Infanticide as a sequel of long-term unusual parental abuse

Reported is an uncommon case of battered-child syndrome by parents which caused the child's death. A lot of signs indicating multifarious and serious injuries are described. The causes of violence against the child--including those on an ethnological background- are discussed.     

The long-term effects of child sexual abuse by female perpetrators: a qualitative study of male and female victims

Although the long-term effects of sexual abuse by men have been studied extensively, minimal research has explored the effects of sexual abuse by women. This qualitative study explores the experience and long-term impact of sexual abuse by women. The data were derived from in-depth interviews with 14 adult victims (7 men, 7 women) of child sexual abuse by females. Most respondents reported severe sexual abuse by their mothers. The vast majority of participants reported that the experience of female-perpetrated sexual abuse was harmful and damaging. As a result of the sexual abuse, male and female respondents reported long-term difficulties with substance abuse, self-injury, suicide, depression, rage, strained relationships with women, self-concept and identity issues, and a discomfort with sex. In light of the popular and professional perceptions that sexual abuse by women is relatively harmless as compared to sexual abuse by men, the implications of these long-term effects are discussed, particularly in relation to professionals working in the area of child sexual abuse.     

Preventing juvenile sexual offending through parental monitoring: a comparison study of youth’s experiences of supervision

ABSTRACT

The parental monitoring literature has long observed a link between parental monitoring and juvenile antisocial behaviour. This study extends this line of research to juveniles who commit sexual abuse. The present study investigates whether juvenile reports of parental monitoring differ between juvenile sexual offenders (n?=?338), juvenile delinquents (n?=?346), and non-incarcerated juvenile controls (n?=?256). Results indicate that both incarcerated groups reported significantly less parental knowledge compared to juvenile controls. Further, both juvenile sexual offenders and juvenile controls reported significantly more parental control compared to juvenile delinquents. With regard to parental solicitation, the results were mixed for sexual offenders. They reported high levels of solicitation for some items (e.g. what the youth was doing, who they were with), and lower levels for other items (e.g. where the youth was, whether an adult would be present). When repeating these analyses with the exclusion of non-parent caregivers, a similar pattern of results emerged; however, item-level analyses revealed that parents of juvenile delinquents reported certain types of solicitation and control behaviours more frequently (e.g. asked where the youth was going, made sure the rules were followed) compared to findings from the main sample. Potential explanations for these findings as well as practical implications for prevention are discussed.     

Community of care from a victim-perspective: a qualitative study

Even if there has been some theoretical debate on the role of what has been called the ‘community of care’ in restorative justice (RJ) there has not been much research on, or analysis of, the implications of the role of significant others in its practice. This lack of reflection is especially evident in the case of the victims’ community of care, despite findings that would indicate a systematic lack of participation of victim’s supporters in restorative practices. Through the qualitative analysis of 35 interviews with victims of crime who consented to attend mediation (direct and indirect), an attempt to describe and discuss the characteristics of victim’s communities of care that may become relevant for the practice of RJ is made. Results indicate that, despite a victims’ need for company or support, victims tend to disclose few details about the offense, its consequences and the mediation offered as a way to protect their loved ones or to avoid possible negative reactions from their communities. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are offered.     

Offender experiences and opinions of mixed-gender group work in the community: a qualitative study

The National Probation Service in England and Wales currently delivers community-based accredited offending behavior programs in mixed-gender groups. There is at present a lack of research on the potential impact of mixed-gender group work on female offenders, who are often the minority within the group. This study aimed to improve our understanding of the area using qualitative methods. Sixteen offenders who had participated in a mixed-gender offending behavior program were interviewed as part of this study. Themes from the interviews were analyzed using Grounded Theory techniques. The findings illustrated an overall preference among all participants for mixed-gender rather than single-gender group work. The specific advantages of mixed-gender group work included increased learning about the opposite sex and a more relaxed atmosphere within the group. Although this study reflects positive attitudes to mixed-gender group work, the findings need to be tested further using empirical methodology.     

