Child Laborers

"When I was 12, I started working in a cotton mill as a child laborer." Fan Xiaofeng, the former vice-director of the Labor Protection Department of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, wrote this sentence in one of her books. In 1932, she came to     

Preservice Teachers’ Sources of Information on Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse

Teachers in many countries are mandated by law, professional codes, or education authorities to report child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse. However, teachers may not receive adequate preparation for such sensitive interventions, as preservice teacher education degrees provide very few or no compulsory courses on child protection and crucially related, lifelong health and well-being issues. So, where do preservice teachers source their information regarding the mandatory reporting of such abuse? This research examines preservice teachers’ professional university education for their sources of information about mandatory reporting and child sexual abuse. A sample cohort of 56 final 4th-year university bachelor of education (primary school) student teachers in Australia identified the sources they used regarding 10 important aspects of child protection. The results suggest that most did not learn about mandatory reporting or child sexual abuse, and others cited sparse and sporadic public media as their primary information source. These findings, building on previous evidence about inadequate or nonexistent preservice mandatory intervention courses in primary teacher education, may guide the design of appropriate training responses enhancing educational professionals’ knowledge, competencies, skills, and efficacies as mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse.     

Child welfare workers’ constructions and causal explanations of poverty

Studying the perceptions of the causes of poverty is warranted because individual perceptions shape behavior toward poor people and actions related to poverty. Prior studies relying heavily on survey methodology fail to capture deeper and fuller meanings participants apply to poverty. This study explores how child welfare workers understand poverty by examining their definitions of, and what they see as causal explanations of, poverty. Individual interviews were conducted with 30 child welfare workers throughout a Midwestern state. Analysis indicated that workers all defined poverty as ‘not getting basic needs met,’ corresponding to the underlying assumptions of absolute poverty measures. Workers simultaneously augmented these definitions using other poverty constructions, namely the federal guidelines and more complex views – conceptually in line with relative poverty measures – that account for factors outside income or consumption. Workers’ causal explanations of poverty were multifaceted. Causal explanations included structural/systemic, individual, family/generational, and luck, with the first three being most prominent. These findings have implications for practice and training in the child welfare system as it relates to poverty.     

Magazine Coverage of Child Sexual Abuse, 1992–2004

This article analyzes trends in the coverage of child sexual abuse in popular magazines since the early 1990s. The article employs systematic analysis to identify and analyze articles in four popular magazines. Articles are analyzed by subject, length, and publication. The results affirm established theories of newsworthiness related to the coverage of specific stories over time. However, interest in the subject waned in the past 10 years, with the brief and dramatic exception of coverage connected to the Catholic Church in 2002. The findings demonstrate systematic differences between the slants of the four magazines studied. The findings also suggest that child abuse professionals could improve the quality of coverage by agreeing to interviews in connection with articles about childhood sexual abuse.     

Parents’ Experiences of Reporting Child Sexual Abuse in Urban Tanzania

This article reports parental experiences of legally reporting child sexual abuse in Tanzania. Based on in-depth interviews, four types of sexual abuse incidents are portrayed. Each evokes different reactions from parents and the community. An incident characterized as the innocent child was associated with a determination to seek justice. The forced-sex youth elicited feelings of parental betrayal of their child. The consenting curious youth resulted in uncertainty of how to proceed, while the transactional-sex youth evoked a sense of parental powerlessness to control the child because of low economic status. Differentiating between types of sexual abuse incidents may increase awareness of the complexities of child sexual abuse reporting. Education on laws regulating sexual offenses and a functional national child protection system are needed to address child sexual abuse complexities and safeguard the rights of children in Tanzania.     

“Child perpetrators of sexual abuse”: The emergence of a problematic deviant category

This article critically examines the emergence in the professional literature of a new category of criminal deviant: the very young juvenile “sexual offender” (“child perpetrator”). It is argued that current research and writings on “child perpetrators” 1) fail to adhere to established tenets of scientific inquiry; 2) attempt to pathologize species‐typical behaviors; and 3) reflect symbolic opposition to widespread sexual license perceived to have resulted from the “sex positive” interpretive changes regarding sexuality that occurred during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Interactionist methods are applied in tracing three decades of interpretive changes regarding sexual behavior as reflected in the content of professional and popular sexological literature from the mid 1960s to the present. It is concluded that the writings on “child perpetrators” constitute an anomalous but predictable development in the field when considered against the background of recent trends in sexual discourse, professional ideology, and the current widespread perception among many Americans that children are no longer safe from harm while engaged in their normal daily activities.     

