Child Abuse Prevention Research Articles

Evaluation of Strategies Adopted by Christian Social Service Commission Child Protection Project in Ensuring Violence Free Learning Environment in Targeted Primary Schools in Kibaha District, Tanzania

The study evaluated the strategies adopted by CSSC project in ensuring violence free learning environment and prevention of child abuse in targeted primary schools in Kibaha District. The study was a summative evaluation which was guided by Context, Input, Process and Product model (CIPP) developed by Daniel Stufflebeam in 1971. Convergent design under mixed research was adopted whereby qualitative and quantitative data were collected at the same time and analyzed separately. The targeted population for the study included 4 schools, 4 heads teachers,72 teachers,783 students, a project manager and 48 school committee members hence the total of 908 participants. Probability and non-probability sampling were used in selecting respondents. The instruments for data collection were questionnaire, interview guide, focus group discussion and document analysis guide. The reliability of quantitative instruments was established through Cronbach Alpha; (r = 0.608 for teachers’ questionnaire and r = 0.653 for students’ questionnaire) while the reliability for the qualitative data was established through triangulation of data. Quantitative data was coded and analyzed using percentages and frequencies through statistical Package of Social Science Version 26 and presented in tables. Qualitative data was analyzed by coding contents into themes and presented in narrative form and direct quotations from respondents. Findings shows the positive response from teachers, head teachers, students and community members that project employed training, group discussions, presentation and initiation of child protection clubs in targeted primary schools. However, the findings show that the strategies employed did not managed to cover large number of teachers, students and community members in project activities conducted. The study concluded that strategies employed by CSSC child protection project in ensuring violence free learning environment in targeted primary schools were training, group discussions, presentation and formation of child protection clubs which were not able to ensure that a large number of teachers, students and community members to were involved. Study recommended that project owner should train more teachers, students, and community members to ensure adequate number of teachers, students and community members are involved in project activities.

Epidemiological Profile of Child Victims of Abuse: Case of the City of Yaoundé, Cameroon

Purpose: Better prevention of child abuse requires knowledge of risk factors and situations. The general objective of this study was to determine the relative frequency of child abuse in Yaoundé and to draw its epidemiological profile.
 Methodology: the researchers conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2019, i.e., 5 years, in 4 referral hospitals in Yaoundé. All records of victims of abuse under the age of 18 years were included. The data collected were analyzed using Epi-info TM version 7.2 software. Ethical clearance was obtained to conduct our study.
 Findings: Of the 19,187 usable records, child abuse victims represented 0.68% (132). Most of the victims were female (121; 91.7%), under 11 years of age (106; 80.3%), middle siblings (46; 35.0%) and HIV infection was the most common medical history at 17.4% (23). The accompanying person for the first consultation was their mother (72/132; 54.5%). Four (3.0%) children had lost both parents. The main antecedent related to the legal guardian was HIV seropositivity, 70.2% (66/94).
 Conclusion: Child abuse, far from being negligible, concerned primarily girls under 11 years of age. HIV infection was a factor found in both the child victim and the legal guardian in our context.
 Recommendations: Pay particular attention to children outside marriage or living in a blended family. Encourage societal debates around the abuse suffered by children.

Public Health Nurses' Activities toward Child Abuse Prevention before Childbirth in Japan.

As child abuse becomes increasingly serious, the activities of nursing professionals during pregnancy have become more important. This study aimed to describe public health nurses' (PHNs) activities for child abuse prevention, focusing on how they approach pregnant women at possible risk to enable early prevention. A qualitative design was applied. Fifteen PHNs in Japan participated and were interviewed about 23 cases using semistructured interviews focus on the series of PHN's activity. Transcripts were coded, and the codes were categorized into several categories, and content analysis was conducted. PHNs' activities included exploring at-risk cases by various means, creating opportunities to begin individual support, examining the risk of abuse specifically to predict suspected abuse after childbirth, encouraging behavior to reduce the risk of abuse, waiting consciously for a while, expanding support systems for cases. If PHNs anticipated that the situation would not stabilize, they returned to creating an opportunity to begin individual support and repeated the process. PHNs' had six activities, which were repeated depending on the magnitude of the risk of abuse. It was suggested that these activities are aimed at long-term child-rearing support. PHNs belonging to municipal governments conducted these activities; further support can be provided by utilizing municipal governments.

Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme About Prevention of Child Abuse Among the Parents of Under 5-Year Children Coming in Pediatric O.P.D. of Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun

Child abuse is a kind of domestic violence that involves all forms of physical, emotional and sexual maltreatment and negligence of children. Child abuse is a global problem with serious lifelong consequences. Child abuse is a significant global problem with a serious impact on the victims throughout their lives. The study aimed at finding out the effectiveness of structured educational intervention on knowledge of parents of under 5 years children regarding prevention of child abuse Method: The research design was pre-experimental, one group pre-test, post-test design. Data were collected using non probability, convenient sampling method to assess the effectiveness of 30 parents of under 5 children regarding prevention of child abuse by level of knowledge score. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire through interview technique They were analyzed and interpreted by using descriptive and inferential statistics at level of significance 0.05. Result: The study revealed that Pre-test analysis knowledge score in prevention of child abuse was found inadequate in 86.7% of respondent with mean score 10.17 and standard deviation of 2.214, adequate knowledge score was found in 56.7% of respondent with mean score18.90 and standard deviation of 1.900 in post-test. So, it is clearly indicated that there was increase the level of knowledge after structure teaching program me. Conclusion: There is a significant difference between the level of knowledge among parents of under 5 years children regarding prevention of child abuse before and after structured teaching programme Keywords: Assess, Parents, Effectiveness, Knowledge

Working with denial in families dealing with child abuse: A scoping review of the resolutions approach

AbstractThe Resolutions Approach (RA) is a solution‐based intervention that has a unique way of dealing with parental denial of child abuse occurrences. The aim of this scoping review is to summarise knowledge about the benefits of the RA and identify areas for future research. After describing the theoretical background, the intervention steps are illustrated. Next, results of a systematic literature search on the effectiveness and other clinical benefits of the RA are presented. Finally, we provide suggestions for future research. Our search identified two published articles and one dissertation. Findings indicate that the RA might be useful in stopping child abuse and in improving cooperation between families and professionals. Parents experienced more control over their situation, and guardians perceived the method to be transparent. The RA is a well‐described method that respectfully deals with families in which a lack of safety is observed. Future empirical research on the RA is necessary.Practitioner points The Resolutions Approach aims to stop and prevent child abuse in families when there are different perspectives on the abuse. Our study reveals that there are signs of a clinical benefit of the RA in establishing a safe family environment for the child. Families experienced more control over their situation, while guardians perceived the method to be transparent. For most families participating in the RA, a supportive social network could be established.

The mediating role of housing insecurity in the relationship between neighborhood social cohesion and child maltreatment among low-income urban families

BackgroundChild abuse has deleterious impacts for children across their lifespan. Understanding the pathways in which child abuse occurs is critical for targeting prevention efforts. The trust and bonds between neighbors may play a preventive role against child abuse, with parents receiving support from those who are geographically close. Such relationships may guard against housing insecurity, which is related to child abuse. ObjectiveThe current study examines the relationships between social cohesion, housing insecurity, and child abuse. Participants and settingThe study relies on data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal birth cohort study of 4898 families from 20 large urban cities. The study focuses on data from waves 3, 4, 5 when focal children were ages 3, 5, and 9 years. MethodsStructural equation modeling is used to test the mediational relationship between neighborhood social cohesion at age 3, housing insecurity at age 5, and physical and psychological child abuse at age 9. ResultsThe study found that social cohesion is related to lower levels of physical and psychological abuse, and these pathways are partially mediated through housing insecurity. ConclusionsThe findings underscore the important role of neighborhoods in child maltreatment prevention.

L’obligation de signalement aux services de protection de l’enfance : analyse situationnelle de sa mise en oeuvre dans les pratiques de soins primaires

Introduction: International studies suggest that a lack of forensic knowledge, clinical skills and organizational support may hinder nurses' implementation of the duty to report suspected cases of maltreatment to child welfare services. No studies to date have documented how the duty to report is integrated into primary care nursing practice.
 
 Objectives: To describe primary care nurses' perceived role in preventing child maltreatment and to explore the process of implementing mandatory reporting to child welfare services.
 