The role of violence in street crime: a qualitative study of violent offenders

Studies on the motivation for violent street crime, such as robbery and assault, have tended to draw on either the rational choice or the subcultural perspective. This study explores the extent to which violence on the street can be explained by rational factors associated with the successful commission of the offence or social factors related to street culture. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 55 violent street offenders who were serving sentences for street robbery and assault in six prisons in the United Kingdom. The findings, based on accounts of 101 incidents of street violence, identified four main explanations for street violence: (a) successful offence enactment, (b) buzz and excitement, (c) status and honor, and (d) informal justice. The article concludes that there might be benefits in combining the insights of both perspectives by generating an integrated theory that would properly explain both the rational and the seemingly irrational components of street violence.     

My Sassy Girl: a qualitative study of women's aggression in dating relationships in Beijing

The Korean film My Sassy Girl was very popular among young people in urban China in 2001. After the release of the movie, the new image of the "sassy girl" emerged in different media. This study uses the media image of the sassy girl as a stimulus material in interviews and focus groups to explore how young men and women make sense of women's aggression in dating relationships. This qualitative study is mainly based on two focus groups and in-depth interviews with 20 informants (13 female and 7 male). The study sheds light on how the competing and multilayered discourses in contemporary China regarding gender, love, and sex have left some space for young adults to justify women's aggression in dating relationships. We see how young adults in Beijing situate themselves within this set of social cultural discourses and make use of them to "do" their gender through their aggressive behavior and interactions with each other. New images of men and women are thereby created.     

The associations between abuse characteristics in child sexual abuse: a meta-analysis

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a general term describing a wide range of events that vary in characteristics such as the victim’s age of onset, relationship to the perpetrator, abuse quantity, degree of contact, and use of force. To investigate correlations and provide information on the clustering of these characteristics, the present meta-analysis included data from 14,494 sexually abused individuals from 62 empirical peer-reviewed studies and doctoral theses. The results showed that victims of intrafamilial abuse were younger than victims of extrafamilial abuse. More force was used in abuse including higher degrees of physical contact. Intrafamilial abuse and early onset of abuse showed no statistically significant associations with either use of force or closer physical contact. Abuse was more frequent and/or committed over a longer time period when it (a) featured more contact or force, (b) involved a relative as a perpetrator, or (c) commenced when the child was younger. The associations were weak to moderate in strength.     

Childhood abuse and neurocognitive performance in adulthood: a preliminary study of executive functioning in offenders

Childhood abuse has an important negative influence on long-term executive functioning performance. Although this has been studied in non-offenders (controls), few investigations have examined offender samples. The aims of this study were: to study the influence of childhood abuse history on adulthood executive functioning in offenders, and to examine whether executive performance is affected differentially by different abusive events. It was found that in comparison with controls (n?=?17) and with non-abused offenders (n?=?22), the abused offenders (n?=?18) have poorer performance on psychomotor-cognitive processing speed and cognitive flexibility. In abused offenders, it was also found that physical abuse events primarily and significantly affected adulthood performance in these cognitive abilities. In conclusion, this study helps us to know, preliminarily, the neurocognitive profile of abused offenders and how different abusive events suffered in childhood (e.g. physical and emotional abuse) differentially affect executive functioning of this sample.     

Agricultural pesticide abuse in Texas: A case study in the mobilization of law

This article focuses on why and how law was mobilized to regulate agricultural pesticide abuse in Texas during the 1980s. Pesticide abuse is defined as a significant, violent corporate crime worthy of additional analysis. The dynamic forces leading to development of reactive and proactive mobilization efforts are examined. Black’s propositions that proactive law becomes the major form of mobilization in regard to generalized social needs, in conflict situations, and in protection of society’s lower strata are confirmed. Restraints and limits on legal mobilization are discussed.     

The spectrum of sexual abuse in daycare: An exploratory study

Findings from an exploratory study of 48 children sexually abused in daycare centers and daycare homes are presented. About two thirds were female and one third male. Approximately half of victims were maltreated by a single perpetrator and about half by more than one perpetrator, in the latter instance almost always by both men and women. On average, the children were subjected to 5.3 types of sexual abuse, experienced 2.1 different sorts of threats to obtain their cooperation or prevent disclosure of their victimization, and suffered from 3.7 symptoms regarded as sequelae of sexual abuse. Differences in the characteristics of offenders, victims, the sexual abuse, threats, and sequelae were found based upon the daycare context, that is, whether children were victimized in a center with multiple perpetrators, a center with a single perpetrator, or a daycare home.     

