Coping Alone: Examining the Prospects of Adolescent Victims of Child Abuse Placed in Foster Care

The ability of a young person to cope effectively with stressful life events appears to be associated with their previous experiences and relationships. Young people in foster care who have histories of child abuse, therefore, may find they cannot cope effectively with the situation they find themselves in. This paper attempts to highlight the problems they face. A group of 21 young people were interviewed and were asked to complete the Frydenberg and Lewis Adolescent Coping Scales. Their social workers provided information on their past history both in care and prior to coming in to care. It emerged that the young people who had experienced physical and/or sexual abuse were significantly (p < 0.02) more likely to be/have been involved in problem, or Crisis, foster placements. Additionally these young people displayed less adaptive coping strategies than the young people who had not been abused. The most significant differences indicated that the victims of abuse were more likely to try and cope with stressful situations by themselves, while the other foster adolescents were significantly (p < 0.004) more likely to find support from their friends. Case studies, with reference to the teenager's own accounts, help to illustrate how a history of abuse can complicate the already difficult fostering processes, and can also affect the long-term coping abilities of the victims. The consequences of these issues are discussed.     

婚姻自由的思考

婚姻自由原则是我国婚姻法的首要原则。婚姻自由包括结婚自由和离婚自由 ,二者不可偏废 ,共同构成了婚姻自由的完整内容。婚姻自由体现的是自然人对自己自由意志的支配 ,是婚姻内在价值的体现 ,是对婚姻自主权的肯定和界定。     

新婚姻法的进步性与缺陷

修改后的婚姻法具有极大的进步性:体现了法律与道德的融合,克服了原有婚姻法的一些弊端,完善了法律体系。修改后的婚姻法仍存在缺陷:内容不够全面,有些制度不够完善,法律条文存在逻辑上的错误。本文对修改后的婚姻法的进步性与缺陷进行了分析,并希望立法机关制定单行法或最高人民法院作出司法解释弥补缺陷。     

Effects of Partner Violence and Physical Child Abuse on Child Behavior: A Study of Abused and Comparison Children

This study tests a model of the effects on child behavioral outcome of the child's exposure to partner violence and child abuse, in children who have experienced the two forms of victimization either separately or together. Recognizing that family contextual factors play an important role in influencing child outcome, an ecological model is proposed that designates family stress as the principal exogenous factor, with effects on child outcome mediated through caretaker distress, partner violence, and child abuse. The sample consists of 100 confirmed cases of physically abused New York City schoolchildren, ages 9 to 12 years, and their families, and 100 nonmaltreated classmates, matched for gender, age, and, as closely as possible, for race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, and their families. Child behavioral outcome is assessed by classmates for antisocial, prosocial, and withdrawn behavior and by parents and teachers for externalizing and internalizing problem behavior. Results are generally consistent with the hypothesis that partner violence and caretaker distress, both associated with family stress, increase the risk for child abuse and thereby raise the child's risk for poor outcome. Implications of differences among raters for the model's applicability, and implications of the results for clinical intervention, are discussed.     

Child Abuse Potential: A Comparison of Subtypes of Maritally Violent Men and Nonviolent Men

Researchers have demonstrated an overlap between husband-to-wife violence and child abuse, but we know little about which maritally violent men are at greatest risk for engaging in child abuse. This study examined child abuse potential across 4 subtypes of maritally violent men (i.e., family only, low level antisocial, borderline/dysphoric, and generally violent/antisocial; Holtzworth-Munroe et al., and 2 comparison groups of nonviolent men (i.e., maritally distressed or not), using the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP; J. S. Milner [1986])). The results revealed that the borderline/dysphoric batterer subtype had significantly higher child abuse potential scores than all of the other violent subtypes and the nonviolent comparison groups. Theoretical and clinical implications are briefly discussed.     

关于婚检中知情权与隐私权的思考

在我国,拟缔结婚姻关系的男女双方当事人必须接受婚检,这是新<婚姻登记条例>实施前的通例.而条例实施后,婚检在实践中由必选变为自选.但无论从法理还是从社会伦理的角度看,强制婚检都是必要的.首先,要求婚检正是<条例>有关条文的题中之义,同时,<条例>无权擅自改变其上位法所规定的强制婚检义务;其次,当知情权与隐私权发生冲突时,应以社会利益的最大化为原则,强调知情权而淡化隐私权.     

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SUPERVISED ACCESS AND CUSTODY EXCHANGE SERVICES

The detrimental effect of parental conflict in protracted child custody and visitation disputes is well established in the literature. However, little is known about the impact of parental conflict on children when visitation takes place in a protected setting. Part of a larger study that examined the broader issues related to parental and child involvement in a supervised access and custody exchange service, this article specifically explores the influence of parental participation on child well-being. This exploratory effort reveals that children's level of adjustment remained stable over 6 months of participation while visitation returned to court-ordered levels and interparental contact was precluded by staff intervention.     

Victims Speak: Comparing Child Sexual Abusers' and Child Victims' Accounts, Perceptions, and Interpretations of Sexual Abuse

This article presents findings from a longitudinal study¹ that sought to evaluate a treatment program for child sexual abusers. A triangulated methodological approach was adopted drawing upon quantitative and qualitative methodological techniques. The focus here is upon one element of this research.² Ninety-one in-depth interviews were conducted over a four-year period with a small, nonrandom sample of twenty-one male offenders who had been convicted of sexual offenses against children. All of the men were subject to probation orders with a psychiatric condition (Criminal Justice Act, 1991). One of the aims of this element of the research was to explore the extent to which evidence of denial could be found in offenders' accounts of offense circumstance and also to explore the extent to which offenders minimized the nature and extent of abuse perpetrated. Offenders' accounts of offense circumstances were compared to victim statements, and stark differences emerge. These findings have considerable implications for treatment practice with sex offenders, where victims' perceptions could be used to directly confront offender denial and minimization.     

“婚内强奸“理性思考——以期待可能性理论为视角

本文通过白俊峰“婚内强奸案”这一典型的疑难案例的法律分析 ,认为该案不构成强奸罪。同时本文还以外国刑法学中关于期待可能性理论为视角 ,进一步剖析了该案不应认定为犯罪的理论依据。     

ELIJAH AND ISHMAEL

This article examines the leading custody cases in Canada dealing with children's cultural and racial identity. The author argues in favor of fluid and open understandings of culture in custody assessments rather than static notions of culture.