 Methods: A situational analysis was conducted using 14 semi-structured interviews with primary care nurses in Quebec, Canada. These interviews were qualitatively mapped and analyzed using inductive coding.
 
 Results: Clinical vigilance is an important dimension of nursing practice, which is influenced by external constraints. The implementation of the duty to report relies on clinical intuition, the exercise of discretionary power and organizational work that can be preventive, targeted or symbolic in scope. The determining factor in the implementation of the duty to report is the exercise of control over the situation and its anticipated consequences.
 
 Discussion and conclusion: These findings provide insight into the process of implementing mandatory reporting practices to child welfare services in terms of factors that may influence the exercise of nurses’ discretionary power.

Association Between State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Policies, Child Protective Services Involvement, and Foster Care in the US, 2004-2016

Public assistance policies may play a role in preventing child maltreatment by improving household resources among families of low incomes. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the largest public assistance programs in the US. However, the association of state SNAP policy options to Child Protective Services (CPS) outcomes has not been rigorously examined. To model the association of state SNAP policies with changes in CPS and foster care outcomes in the US over time. This cohort study used panel data to examine the association between SNAP policy options and study outcomes from 2004 to 2016 for 50 US states and the District of Columbia in 2-way fixed-effects regression models. The count of SNAP policies was used as an instrument for SNAP caseloads in instrumental variables models. Data analysis was conducted in November 2021. The adoption of 1 or more state SNAP income generosity policies that improves or stabilizes household resources for SNAP participants. Reports of child maltreatment accepted for CPS investigation, children in substantiated reports, and children receiving foster care services for all forms of maltreatment, and specifically for child neglect per 100 000 child population. The mean (SD) number of SNAP income generosity policies increased from 1.47 (0.95) in 2004 to 2.37 (0.94) in 2010, to 2.49 (0.86) in 2016 across states; the median increased from 1 to 3 (range, 0-4) over the same period. A count of state income generosity policies was associated with large reductions in reports accepted for CPS investigation (-352.6 per 100 000 children; 95% CI, -557.1 to -148.2). Income generosity policy was associated with -94.8 (95% CI, -155.6 to -34.0) fewer substantiated reports and -77.0 (95% CI, -125.4 to -28.6) fewer reports substantiated for neglect per 100 000. Each additional income generosity policy adopted by a state was associated with -45.1 (95% CI, -71.6 to -18.5) to -42.3 (95% CI, -64.8 to -19.8) fewer total foster care placements per 100 000 children. State SNAP policies that improve and stabilize household resources appear to be associated with reductions in CPS involvement and use of foster care. The number of policies implemented had cumulative outcomes beyond individual policy outcomes.

Fusing the Poverty-Aware Paradigm with Public Health Approaches to Protect Children: a Case Study of an Israeli Social Services Department

This article aims to explore the potential contribution of incorporating the Poverty-Aware Paradigm for Child Protection—a critical framework for child protection policy and practice—with public health approaches to protecting children. It focuses on one Israeli social services department that embraced the Poverty-Aware Paradigm as an overarching framework for all levels of practice and specifically in the context of child protection. Based on an in-depth case study of the department’s child protection practice, the findings outline and describe the primary, secondary, and tertiary services and interventions through which the department addresses child maltreatment. These services and interventions are explored in light of Higgins and colleagues’ conceptualization of the six core components of public health approaches to preventing child maltreatment. This exploration points to the compatibly of the two frameworks and suggests three potential contributions of the Poverty-Aware Paradigm to the development of a public health approach. First, it offers a holistic and critical framework that focuses on a multidimensional analysis of child maltreatment and makes it possible to link tertiary responses to primary-level interventions. Second, it provides a firm ethical foundation rooted in a commitment to resisting social oppression and standing by parents, children, and their relationships. Third, it infuses relational concepts and practices into the policy and practice of public health approaches.

Universal Child Care as a Policy to Prevent Child Maltreatment.

Universal Child Care as a Policy to Prevent Child Maltreatment.

