Victims Of Child Abuse Research Articles

The Role of Emotional Processes in Explaining the Link Between Severity of Childhood Maltreatment and Relationship Difficulties.

Up to 32% of adults have experienced some form of childhood maltreatment (CM). Research has shown that these early childhood experiences are associated with a variety of interpersonal difficulties in adult sexual and romantic relationships. Polusny and Follette have suggested that these negative long-term effects are the result of emotional avoidance strategies that individuals use to cope with thoughts, feelings, and memories associated with CM. The present study tested this theorized mediational model with a sample of 150 participants, all of whom were currently in long-term relationships. Participants completed questionnaires designed to assess the severity of CM, fear of their own emotions, and a task designed to assess their accuracy at identifying emotions. Additionally, participants completed a variety of measures assessing the quality of their sexual and romantic relationships. These measures assessed their satisfaction, their communication, and the extent of problems in each domain. Our results showed that higher levels of CM were associated with lower satisfaction with communication and more problems in both the romantic and sexual domains. In regard to our mediational hypothesis, we found partial support showing that fear of one's own emotions and emotion recognition mediated some of these associations. Our findings suggest that treatments targeting affective processes may be particularly important for helping victims of CM.

GANTI KERUGIAN TERHADAP ANAK KORBAN TINDAK PIDANA PENCABULAN

Regulations in force in Indonesia have protected the rights of child victims of abuse. However, law enforcement officials often believe that punishing perpetrators with criminal penalties is the best approach to help victims and not by violating victims' rights, especially the right to compensation. Normative legal research methods were used in this study with a normative juridical approach and qualitative descriptive data analysis. The results showed that compensation for child victims of abuse was paid procedurally. Therefore, the provision of compensation is difficult because it requires the request of victims which is considered to have come first. The lack of support from the community and victims' legal representatives is a challenge for the Witness and Victim Protection Agency in assisting child molesters to get compensation. The right to redress has not been effective due to a lack of support from human resources, especially psychologists, in assisting victims of sexual violence and law enforcement officials. The lack of coercive action against perpetrators of sexual violence regarding the payment of compensation decided by the court, and the provision of compensation depending on the good intentions of the perpetrators, presents challenges for law enforcement officials in carrying out compensation to victims of sexual violence. In addition, it must be requested first and the court has the authority to reject the request for compensation of the child victim, then this right is not fundamental. Restitution cannot be considered a right, because if it is, it must be granted automatically

Child Victimization and Poly-Victimization Among Men and Women Justice-Involved in Northern Chile

This study aimed to identify the magnitude of child victimization and polyvictimization in incarcerated individuals in northern Chile. A sample of 229 adults deprived of liberty in northern Chile was recruited. The results showed that incarcerated individuals presented significant percentages of child abuse and sexual victimization experiences (58.6% and 58.4%, respectively). In the analysis by sex, males suffer more frequently victimization by common crimes and peer victimization in their childhood. Sexual victimization was reported more frequently in females. The results reflect the high rates of child victimization and polyvictimization among the incarcerated population in northern Chile. The results can be useful in developing public policy for incarcerated individuals sensitive to their childhood victimization experiences and their mental health.

Legal Protection and Criminal Implications of Mistreatment of Minors: Analysis Based on Child Protection Law Number 35 of 2014

This study discusses the abuse of minors and the legal implications and protections afforded to victims. Child maltreatment is an act of violence involving minors under the age prescribed by law, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The Child Protection Law regulates cases of child abuse and provides a strong legal basis for protecting children's rights. The criminal implications of child maltreatment include various legal consequences imposed on perpetrators, such as imprisonment and fines. The main purpose of these criminal implications is to ensure justice for victims, prevent the repetition of similar crimes, and give an unequivocal message that child maltreatment is unacceptable. Protection of victims of child abuse covers a wide range of aspects, including victims' rights to feel safe, privacy, physical and psychological recovery, uninterrupted education, justice in due process, fair compensation, and effective protection from authorities. Parents also have an important role in providing protection to children who are victims. Cooperation from various parties, including the state, government, community, and family, as well as the implementation of strong laws, are expected to prevent cases of abuse of minors, ensure the protection and recovery of victims, and realize justice.