Increasing Child Serving Professionals’ Awareness and Understanding of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

ABSTRACT

Child serving professionals need increased understanding of the identification and therapeutic needs of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a training program aimed to increase awareness of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) among professionals likely to encounter victims in their work. Professionals’ (N = 227) knowledge level was examined prior to the training, immediately thereafter, and in a 6–12 month follow-up. Despite professional position or years of experience, participants had similar levels of CSEC knowledge before the training and all showed a significant improvement in their knowledge after the training. However, follow-up testing on a smaller subsample demonstrated that knowledge gains were not maintained. The analysis of the participants’ responses to how their behavior would change subsequent to the training revealed important themes including: (1) greater ability to identify/assess or recognize CSEC victims, (2) greater understanding and knowledge of CSEC, (3) increased ability to communicate, interact, and engage with CSEC victims, and (4) heightened desire to educate others and raise awareness about CSEC. Results also indicated that participants were very satisfied with the training and found it highly relevant to their work.     

“She Got Spoilt”: Perceptions of Victims of Child Sexual Abuse in Ghana

ABSTRACT

International research has commented on social stigma as a key reason for nondisclosure of child sexual abuse. However, the actual components of this social stigma frequently remain unexplored. The present study deals with perceptions of consequences of child sexual abuse among professionals and laypeople in Ghana (N = 44), employing a bystander perspective. As a qualitative study using a grounded theory framework, it considers these consequences in light of their underlying beliefs about child and adolescent development, particularly in relation to gender-based expectations placed on girls and boys. Consequences of child sexual abuse could be divided into sexual health consequences, beliefs about “destroyed innocence” and beliefs about a “destroyed future,” which were strongly related to the sexual nature of the violence perpetrated. These perceived consequences of child sexual abuse hold implications for what surviving child sexual abuse means on a social level. Implications for practice are discussed on the basis of the data analysis.     

Fishing Child Porcelain Pillow

Cizhou Kiln was famed in ancient north China for itsexquisite porcelain.It first started in the middle of theSong Dynasty but fell into decay after the YuanDynasty(AD 1271-1368).The kiln had several sitesscattered in today’s Guantai and Pengcheng of Handan     

Child Psychologist Mao Yuyan

During her long years in Practice,Professor Mao has summed up scientific methods to train mentally tetarded children.     

The Influence of Parental Separation and Divorce on Father–Child Relationships

ABSTRACT

Using a risk and resilience theoretical framework, this study examined the influence of parental divorce during childhood on father–child relationship quality in young adulthood. Relationship quality was measured using nurturant fathering and modified father involvement scales, and self-reports of current amount of face-to-face and verbal father–child contacts. Comparisons on these measures were made between 107 young adults from intact and 96 from divorced family backgrounds. The divorce group was also examined in isolation to explore how divorce-related factors—including structural, early contact, and interparental relationship factors—predict young adults' perceptions of their father–child relationship. Results demonstrate young adults from intact family backgrounds report a comparatively stronger father–child relationship. Among divorce group participants, structural factors (higher father socioeconomic status and joint custody) and early contact (greater percentage of time spent with father postdivorce) were predictors of higher scores on combined nurturant fathering and involvement measures. Greater early contact and stronger interparental relationship factors (low conflict and high contact and cooperativeness) similarly predicted current contact.     

Child Abuse: The smothering of an issue—A British perspective

Although firmly established as a major social issue, child abuse still tends to be studied from too narrow a perspective in Britain. It is contended that the existence of a dominant persective for studying welfare issues (the Social Administration approach) has played an important part in ensuring that child abuse be equated solely with the ill-treatment of children within the home. Despite the fact that the “societal” abuse of children has been well documented, there have been few attempts to extend the boundaries of the child abuse debate. An effective challenge to the social administration approach to welfare is deemed necessary if a broader picture of child abuse in British society is to emerge.     

Intergenerational Continuity and Change in Conceptualization of the “Child” Among Guji People of Ethiopia

The rapidly growing globalization that embodies new technologies has greatly characterized intergenerational difference by fostering change and hindering continuity of values and traditions. However, the effects of cultural change on intergenerational continuity and change in less technologically developed societies have not been documented adequately. This article presents change and continuity between adults and children in conceptualization of the “child” in the context of the Guji people of Ethiopia. It discusses how the meaning of “child” is variable across synchronic generations among the Guji people and how this variability reflects discontinuities and continuities in intergenerational transmission of local knowledge. The difference between adults and children in their knowledge of generational structure is observed as a ground for their divergence in conceptualization of the “child.” Accordingly, for adults, one’s position in generational structure is a basis for identifying somebody as a child. However, for children, one’s level of physical maturity is a basis for defining somebody as a child. The data on which this article is based are drawn from 10 months of ethnographic fieldwork among the Guji people.     

