Violence Experiences in Care: Some Methodological Remarks based on the Finnish Child Victim Survey

The article examines violence experienced by children in substitute care and at home based on the survey results of the Finnish Child Victim Survey carried out in schools in 2008. The focus is on physical and psychological violence in conflict situations. Of the 13 459 respondents, pupils between 12 and 16 years of age, 233 children reported living in care or having lived in care. Children living in care were asked the same questions as children living at home about violence experienced by their care‐taking adults. The analysis compares the answers between those two groups and examines them in relation to information about children's psychosocial problems and measures of emotional wellbeing.

‘The focus is on physical and psychological violence in conflict situations’

According to the study, children report more physical and psychological violence by adults in their homes than children do in residential homes or foster homes. Substitute care is not, however, free of violence. Children with psychosocial problems experienced more violence at home than in substitute care. The article suggests a more thorough conceptual and methodological analysis of abuse in care. The conceptual and methodological tools employed should be sensitive to the particular nature of abuse in care and the studies should pay attention to a variety of forms and practices of violence. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浮躁之源及其救治之道

浮躁是当今人类文明机体上的一颗“毒瘤”,它根源于现代人欲望的快速膨胀与能力的缓慢提升之间的冲突.生活节奏加快、工作量激增、竞争加剧、风险社会来临等催生浮躁的社会因素,都直接或间接地源于现代技术的快速扩张.然而,由于技术在社会生活中的基础支持作用,人们不可能通过放弃技术开发及其推广应用的方式根治浮躁.现代人应当通过技术的人性化、分工协作、构建休闲文化、重建精神家园等途径,从根本上逐步消除浮躁之风,进而走上健康发展之路.     

Cross-Cultural Issues in Illness and Wellness: Implications for Depression

This paper addresses cultural factors in illness and wellness, using depression as a specific context. The issue of cultural relativism and commensurability of diagnosis and evaluation of outcomes across cultures is discussed. The concepts underlying traditional systems of healing are compared to those of Western orthodox medicine.     

Enhancing Victim Empathy for Sex Offenders

SUMMARY

Victim empathy is a widely used component of sex offender treatment throughout North America and Great Britain. Yet, it has been controversial over the past few years. One of the complications involves giving empathy a solid definition. Empathy was defined as the capacity to express compassion for victims. A multi-level system was developed to help specify the definition. The second issue concerns which methods to use in enhancing victim empathy. A variety of techniques are provided as specific ways in which clinicians can help enhance an offender's empathy level.     

Child Abuse Detection

No abstract available for this article.     

A Qualitative Study of Victim Offender Mediation: Implications for Social Work

Restorative justice has grown extensively in recent years. However, existing research data indicate a lack of information regarding its process. This qualitative study aimed at providing an understanding of the experiences of participants in the delivery process. In addition to observation, 34 face-to-face interviews were conducted with 37 individuals. Analyses yielded important insights into multiple layers of participants' experiences. Though the participants indicated having had positive experiences, some insensitive approaches toward victims were also pointed out. This article discusses the implications in moving toward victim-sensitive restorative justice and for the social work profession.     

Attitudes Toward Juvenile Sex Offender Legislation: The Influence of Case-Specific Information

This study examined attitudes toward the application of adult sex offender legislation to juvenile sex offenders. Participants were randomly assigned to one of nine conditions. In the generic condition, the participants were asked to envision a generic juvenile sex offender, whereas in the manipulated conditions, participants read a vignette with three manipulated variables: offense type, victim age, and victim gender. Afterward, all participants (n = 978) completed questionnaires assessing perceptions of juvenile sex offenders and juvenile sex offender legislation. Overall, participants in the generic juvenile sex offender condition rated the perpetrator as more dangerous and more likely to reoffend than participants in the experimental conditions. Moreover, participants in the generic juvenile sex offender condition were more likely to endorse more punitive punishments and viewed perpetrators as “superpredators.” When examining differences between the experimental conditions, participants reading vignettes with younger victims and male victims as well as vignettes with contact offenses were more likely to view the perpetrator as dangerous, likely to recidivate, as a “superpredator,” and deserving of more punitive punishments. Implications for public policy as well as future research directions are discussed.     

An Elder Abuse Case Study

Abstract

This article explores elder abuse from the perspective of caregiver stress and domestic violence theories. The author proposes that the theory of caregiver stress has shaped the elder abuse laws and the practice field, raising some important questions for examination. The need for policymakers and practitioners to evaluate their applied theory(ies) so they may better advocate for needed changes in policies and laws is examined by using a case example. In conclusion, the author suggests that the elder abuse protection field must consider the underutilized concepts of domestic violence theory for policy development, case assessments, and intervention strategies.     

Promoting child protection, welfare and healing: the case for developing best practice

This paper presents a 'best practice perspective' on child and family work. This involves moving beyond the 'deficit perspective' which dominates how the literature examines practice negatively in terms of what is not being done well to one which sets out best practice positively as a model for learning and developing systems and practice competencies. The paper focuses specifically on the meanings and development of best practice in family support in the context of child protection work. This involves work that is not only sensitive to achieving child protection and empowering practice in the context of power differences, but which meets the challenges of engaging therapeutically with and ultimately helping (often resistant) service users. The paper argues that issues of trauma and healing, and self-actualization more broadly, need to move to the centre of how family support and child protection are theorized and done. The aim should be to promote child protec-tion, welfare and healing through the development of egalitarian relationships in what Giddens calls the 'democratic family'.     

Professionals' attitudes about victims of child sexual abuse: implications for collaborative child protection teams

In responding to victims of child sexual abuse, considerable attention has been given to multidisciplinary collaborative response teams. Recent evidence, however, suggests that team members may be divided by differences in attitudes towards victims and offenders and about the causes and consequences of abuse. This paper draws on a larger study of the various professionals who make up one child abuse response system in Newfoundland, Canada. In particular, the paper focuses on social workers, teachers and the police, and their views about the characteristics and credibility of sexual abuse victims, and the extent to which they attribute to the victim some responsibility for the abuse. Data for the study were collected in two stages: key informant interviews; and a survey of social workers, teachers and police. The analysis includes an interpretation of the role of gender, professional group membership and experience with cases. The most striking finding is the extent to which the child's age and behaviour appears to influence differentially attitudes about the victims' credibility. These differences complicate multidisciplinary collaborative initiatives since it would appear that those with the least real case experience, and the least knowledge about the relationship between abuse and behaviour, are the ones most likely to be the first point of contact for reports or disclosures.