Awareness Regarding POCSO Act: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Child sexual abuse occurs in a variety of settings and the POCSO Act, 2012 came into force with effect from November 14, 2012. A community-based cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge regarding the POCSO Act among adults in the rural community of Chandigarh was carried out in full compliance with ethical standards provided by the institutional research and ethical committee. A nonprobability sampling technique was used to select 190 subjects from Sector 56, Palsora, Chandigarh. This study found that 55.8% have an adequate level of knowledge and 44.2% have an inadequate level of knowledge. The variables heard or seen by a victim of child abuse have only significant associations with the level of knowledge.

İNGİLTERE VE TÜRKİYE'DE ÇOCUKLARLA ADLİ GÖRÜŞMEYE İLİŞKİN MEVCUT DURUM DEĞERLENDİRMESİ

Child maltreatment is a social problem that is emphasized and researched around the World. The phenomenon of sexual abuse is different from other types of abuse, since there is no eyewitness other than the victim and perpetrator. Children exposed to sexual abuse are sometimes pressured by family members to keep secret or deny what happened because the abuser is a family member which makes it difficult to reveal sexual abuse. Forensic interview is one of the most important tools in order to obtain information about what happened from the child who is the victim of abuse. The fact that the forensic interviewer is an expert in the field increases the probability of getting a full and correct answer from the child victim of abuse. The history of forensic interview with a child in the UK is older than in Turkey, the process that started in the late 1970s accelerated in the 1990s. The process of forensic interviewing with children in Turkey gained momentum especially with the publication of the Child Monitoring Center circular in 2012. It is pleasing that the number of Child Monitoring Centers affiliated to the Ministry of Health and Forensic Interview Rooms affiliated to the Ministry of Justice has increased rapidly since 2012. There is no forensic interview protocol yet in Turkey. It is believed that it would be appropriate to prepare a forensic interview protocol as soon as possible with the studies carried out on this subject. This article initially focus on investigative interviewing of children and then discuss the important components that may impact the children’s testimony. Interview aids, cognitive interview, multiple interviews with children and the role of interviewer will be outlined. In addition to that, investigative interviewing of children in the UK and Turkey will be discussed.

The Impact of Child Polyvictimization and Cultural Factors on Lifetime Intimate Partner Violence Among Salvadoran Women.

This study examined the impact of child abuse on intimate partner violence (IPV) among a representative sample of 3,296 women using the Violence Against Women National Survey data from El Salvador. We found that child physical, sexual, and psychological abuse were independently associated with IPV, and experiencing child polyvictimization, along with having a controlling husband increased the risk of IPV victimization. To prevent child abuse (poly)victimization and IPV, and its negative consequences in El Salvador, implementing programs that focus on group training for women and men, as well as, community mobilizations that involve multiple stakeholders with multiple approaches would be beneficial.

Sexual orientations in association between childhood maltreatment and depression among undergraduates in mainland of China

BackgroundThere is growing evidence that sexual minorities including lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning individuals (LGBQ) have significantly higher rates of childhood maltreatment than heterosexuals. However, few studies focused on the association between different type of childhood maltreatment and depression in LGBQs. MethodsCross-sectional study by random sampling was conducted among the undergraduates in mainland of China. A total of 1920 undergraduates from different majors and colleges completed self-report questionnaires to record depression, childhood maltreatment, sexual orientation and other related information. The associations were examined via a set of logistic regression analysis. ResultsCompared to the participants who had never experienced childhood maltreatment, the participants who reported emotional abuse (p < 0.001) and sexual abuse (p < 0.05) had higher odds of depression. The LGBQs have higher risk of being the victims of childhood maltreatment. The prevalence of depression was much higher in the LGBQ than that in the heterosexuals (33.9 % vs 16.1 %, χ2 = 43.627, p < 0.001). Compared to heterosexual adolescents, LGBQs had significantly higher odds of depression (p < 0.001). LimitationsCross-sectional design, self-reported information, and unable to examine underlying protective factors. ConclusionsEmotional abuse, emotional neglect and sexual abuse have stronger association with LGBQ than other kind of childhood maltreatment. Emotional abuse and sexual abuse have stronger association with depression. Sexual abuse has stronger association with depression in LGBQs than heterosexuals. More attention to the mental health should be paid especially in LGBQs to reduce the risk of depression.

