Suspected child abuse: the potential for justice to miscarry.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hey E
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1126710 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Suspected child abuse: the potential for justice to miscarry.
BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 20030801 7410
Similar Datasets
Project description:BackgroundA possible association between child abuse and neglect (CAN) and functional constipation (FC) has been described in adults, however, limited data are available in children. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of suspected CAN in children with FC as compared with their healthy peers.MethodsA case-control study was carried out in children aged 3-10 years. Children with FC were recruited at a tertiary outpatient clinic, and healthy controls were recruited at schools. Parents were asked to fill out questionnaires about the history and behaviour of their child, children were inquired using a semistructured interview about experienced traumatic events and sexual knowledge. The interview was scored by two independent observers. The prevalence of suspected CAN was determined according to the questionnaires and interview.ResultsIn total, 228 children with FC and 153 healthy controls were included. Both groups were age and gender comparable (50% females, median age 6 years (not significant)). No significant difference in the prevalence of suspected CAN was found between children with FC and healthy controls (23.3% vs 30.1%, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.12, p=0.14), including a suspicion of sexual, emotional and physical abuse.ConclusionSuspected CAN was detected in both children with FC as in healthy controls. The possible association between CAN and FC in children could not be confirmed.
| S-EPMC8852724 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo assess the attitudes of pediatricians working at the Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs (MNGHA) to report cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) and to determine the association between the demographic, cultural characteristics, and the attitude toward reporting.Participants and settingsThe participants included all pediatricians, from consultants to residents, employed at the Pediatric Department of the King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital, Riyadh. Additional inclusion criteria were females and males, Saudis and non-Saudis, and age 20-60 years.MethodsA self-administered, hard copy questionnaire was distributed to 277 pediatricians, and the response rate was 58.48%. The sensitivity/specificity emphasis mean score was calculated. Categorical variables were tested against the sensitivity/specificity emphasis mean score using an ANOVA and an independent sample t-test. The reliability of the questionnaire was measured with Cronbach's alpha.ResultsIn total, 153 completed questionnaires were analyzed. The responses were inclined toward balanced (indecisive toward reporting) and high specificity (favors the decision not to report suspected CSA). No significant difference was found in the sensitivity/specificity mean score between the different levels of professionals, experience, age, gender, and number of prior child abuse-related courses. The skepticism scale showed, for the different professional levels, that the staff physician/resident believed the 3- to 5-year-old girls and boys to be genuine. The consultants/associate consultants believed 6- to 12-year and 13- to 17-year-old girls and boys to be true most of the time. Nearly half of the participants indicated that their reporting decision was affected by the possible consequences of reporting suspected CSA for the children's families and the social perceptions of sexually abused children as adults.ConclusionThe results highlight the low reporting rates of CSA cases. The findings suggest a lack of training and experience of the professionals in this area of assessing, detecting, and reporting CSA cases.
| S-EPMC9152561 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Child maltreatment is a public health problem with different consequences depending on the form of abuse. Measuring risk and protective factors has been a fertile ground for research, without involving instruments with sufficient evidence of validity. The aim of the study was to gather evidence of validity and reliability of the Inventory Brief Child Abuse Potential (IBCAP) and Protective Factors Survey (PFS) in the Mexican population. The instruments were translated into Spanish. In a non-probabilistic sample of 200 participants, the 7-factor model for the IBCAP [comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.984; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.067] and the 4-factor model for the PFS (CFI = 0.974; RMSEA = 0.061) were confirmed, showing adequate fit indices. Reliability was estimated and evidence of convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity was collected, controlling for effects of social desirability. We also report interpretability statistics of the scores. We achieved solid progress in the development of instrumentation that allows determining the presence or absence of protective and risk factors for child abuse.
| S-EPMC8368729 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe Child Abuse Blame Scale - Physical Abuse (CABS-PA) was translated into Japanese and its subscale items modified by the authors according to the Japanese cultural context. The aim of the current study was to investigate the appropriateness, reliability, and clinical applicability of the CABS-PA Japanese version (CABS-PA-J). Modifications were made to enable the determination of child abuse recognition in a Japanese cultural setting and early clinical intervention in child abuse cases.MethodsThe CABS-PA text was translated into Japanese, then back translated. The appropriateness of scale item translations was verified based on e-mail discussions with the original CABS-PA author. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to examine the validity of CABS-PA-J responses and to confirm the validity of factor structure. Criterion-related validity was also confirmed. The Japanese scale was used to examine the characteristic differences between mothers of premature infants (< 1500 g) and those of other infants (>or= 1500 g).ResultsExploratory and confirmatory factor analyses found the factor structure to be similar between the original scale and the translated CABS-PA-J, suggesting adequate factor validity. There was a statistically significant correlation between social support from a spouse or third party and the abuse score on a subscale, partially demonstrating criterion-referenced validity. Similarities and differences were found in the stress reactions of the mothers of premature infants (< 1500 g) and those of other infants (>or= 1500 g).ConclusionCABS-PA-J was shown to be appropriate and reliable. It is an effective tool for determining the recognition of child abuse among Japanese mothers.
| S-EPMC1950522 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study applied latent class analysis (LCA) to examine heterogeneity in criminal justice administrators' attitudes toward the importance of substance abuse treatment relative to other programs and services commonly offered in criminal justice settings. The study used data collected from wardens, probation and/or parole administrators, and other justice administrators as part of the National Criminal Justice Treatment Practices survey (NCJTP), and includes both adult criminal and juvenile justice samples. Results of the LCA suggested that administrators fell into four different latent classes: (1) those who place a high importance on substance abuse treatment relative to other programs and services, (2) those who place equal importance on substance abuse treatment and other programs and services, (3) those who value other programs and services moderately more than substance abuse treatment, and (4) those who value other programs and services much more than substance abuse treatment. Latent class membership was in turn associated with the extent to which evidence-based substance abuse treatment practices were being used in the facilities, the region of the country in which the administrator worked, and attitudes toward rehabilitating drug-using offenders. The findings have implications for future research focused on the impact that administrators' attitudes have on service provision as well as the effectiveness of knowledge dissemination and diffusion models.