Legal Duties of Researchers to Protect Participants in Child Maltreatment Surveys: Advancing Legal Epidemiology

Legal Epidemiology Author Ben Mathews Studies of the prevalence of child maltreatment respond to a public policy imperative to better understand and prevent child abuse and neglect. These studies span domains of law, public health, and legal epidemiology. When conducting them, researchers must comply with legal duties to protect research participants. Australia has a complex legal environment, with additional challenges when participants are children, or are in danger. Duties arise in three bodies of law, vary across States and Territories, and require statutory interpretation, conceptual analysis, and operationalisation. This article conducts the first comprehensive analysis of researchers’ legal duties to protect participants in child maltreatment surveys. It contributes new understandings of the operation of mandatory reporting duties in child protection law, duties to report child abuse offences in criminal law, and the duty of care in negligence law. The analysis informs conclusions about the applicability of these duties, and indicates a legally compliant, ethically sound, and operationally practicable approach. Findings are relevant to multiple settings.

Child Abuse Intervention in Dasmariñas, Cavite

This study was conducted to know the level of implementation of intervention programs of the community and schools in preventing child abuse in Dasmariñas City, Cavite. The respondents of the study are the Barangay Committee on Child Protection members and School Personnel. The study also determined the challenges they encounter in preventing child abuse, as well as the coping mechanism applied and their best practices. To measure the level of implementation of the intervention programs, a self-made questionnaire was constructed based on the Department of Justice Comprehensive Program on Child Protection and was validated by an expert. T-test was utilized to know the significant difference in the level of implementation of intervention programs. Results revealed that all the indicators are highly implemented, thereby a framework for the sustainability of these intervention strategies was developed.

Monitoring and Prevention of Child Abuse Using IoT

Abstract: The word future has a similar meaning to the word children. Today's children are tomorrow's youngsters, and it is vital to preserve their dreams and lives for the future, as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said, "Youngsters are the future pillars of one's nation." As a result, every parent should look after their own children. Without allowing them to descend into the abyss of abuse. In today's age of digital technology and global computing, everyone is connected to one another in a variety of ways. In today's global computing environment, child and female harassment, chain snatchings, kidnappings, sexual harassments, eve teasing, and other forms of abuse are on the rise, making people feel more scared and powerless.

STRENGTHS-BASED CASE MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT Parenting education programs (PEP) are an important and proven intervention strategy in preventing child abuse and neglect. While the literature on the efficacy of PEP is robust, there is still no consensus on the conditions that make some implementations of PEP more successful than others. This paper provides evidence of the impact of implementing the Nurturing Parenting Program (NPP), combined with the Family Development Matrix (FDM). Using a Pre-Post comparison design, data from the First 5 San Bernardino program were analyzed for the years 2012–2017. NPP outcome measures from the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) improved substantially after the FDM was implemented.

Preventing child protective services system involvement by asking families what they need: Findings from a multi-site RCT of the community response program (CRP)

In the mid-2000s, the Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board developed an intervention called the Community Response Program (CRP), intended to fill an important gap in the continuum of services to address child maltreatment. Specifically, families reported to child protective services (CPS) for alleged child maltreatment, but diverted (i.e., their cases were screened out at the hotline call stage or closed following an investigation), were offered voluntary case management services tailored to each family’s unique circumstances and self-determined needs. The goal of CRP was to significantly reduce future contacts with the child welfare system within this population.Beginning in late 2016, seven CRP sites representing 16 Wisconsin counties participated in a randomized control trial to determine the effectiveness of the intervention for reducing CPS involvement. The sample involved families (N = 12,373) diverted from CPS across the program sites. Findings include that CRP staff were able to contact 38% of families in the treatment group, and 12% of families (32% of those contacted) enrolled in the program. CRP participants identified a range of service needs, but over half identified one or more economic needs as service priorities. Just over one-third identified needs related to parenting, and about one quarter identified mental and behavioral health needs. Among participants, over half attained at least one self-determined service goal, and approximately one-quarter attained all of their service goals.To address selection into treatment, we used propensity score matching techniques to conduct treatment-on-the-treated analyses. Results showed that in some program sites, modest to large declines in child welfare system involvement were observed for the treatment versus the control group, and these declines were much more pronounced and consistent in the subgroup that had a screened-out index report compared to those with an investigated index report. However, in some sites, increases in child welfare system involvement occurred in the treatment group relative to the control group, suggesting that the CRP intervention may not be equally helpful to all families, or requires modifications to enhance success in some sites. The implications of these findings for child maltreatment prevention are discussed.