An Empirical Study on Maltreatment of Children by Parents and its Effect on their Academics

Child maltreatment continues to be a major health and social welfare problem across the globe. In the Indias, millions of children from all socioeconomic backgrounds, across all ages, religions, and cultures are victims of child maltreatment every day and millions more are at risk. Research has consistently shown that exposure to child maltreatment in all its forms negatively affects the current and future educational performance and emotional and psychological well-being of children. The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature synthesis of the impact of child maltreatment on the educational and psychological well-being of students. Recommendations for educators working in school settings are provided.This paper discusses the maltreatment by parents among students. It discusses the pressure which students face during their academic years which leads them to problem. It discusses pressure due to peers, due to academics, financial pressures, parental expectations and other reasons for maltreatment. The aim of this research is to explore the primary reasons for maltreatment among parents and to analyze the awareness among the common people. The Empirical method was used to conduct this Non-Doctrinal research, using primary sources like questionnaires and surveys; and secondary sources like books and journals. The paper gives a deep understanding of the problems which students face which leads them to mental problems like depression and anxiety.

Child and women domestic abuse victims' social health insurance protection: an affirmative justice perspective

As the times develop, the more complex the problems faced, one of which is problems related to the family, namely domestic violence (KDRT). The emergence of violence results in victims who must be protected, both physically and psychologically. The protection provided to victims of domestic violence is legal protection and health protection. Health social security for victims is an important factor needed by victims of violence, legal protection for victims is no less important considering that until now there are still not many victims who report acts of domestic violence that have befallen them. Based on the description above, it becomes an interesting problem which is outlined in the formulation of the problem as follows: 1) Cases of violence and influencing factors; 2) Principles of health insurance protection for victims of domestic violence; 3) Legal protection efforts for children and women as victims of domestic violence. Thus, the focus of this research is how the urgency of regulation on the protection of victims of criminal acts in obtaining social health insurance. This research is a normative-empirical legal research (applied law research) that uses case studies in the form of legal behavior products. This research is a normative legal research that is perspective analysis with a statutory approach. The result of this research is the importance of social health insurance and legal protection for victims of domestic violence.

Analyses of Criminal Judgments about Domestic Child Abuse Cases in Taiwan.

Child abuse has negative impacts on the well-being of children and often leads to adverse consequences, such as suicide, alcohol addiction, depression, and substance abuse. To better understand domestic child abuse in Taiwan, this study analyzed 73 criminal judgments (open-access documents) in which the victims of domestic child abuse were children below the age of 12 from the "Judicial Yuan Law and Regulations Retrieving System" database. There were 73 victims and 91 perpetrators involved. The results indicated that younger children were more likely to be victims of physical abuse, and the majority of death cases were committed by biological parents and cohabiting partners. The perpetrators tended to be young males with lower education. Male cohabiting partners appeared to be a high-risk population for child abuse. Approximately 63% of perpetrators experienced poverty, and 24.7% suffered from marital discord. In the 73 cases, 61.6% of the victims died, 21.9% were mildly injured, and 16.5% were severely injured. The sentencing was related to the level of injury, with perpetrators of mild injury sentenced to less than one year while perpetrators with victim death were sentenced to a longer period of imprisonment. It is suggested that parents at higher risk require greater financial and social support and should be educated on appropriate disciplinary techniques.

ZLOSTAVLJANJE DJECE I MEDIJSKA ETIKA: PRIKAZ ŽRTAVA I KORIŠTENJE UGROŽAVAJUĆIH PRAKSI U DNEVNIM NOVINAMA U HRVATSKOJ

The paper presents the results of content analysis conducted on 489 articles published in three Croatian daily newspapers in the period of two years (1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019) on the topic of child abuse. The goals of the research were to investigate: the way child abuse was portrayed in Croatian newspapers, whether the journalists reported in a sensationalistic manner, how frequently they disclosed the victim’s identity or used other endangering practices. We also wanted to identify the predictors of using endangering practices. The results have shown that child abuse victims in newspaper articles were equally male and female, and that focus was mostly on the victims of physical and sexual abuse, while emotional abuse and neglect were almost invisible. The victim’sidentity was disclosed in 64.6% of the articles (although mostly indirectly). As many as 78.5% of articles highlighted at least one background information on the victim, 24.7% of the articles contained victim-blaming information, while 74.2% of the articles provided details of the abusive event, a practice that could lead to re-traumatization of the victims. A child’s identity is most likely disclosed in the articles announced on the front page of the newspapers, in cases of domestic abuse, and in cases where the perpetrators were a child’s acquaintances. Key words: media representation; media ethics; child abuse; content analysis; daily newspapers

Knowledge and Attitude of Pediatric Nurses in Saudi Arabia Regarding Child Abuse.