| S-EPMC2898289 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This is the protocol for a Campbell Collaboration systematic review. Our objective is to conduct an umbrella review to synthesize published and unpublished systematic reviews focused on risk and protective factors for child sexual abuse and effectiveness of interventions against child sexual abuse perpetration and victimization. Specific research questions are: (i) what are the risk and protective factors for child sexual abuse victimization, and what are their relative strength and/or magnitude for predicting child sexual abuse victimization? (ii) what are the risk and protective factors for child sexual abuse perpetration, and what are their relative strength and/or magnitude for predicting child sexual abuse perpetration? (iii) are interventions aimed at reducing and/or preventing child sexual abuse effective? (iv) what are the moderators that increase or decrease effectiveness of the interventions? Efforts to decrease child sexual abuse need to be based on research, but more accessible evidence regarding the breadth of risk and protective factors and effectiveness of interventions to reduce child sexual abuse needs to be provided to policymakers. This will be the first umbrella review that comprehensively synthesizes findings of the previous systematic reviews that focus on risk and protective factors for child sexual abuse and interventions to prevent or reduce child sexual abuse. The results will be able to inform enhanced prevention policy and programs, and regulatory measures for specific contexts of child sexual abuse.
| S-EPMC11534711 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Early-life adversity (ELA) is a major predictor of psychopathology, and is thought to increase lifetime risk by epigenetically regulating the genome. Here, focusing on the lateral amygdala, a major brain site for emotional homeostasis, we described molecular cross-talk among multiple epigenetic mechanisms, including 6 histone marks, DNA methylation and the transcriptome, in subjects with a history of ELA and controls. We first uncovered, in the healthy brain, previously unknown interactions among epigenetic layers, in particular related to non-CG methylation in the CAC context. We then showed that ELA associates with methylomic changes that are as frequent in the CAC as in the canonical CG context, while these two forms of plasticity occur in sharply distinct genomic regions, features, and chromatin states. Combining these multiple data indicated that immune-related and small GTPase signaling pathways are most consistently impaired in the amygdala of ELA individuals. Overall, this work provides new insights into epigenetic brain regulation as a function of early-life experience.
2020-09-22 | GSE151827 | GEO
Project description:The context of suspected maltreatment cases is likely to influence the decision of whether or not to make a formal report. Across one pilot study (N = 368) and two experiments (Exp. 1 N = 444; Exp. 2 N =416), undergraduate students and online community participants reported their anticipated actions and beliefs when confronted with evidence of child maltreatment. Participants reviewed case dossiers built from real-world child neglect cases in which increasing levels of evidence were presented and the consequences of reporting, or not reporting, the maltreatment were made salient to the adult or child. The experiments revealed a clear difficulty in deciding whether or not to report suspected maltreatment. Highlighting the impact on either the child or the adult by describing potential consequences moved participants either closer to (child-salient) or farther from (adult-salient) a formal report. Participants were also sensitive to the amount of evidence to support a suspicion of abuse, which influenced the likelihood of a formal report. This work suggests that increasing the salience of maltreatment consequences to child victims may increase the likelihood that suspected maltreatment will be reported.
| S-EPMC9709549 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Child sexual abuse is an important and not uncommon problem. Children who have been sexually abused may present to a physician's office, urgent care centre, or emergency department for medical evaluation. A medical evaluation can provide reassurance to both child and caregiver, identify care needs, and offer an accurate interpretation of findings to the justice and child welfare systems involved. Given the potential medico-legal implications of these assessments, the performance of a comprehensive evaluation requires both current knowledge and clinical proficiency. This position statement presents an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach to the medical evaluation of prepubertal children with suspected or confirmed sexual abuse.
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Project description:Inequities have a profound impact on the health and development of children globally. While inequities are greatest in the world's poorest countries, even in rich nations poorer children have poorer health and developmental outcomes. From birth through childhood to adolescence, morbidity, mortality, growth and development are socially determined, resulting in the most disadvantaged having the highest risk of poor health outcomes. Inequities in childhood impact across the life course. We consider four categories of actions to promote equity: strengthening individuals, strengthening communities, improving living and working conditions, and promoting healthy macropolicies. Inequities can be reduced but action to reduce inequities requires political will. The International Society for Social Paediatrics and Child Health (ISSOP) calls on governments, policy makers, paediatricians and professionals working with children and their organisations to act to reduce child health inequity as a priority. ISSOP recommends the following: governments act to reduce child poverty; ensure rights of all children to healthcare, education and welfare are protected; basic health determinants such as adequate nutrition, clean water and sanitation are available to all children. Paediatric and child health organisations ensure that their members are informed of the impact of inequities on children's well-being and across the life course; include child health inequities in curricula for professionals in training; publish policy statements relevant to their country on child health inequities; advocate for evidence-based pro-equity interventions using a child rights perspective; advocate for affordable, accessible and quality healthcare for all children; promote research to monitor inequity as well as results of interventions in their child populations. Paediatricians and child health professionals be aware of the impact of social determinants of health on children under their care; ensure their clinical services are accessible and acceptable to all children and families within the constraints of their country's health services; engage in advocacy at community and national level.
| S-EPMC6688679 | biostudies-literature