Using Tax Credits to Prevent Child Abuse.

Using Tax Credits to Prevent Child Abuse.

Effect of Whats App Reminder Teaching Program regarding Prevention of Child Abuse on Primary School Teachers' Knowledge

Effect of Whats App Reminder Teaching Program regarding Prevention of Child Abuse on Primary School Teachers' Knowledge

Effect of parental training program on the prevention of child abuse in school-age (boys) children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of parent education on the prevention of behavior abuse of school-age (boys) children. This study is a semi-experimental study with Two- group control and One intervention group and One control group. A total of 74 parents and schoolchildren 10-12-year-old who had the inclusion criteria: Iran National – Parents are at least literate – Mother parent – Child 10 -12years old – Lack of education in child abuse prevention in Mother parent and child -Healthy child and Parents. were randomly divided into control group (n = 37) and intervention group (n = 37). Sampling was conducted at a government boys' school in Najaf Abad city of Isfahan province in 2019 for 3 months. Training sessions were held for parents for three consecutive weeks and each session lasted 90 minutes. The data gathering tool was the Child Abuse Questionnaire whose validity and reliability was measured.

아동학대 예방교육 프로그램이 신고의도에 미치는 효과

The purpose of this study is to confirm the effect of the child abuse prevention education program on the promotion of the intention to report child abuse. Subjects of experimental group watched VOD with child abuse prevention instruction developed by this researcher in 2019, and those in contrast group watched VOD with child abuse prevention instruction spread by Central- Child Protection Agency in 2016. All advance tests of both groups were taken from the 17th to 30th of August in 2019 and participants joining in each others' program were asked to participate in this program education and take the post-test after watching VODs for 10 whole days (from September 27th to October 6th in 2019). I used SPSS 18.0 for analyzing data, and three-way mixed ANOVA. According to this study, the experimental group offered child-abuse prevention instruction developed by this researcher showed that all the scores of intention to report child abuse rose meaningfully higher toward both the cases that can be recognized strongly and weakly to be child-abuse than the contrast group trained with existing child-abuse prevention instruction. and I confirmed that this program has an effect on child abuse prevention instruction through on-line.

Association of positive and adverse childhood experiences with risky behaviours and mental health indicators among Chinese university students in Hong Kong: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT Background: Different childhood experiences may affect adult health differently. Objective: To explore the association of different types of positive childhood experiences(PCEs) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with risky behaviours and mental health indicators, andhow PCEs and ACEs are associated with health outcomes in the context of each other. Method: This was an exploratory cross-sectional online survey including 332 university students in Hong Kong. ACEs (abuse and household challenges), PCEs (perceived safety, positive quality of life, and interpersonal support), risky behaviours (smoking, binge drinking, and sexual initiation), and mental health indicators(depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-rated health, multimorbidity, meaning in life, and life satisfaction)were measured. Results: The multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated cumulative effects of PCEs in lowered risks of depression, anxiety, loneliness, as well as better self-rated health, life satisfaction, and meaning in life (p < .05), after adjusting for ACEs. Results also indicated that ACEs had an increasing relationship with poorer mental health indicators, such as anxiety, loneliness, and life satisfaction (p < .05), after adjusting for PCEs. There was also an adverse association between having ≥4 ACEs with smoking and binge drinking. In addition, each type of PCE and ACE was significantly associated with one or more risky behaviours and mental health indicators. Stratified results showed that PCEs had stronger associations with mental health indicators in participants with fewer ACEs. Furthermore, ACEs had stronger associations with mental health indicators in participants with more PCEs than in those with fewer PCEs. Conclusions: In this study, PCE was proven to be an independent protective factor against poor mental health after accounting for ACE. ACE was also proven to be an independent risk factor for poor mental health and risky behaviours. These findings suggest a crucial need for the active promotion of PCEs and the prevention of child maltreatment. The results of subtypes and stratifications can be taken into consideration when developing targeted interventions in the future. HIGHLIGHTS PCE is an independent protective factor against poor mental health after accounting for ACE. ACE is an independent risk factor for poor mental health and risky behaviours. PCEs and ACEs have different associations with health outcomes in the context of one another.