Child abuse, especially when caused by the child's parents or caregivers, can be either physical, psychological, and/or sexual. Pediatric nurses should be able to identify cases of child abuse, provide appropriate care, and address the issue. Nurses' knowledge, attitudes in child abuse are essential in safeguarding the well-being and safety of those children. This study aimed to investigate pediatric nurses' knowledge and attitude about child abuse and actions taken to address such abuse. Seventy pediatric nurses working in one educational hospital in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia participated in the study. This study followed a quantitative design. A self-administrative questionnaire was distributed to pediatric nurses. A convenience sampling was followed to include the nurses who met the criteria. An adopted validated questionnaire was used for collecting data about nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding child abuse. The data was analyzed by SPSS with a descriptive analysis, independent t-tests or ANOVA test, and regression analysis. The descriptive results indicate that participants had adequate knowledge for identifying a child as a probable victim of child abuse. All participants agreed that an important role for nurses in managing and preventing child abuse is present. The study also indicated a favorable attitude of pediatric nurses toward child abuse. Linear regression analysis showed that nurses age between 31 and 40 years were positively associated with nurses' knowledge of child abuse, nurses with fewer years of experience and nurses with experience in dealing with a victim of child abuse had a more favorable attitude. The study concludes that pediatric nurses have adequate knowledge and a positive attitude toward child abuse. Middle age was positively associated with nurses' knowledge of child abuse, while years of experience and experience in dealing with child abuse was inversely associated with nurses' attitude.

Future Directions in Child Maltreatment Research

ABSTRACT Child maltreatment (or child abuse and neglect) is a common area of interest in clinical child psychology. Research has examined the causes and consequences as well as the myriad risk factors and interventions that are effective in supporting child maltreatment victims and families. Child maltreatment is unique, however, from the study of disorders and even other kinds of adversity in that the scientific interest is shared across many disciplines including but not limited to, social welfare, medicine, law, and biology. As a result, the current state of the field although robust, is limited by a lack of shared definitions, common approaches to research and inclusion of widely differing sample types making the results often nonreproducible and of limited generalizability. The goal of the current paper is to provide clinical child and adolescent psychologists a guide to the complexity of child maltreatment research and to suggest possible solutions to navigate the challenges associated with research on child maltreatment. The manuscript provides suggestions that researchers could follow to ensure that mistakes from the past are not repeated and so that clinical psychology can contribute to the field with the most robust research for this significantly important public health issue.

Suppression and Memory for Childhood Traumatic Events: Trauma Symptoms and Non-Disclosure.

Self-reported lost memory of child sexual abuse (CSA) can be mistaken for "repressed memory." Based on our longitudinal studies of memory and disclosure in child maltreatment victims who are now adults, we discuss findings relevant to "repressed memory cases." We examined relations between self-report of temporarily lost memory of CSA (subjective forgetting) and memory accuracy for maltreatment-related experiences (objective memory). Across two studies involving separate samples, we find evidence for memory suppression rather than repression: (1) Most adults who claimed temporary lost memory of CSA reported memory suppression and clarified that they could have remembered the event if asked; (2) subjective forgetting was positively associated with accurate objective memory for maltreatment-related experiences. Subjective forgetting was also related to increased adult trauma symptoms and related to childhood non-disclosure of CSA. Moreover, trauma-related psychopathology mediated the relation between non-disclosure and subjective forgetting. Implications for psychological theory and repressed memory cases are discussed.

‘Holding onto trauma?’ The prevalence and predictors of PTSD, anxiety and depression in police officers working with child abuse, rape and sexual exploitation victims

Research into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other common mental disorders (CMDs) in police officers is limited, with the majority of research predominately conducted outside the UK, and no study quantitatively examining the role of social support in relation to the mental health of UK police officers working with victims of trauma. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the prevalence and predictors of PTSD and CMD in UK police officers who investigate rape, sexual exploitation and child abuse, along with the potential protective role of social support. Participants were police officers ( n = 353) within one police area, who completed self-report measures of PTSD, anxiety, depression and social support. Results showed that 23% of officers had potentially clinical levels of PTSD, 26% had moderate to severe levels of anxiety and 35% had moderate to severe levels of depression. Female officers, those of constable rank, those working with victims of child abuse, and those with lowest levels of social support had poorer mental health. There was tentative evidence that social support statistically moderated the relationship between tenure and depression. These findings suggest the need for bespoke help for the sub-group of officers experiencing mental health problems and for further research into the potential protective role of social support.