Secondary Traumatization Among Adult Children of PTSD Veterans: The Role of Mother–Child Relationships

The study examined the level of secondary traumatization among adult children of Israeli war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as manifested in emotional distress, stress resulting from terrorist attacks, and capacity for intimacy. In addition, the role of the mother–child relationship as a moderator of these manifestations of distress was examined. Forty-six adult children of fathers with chronic PTSD, and 46 adult children of fathers who had participated in a war but did not have PTSD participated. Findings revealed that adult children of PTSD veterans showed higher levels of psychological distress, greater terror-related stress, and a lower capacity for intimacy than children of non-PTSD veterans. Positive relationship with the mother was found to moderate the level of participants' capacity for intimacy and their levels of psychiatric symptoms.     

Does Having Children Moderate the Effect of Child Sexual Abuse on Depression?

Nearly 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys under the age of 18 will be the victim of child sexual abuse. As adults, these individuals are more likely to report myriad mental illnesses including depression. Testing the hypothesis that having children would moderate the depressive effects of child sexual abuse, the authors used public-use data of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Wave IV (n = 5,114; mean age = 29.00 years; SD = 1.78). Results indicate that having children significantly moderates the relationship between child sexual abuse and depression for females. Though the risk of depression is increased for all females with a child sexual abuse history, this increase is less dramatic for mothers. Two potential explanations of this effect are presented: biological and psychosocial. The possible implications for mental health professionals working with mothers with a child sexual abuse history include highlighting the role of their children as possible support.     

Where Are the Children? Extent and Determinants of Preschoolers' Child Care Time

According to the 1988 National Health Interview Child Health Supplement, half of all children under age six attended nonparental child care on a regular basis. Close to a quarter of all children spent 40 or more hours per week in care. Average time in care was 30.5 hours for children in care. Statistical tests indicate that (a) the predictors of whether parents use any child care differ from the predictors of the number of hours care is used, and (b) estimates for children under three years of age differ from estimates for children from three to five years of age. The probability of attending care is related to a child's age, mother's education, race, family type, number and age of siblings, type of adults living in the household, income, poverty status, and region and size of the community in which a family resides. For children from three to five years of age, hours in care are associated with child's age, mother's education, race, family type, siblings, income, poverty status, and region. For children under three years of age, relatively few factors (mother's education, race, siblings, and region) predict the number of hours spent in child care.     

Social Workers’ Preparation for Child Protection: Revisiting the Question of Specialisation

Abstract

Child welfare work is a key field of practice for social work graduates and for graduates of a growing range of disciplines. In the present paper, the authors drew on a survey of 208 child welfare workers and interviews with 28 senior personnel in child and family welfare agencies to analyse perceptions of the educational preparation of social workers and other human science graduates for this field of practice. The findings indicated that child welfare workers and employers are ambivalent about the value of social work and other generic social science and human services programmes as preparation for tertiary or statutory child protection practice, which involves investigation, assessment, and intervention in child abuse and neglect. The authors argue that the social work profession must better balance generic and specialist aspects to prepare graduates for practice in specialist fields of high social work involvement, particularly in tertiary child protection work.     

Social Service Professionals’ Perceptions of Nonoffending Caregivers in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

This study was designed to assess social service workers’ perceptions of nonoffending caregivers in cases of child sexual abuse. Attributions of blame were examined by administering questionnaires to staff at local social service agencies. It was hypothesized that social service workers who worked in the field longer, were male, or had less education would attribute more blame to the nonoffending caregivers. The findings revealed that respondent gender was the only significant predictor of blame attribution toward nonoffending caregivers, with level of education approaching significance as a predictor. There was no relationship between attribution of blame and years in job. The findings have important contributions for informing the practice of social service professionals who work with families of child sexual abuse.     

Heterogeneous Effects of Child Development Accounts on Savings for Children’s Education

We examine effects of Child Development Accounts on savings for postsecondary education in a statewide experiment (N = 2,677), which automatically opened state-owned college savings accounts for treatment-group children, and encouraged their caregivers to open and save in participant-owned college savings accounts. The experiment achieves universal participation for children in the treatment group; almost all treatment-group children hold an account with more than $1,000 in college assets. Treatment participants we expect would hold their own participant-owned accounts without the intervention have $395 more in savings than their counterparts in the control group; those who are motivated by the intervention to hold a participant-owned account have mean deposits of $888. Those who are motivated by the intervention to save have mean deposits of $1,826. The intervention reduces the socioeconomic disparity in asset accumulation for children. The program has the potential to promote asset building for children’s education.