Child Protection and Self‐Regulation in the Internet Industry: The UK Experience

In the United Kingdom (UK), the number of convictions for offences related to child abuse images fell back following the police investigation dubbed ‘Operation Ore’, but have still continued at levels unimaginable only 10 years ago. However, while government and the internet industry deserve credit for the steps they have taken to reduce the traffic in child abuse images online in the UK, the fact that a number of Internet Service Providers appear to be reluctant to act to block access to it calls into question the effectiveness of the self‐regulatory principle: the idea which has been central to the UK’s overall approach to internet policy since 1996.     

What have you done for me lately? Charisma attenuates the decline in U.S. presidential approval over time

Using archival data for a sample of U.S. presidents, evidence was found for a honeymoon and hangover effect in approval ratings over time. That is, presidential approval tended to be high early in the president's term and decrease over time. The effect of time on approval persisted even when military and economic indicators were included as predictors of presidential approval. More importantly, the effect of time on approval was moderated by charisma, such that charismatic leaders better maintained their approval rating over time. We take this as evidence that the honeymoon/hangover effect on presidential approval is substantively meaningful from a psychological perspective.     

The Effects of Multiple-Tact and Receptive-Discrimination Training on the Acquisition of Intraverbal Behavior

The purpose of this study was to determine whether multiple-tact training and receptive-discrimination training could be used to teach thematically related vocal intraverbals to typically developing preschool children. Multiple-tact training involved teaching a child to name both the item and the category to which the item belonged. Receptive-discrimination training consisted of teaching a child to select a picture card in the presence of a question from the experimenter regarding the item or its category. When neither of these strategies resulted in substantial increases in intraverbal responses, a typical intraverbal training protocol using tact prompts was implemented. Six typically developing children participated in the study. A multiple-baseline design across word categories was used to evaluate the effects of the three training procedures. Results indicated that both multiple-tact and receptive-discrimination training had minimal effects on the strength of the intraverbal repertoire, whereas direct intraverbal training had a more substantial effect. The results provide some evidence of the functional independence of verbal operants, as well as the independence of listener and speaker repertoires. Receptive-discrimination and multiple-tact training may have facilitated acquisition of intraverbals; however, further research is needed to assess how these repertoires might interact with each other.     

Profiles of adult survivors of severe sexual,physical and emotional institutional abuse in Ireland

Adult survivors of institutional abuse were interviewed with a comprehensive assessment protocol which included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Institutional Child Abuse Processes and Coping Inventory, the Structured Clinical Interviews for Disorders of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV axis I disorders and personality disorders, the Trauma Symptoms Inventory, a Life Problems Checklist, the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. Profiles were identified for subgroups that described severe sexual (N = 60), physical (N = 102), or emotional (N = 85) abuse as their worst forms of maltreatment. Survivors of severe sexual abuse had the most abnormal profile, which was characterised by higher rates of all forms of child maltreatment and higher rates of post‐traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and substance abuse, antisocial personality disorder, trauma symptoms and life problems. Survivors of severe emotional abuse were better adjusted than the other two groups. The profile of survivors of severe physical abuse occupied an intermediate position between the other two groups. A thorough assessment of abuse history and current functioning should be conducted when providing services to adult survivors of institutional abuse, since this may have important implications for the intensity of services required. Survivors of severe sexual abuse may require more intensive services. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of the Stay Safe programme

The development and implementation of the Stay Safe programme is described in this paper. The programme, which was developed in the Republic of Ireland, is a culturally sensitive developmentally staged child abuse prevention. It is a multisystemic programme insofar as it includes modules for teachers, parents and children. It also involves liaison with local child protection and child health professionals as an integral part of implementation. Multimedia‐based instruction is employed to facilitate multimodal leaning. The broad curriculum covers bullying and child abuse as two related forms of victimization. Disclosure training, assertiveness training and coercion management training are included in the curriculum, which also focuses on enhancing self‐esteem and the promotion of peer support. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prevention of child sexual abuse: implications of programme evaluation research

Thirty child abuse prevention programme evaluation studies were selected according to a set of methodological criteria following an extensive manual and computer literature search. Targets for intervention in 17 studies were children; in three parents; in four teachers; and in six studies multisystemic programmes were evaluated where some combination of children, parents and teachers was targeted for intervention. From a review of the 30 studies, it was concluded that child abuse prevention programmes can lead to significant gains in children's, parents' and teachers' safety knowledge and skills. Best practice guidelines arising from the review include the use of multisystemic programmes; child‐focused curricula which cover a wide range of safety skills and concepts; and the use of didactic instruction and discussion, video modelling and active behavioural skills training techniques in programme delivery. The curricula for parents' and teachers' programmes should cover child protection issues and local child protection procedures along with an overview of the children's programme lesson plans. Longer programmes conducted by trained staff are preferable and such staff may include teachers, parents, mental health professionals and law enforcement officers. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children and the Modern Farming Movement

In the twenty‐first century, a small percentage of U.S. children have ties to family‐based agriculture. Yet with the rise of the modern farming movement that emphasizes local and family‐based production, new spaces may exist for involving children and youth in farming. This article focuses on the social value of children to family‐based agriculture in the contemporary era. Drawing on a qualitative study of families that farm in the capital region of New York—an epicenter for the modern food movement—we consider why families farm, how they involve children in their farms, and how they understand children's contributions. Interviews with 76 adult members of 50 families show children to be central to families' goals; they often rationalize farming as a lifestyle choice undertaken for the benefit of their children. Families also actively involve their own children—and other people's children—in their farms. By documenting the way families talk about children and farming, we shed light on the logic used to incorporate children into modern productive enterprises. The centrality of children, we argue, helps explain the success of the modern food movement and the persistence of family‐based agriculture despite conditions that make it economically difficult to accomplish.     

Happy Marriage,Happy Life? Marital Quality and Subjective Well‐being in Later Life

The authors examined associations between marital quality and both general life satisfaction and experienced (momentary) well‐being among older husbands and wives, the relative importance of own versus spouse's marital appraisals for well‐being, and the extent to which the association between own marital appraisals and well‐being is moderated by spouse's appraisals. Data are from the 2009 Disability and Use of Time daily diary supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 722). One's own marital satisfaction is a sizable and significant correlate of life satisfaction and momentary happiness; associations do not differ significantly by gender. The authors did not find a significant association between spouse's marital appraisals and own well‐being. However, the association between husband's marital quality and life satisfaction is buoyed when his wife also reports a happy marriage, yet flattened when his wife reports low marital quality. Implications for understanding marital dynamics and well‐being in later life are discussed.