The truth project paper one-how did victims and survivors experience participation? Addressing epistemic relational inequality in the field of child sexual abuse.

The last 30 years has seen an exponential increase in Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiries. One feature of these has been to place adult survivor voices at the center of Inquiry work, meaning that child abuse victims and survivors are engaging with Inquiries, sharing their experiences, with this participation often presented as empowering and healing. This initiative challenges long held beliefs that child sexual abuse survivors are unreliable witnesses, which has led to epistemic injustice and a hermeneutical lacunae in survivor testimony. However to date there has been limited research on what survivors say about their experiences of participation. The Truth Project was one area of work of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales. It invited survivors of Child Sexual Abuse to share their experiences including the impacts of abuse and their recommendations for change. The Truth Project concluded in 2021 and heard from more than 6,000 victims of child sexual abuse. The evaluation of the Trauma Informed Approach designed to support survivors through their engagement with the project was a mixed methods, two phase methodology. A total of 66 survey responses were received. Follow-up interviews were conducted with seven survey respondents. The Trauma Informed Approach was found to be predominantly helpful in attending to victim needs and minimizing harm. However, a small number of participants reported harmful effects post-session. The positive impacts reported about taking part in the Truth Project as a one-off engagement challenges beliefs that survivors of child sexual abuse cannot safely talk about their experiences. It also provides evidence of the central role survivors should have in designing services for trauma victims. This study contributes to the epistemic justice literature which emphasizes the central role of relational ethics in the politics of knowing, and the importance of developing a testimonial sensibility when listening to marginalized groups.

Childhood maltreatment and homicidal ideation among Chinese early adolescents: The serial mediating role of borderline personality features and aggression.

A large body of evidence linked childhood maltreatment (CM) to juvenile violence and delinquent behavior. However, little is known about the association between CM and homicidal ideation in early adolescents. This study aimed to examine that relationship and to explore the serial mediating role of borderline personality features (BPF) and aggression in that relationship in a large sample of early adolescents. A total of 5724 early adolescents (mean age: 13.5 years) were recruited from three middle schools in Anhui Province, China. The participants were invited to complete self-report questionnaires regarding their history of CM, BPF, aggression, and homicidal ideation. Mediation analyses were evaluated using structural equation modeling. A total of 669 participants (11.7%) reported homicidal ideation in the past 6 months. CM victimization was positively associated with homicidal ideation after adjusting for covariates. Furthermore, the serial mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of CM on homicidal ideation through BPF and subsequent aggression. Exposure to maltreatment in childhood is likely to manifest BPF and subsequently higher levels of aggression, which in turn are related to increased homicidal ideation. These findings suggest the need for early intervention for BPF and aggression in early adolescents exposed to CM to prevent the development of homicidal ideation.

The concept of self among Chinese university victims of child abuse: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

The concept of self among Chinese university victims of child abuse: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Investigating effect modification between childhood maltreatment and genetic risk for cardiovascular disease in the UK Biobank.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Childhood maltreatment is associated with CVD and may modify genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular risk factors. We used genetic and phenotypic data from 100,833 White British UK Biobank participants (57% female; mean age = 55.9 years). We regressed nine cardiovascular risk factors/diseases (alcohol consumption, body mass index [BMI], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lifetime smoking behaviour, systolic blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke) on their respective polygenic scores (PGS) and self-reported exposure to childhood maltreatment. Effect modification was tested on the additive and multiplicative scales by including a product term (PGS*maltreatment) in regression models. On the additive scale, childhood maltreatment accentuated the effect of genetic susceptibility to higher BMI (Peffect modification: 0.003). Individuals not exposed to childhood maltreatment had an increase in BMI of 0.12 SD (95% CI: 0.11, 0.13) per SD increase in BMI PGS, compared to 0.17 SD (95% CI: 0.14, 0.19) in those exposed to all types of childhood maltreatment. On the multiplicative scale, similar results were obtained for BMI though these did not withstand to Bonferroni correction. There was little evidence of effect modification by childhood maltreatment in relation to other outcomes, or of sex-specific effect modification. Our study suggests the effects of genetic susceptibility to a higher BMI may be moderately accentuated in individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment. However, gene*environment interactions are likely not a major contributor to the excess CVD burden experienced by childhood maltreatment victims.