Retrospective reports of parental partner abuse: Relationships to depression,trauma symptoms and self-esteem among college students

This study tested whether retrospective reports of childhood exposure to parental partner abuse were associated with internalizing aspects of adult adjustment. Participants were 550 men and women college students. Among women, childhood exposure to partner abuse was related to depression, trauma-related symptoms, and low self-esteem; among men, exposure was associated with trauma-related symptoms. These relationships were statistically independent of reported parental alcohol abuse and divorce. Relationships of parental partner abuse to low self-esteem and depression among women were also independent of variation in retrospective reports of child sexual and physical abuse. However, the relationship of partner abuse to trauma-related symptoms depended, in part, on the co-occurrence of child abuse. The discussion addressed implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice.     

U.S. child custody outcomes in cases involving parental alienation and abuse allegations: what do the data show?

ABSTRACT

Family court and abuse professionals have long been polarized over the use of parental alienation claims to discredit a mother alleging that the father has been abusive or is unsafe for the children. This paper reports the findings from an empirical study of ten years of U.S. cases involving abuse and alienation claims. The findings confirm that mothers’ claims of abuse, especially child physical or sexual abuse, increase their risk of losing custody, and that fathers’ cross-claims of alienation virtually double that risk. Alienation’s impact is gender-specific; fathers alleging mothers are abusive are not similarly undermined when mothers cross-claim alienation. In non-abuse cases, however, the data suggest that alienation has a more gender-neutral impact. These nuanced findings may help abuse and alienation professionals find some common ground.     

This is a man’s world ... or least that’s how it looks in the journals

Mainstream criminology still tends to focus on gender as a control variable, ignoring the different pathways to crime followed by males and females. This leaves us with knowledge that we already have—males commit more criminal and delinquent acts than do females, but little information about the similarities and differences between men and women who commit crimes. On the other hand, feminist approaches tend to do one of two things: deal with girls and women only or deal with women and men separately to illuminate the differences. In this paper, we examine articles in three major journals, Criminology, Justice Quarterly, and Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, to explore the ways that gender is treated in mainstream criminology journals. Then, we will discuss the implications this has for feminist criminology.     

In their own voices: Report of a study on the later effects of child sexual abuse

Abstract

The purpose of this American study was to explore the later effects of sexual abuse in females. in pre or early adolescence. Based on interviews mith a sexually abused group and a comparison group. the study found that incidents of sexual abuse led to numerous harmful later outcomes for their victims. In contrast to a similar but non abused sample, the victim of abuse were characterized by: harboring thoughts of depression. death and suicidal ideation; experiencing lower self-esteem; having fewer close friends; experiencing more verbal altercatfons with their parent or parents; running away from home; having multiple sexual partners; engaging in sexual acti vity a t an earlier age; not using birth control; having an increased chance of becoming pregnant. andor an increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted disease, including HIV and AIDS. Based on these harmful later outcomes. there are many serious implications for child weUm policy and practice. The study's respondents valued assfstance that had helped them recover from the profound emotional trauma. However, they also indlcated that longer term services based in a multi-disciplinary setting, a one-stop facility in essence, would have provided them with more sensltive and effMtive assistance at the point of dfsclasure and subsequently.     

Incarcerated clients' perceptions of therapeutic change in substance abuse treatment: a 4-year case study

Therapeutic communities (TCs) are a primary approach for treating substance abusers in the criminal justice system. The transformation from residential treatment to a TC marked a significant change in the service delivery and organizational culture for one in-prison substance abuse treatment program. This longitudinal case study examines how clients perceived their treatment as a result of treatment and organizational changes. This is important because the scientific literature shows that client perceptions of their treatment impacts treatment retention and the benefit they gain from treatment. Data that were collected over 5 years are presented. Implications, including how the program's interim therapeutic milieu eased the transition to a therapeutic community, are discussed.