The construction of allegedly abused children’s narratives in Scottish criminal courts

This study investigated lawyers’ use of social narratives surrounding child sexual abuse when questioning 66 5- to 17-year-old alleged victims in Scottish criminal courts using a mixed-methods approach. Thematic analysis found that the use of beliefs and stereotypes varied depending upon the lawyers’ role (defense/prosecution), children’s age, and the alleged victim-defendant relationship. These findings were investigated further using narrative analysis, which showed that, with increasing age and decreasing familiarity with defendants, narratives increasingly focused on the characteristics and actions of the victims rather than the defendants. Older children contributed more to narratives than younger children, but their contributions were only incorporated into the prosecutors’ narratives. Defense lawyers adopted more victim-blaming tactics as the narratives developed. Findings suggest that the criminal justice system, practitioners, and researchers must do more to recognize and guard against the reinforcement of stereotypes that may influence public rhetoric and jury decision-making.     

Attempted Drug‐facilitated Sexual Assault—Xylazine Intoxication in a Child

There are only a few cases of drug‐facilitated sexual assaults on children reported in the literature so far. Here, a case of a four‐year‐old boy is presented. He was unconscious, and the accompanying adults reported that the child had been at a playground on his own. Returning home, he complained of having been stung and collapsed immediately. Urine and serum samples of the child were investigated. In the toxicological analysis, xylazine, a sedative and muscle relaxant used in animals, was detected. Subsequent quantification by GC/MS after solid‐phase extraction revealed 0.053 mg/L xylazine in serum and approximately 0.63 mg/L in urine. Furthermore, the child was examined by a forensic medical specialist. Police investigations revealed that the godfather, who had been previously accused of sexual abuse of children, had injected the child with the drug, possibly in preparation for a shared bath.     

Measuring the Difference Between Parental Alienation and Parental Estrangement: The PARQ-Gap

Parental alienation (rejection of a parent without legitimate justification) and realistic estrangement (rejection of a parent for a good reason) are generally accepted concepts among mental health and legal professionals. Alienated children, who were not abused, tend to engage in splitting and lack ambivalence with respect to their parents; estranged children, who were maltreated, usually perceive their parents in an ambivalent manner. The hypothesis of this study was that a psychological test—the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ)—will help to distinguish severely alienated from nonalienated children. The PARQ, which was used to identify and quantify the degree of splitting for each participant, was administered to 45 severely alienated children and 71 nonalienated children. The PARQ-Gap score—the difference between each child's PARQ: Father score and PARQ: Mother score—was introduced and defined in this research. Using a PARQ-Gap score of 90 as a cut point, this test was 99% accurate in distinguishing severely alienated from nonalienated children. This research presents a way to distinguish parental alienation from other reasons for contact refusal. The PARQ-Gap may be useful for both clinicians and forensic practitioners in evaluating children of separating and divorced parents when there is a concern about the possible diagnosis of parental alienation.     

性侵儿童案中被害人陈述可信度判断研究

在性侵儿童案中,由于被害儿童身心特点,导致其作证能力和证言可信度常存在争议。但实际上年幼不是否认儿童作证能力的决定性因素。在性侵儿童案件中,要摒弃过度纠缠于对儿童作证能力的争议,将作证能力与证言可信度分开,肯定其作证能力,而着重判断证言可信度。通过对371份性侵儿童案件的裁判文书的分析可知,判断儿童被害人陈述可信度的因素与判断成年被害人陈述可信度的因素大致相同,同时实践中也结合儿童的特点提出了有针对性的考量因素。因此,对童言过于忌惮实无必要。在判断儿童被害人陈述可信度时,可以主要依靠判断被害人(证人)可信度的通常方法,同时更多地引入专家证人/辅助人帮助理解儿童行为和心理特点。这样将有助于解决儿童作证涉及的证明问题,更好地保护儿童权益。     

Isolating Adult Psychological Correlates of Witnessing Parental Violence: Findings from a Predominantly Latina Sample

This study examined the relationship between childhood exposure to parental violence and adult psychological functioning in a sample of predominantly Mexican American participants. Questionnaires assessing childhood maltreatment, family environment, and current psychological symptomatology were completed by 142 female undergraduates. Findings revealed that witnessing parental violence in childhood was associated with depressive symptoms, low self-esteem, and trauma symptoms in adulthood, even after controlling for child physical and sexual abuse. However, in subsequent analyses, also controlling for levels of nonphysical family conflict, previous associations between exposure to parental violence and adult symptomatology were reduced, such that trauma-related symptoms remained the sole outcome still predicted by a history of witnessing parental violence. Implications of these findings, issues related to the use of statistical control procedures in abuse effects research, and directions for future investigation are discussed.     

论教育与天性

教育应当以人的天性为前提，顺应儿童的天性，应当采择符合儿童天性的内容并以适当方式传递给儿童，但成人社会有时做出相反的抉择，这是教育压抑儿童天性的主要原因。在人与教育的互动中，应当改变的不是人的天性，而是教育自身。教育应当不断改变和调适自身，以使自身适合人的天性之表达和成长的需要。中国传统化中无疑有优秀的成分，但是也有坏的内容，那就是中国化对人的天性、对儿童的天性不够尊重。尊崇天性、尊重儿童、解放儿童，这是教育变革的重要内容，也是实现民族化改良与复兴的根本途径。     

Acts of Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Empirically Derived Typology

A clinical sample of 165 women survivors in outpatient therapy was surveyed about whether their childhood sexual abuse (CSA) included each of 17 sexual acts. Factor analysis of these acts was conducted. A typology of CSA acts consisting of three factors emerged. Inspection of the acts loading on each factor suggested that they differed primarily in terms of the type of abuse of power implied by them rather than in the nature of the sexual behavior involved. The three factors were named Coerced Complicance (Coercion), Subjugation and Humiliation (Subjugation) and Invasive Objectification (Objectification). Implications for research, theory, and clinical practice, and the need for evaluating the generalizability of the typology to other subpopulations of survivors, are discussed.     

Maltreatment of handicapped children: A critical review

Despite increased interest in child abuse and neglect in the past decade, little research attention has been focused on maltreatment in handicapped populations. This is surprising given that many handicapped children display characteristics (e.g., chronic and pervasive behavioral disturbances, decreased social initiations with caregivers) that are associated with high risk for assault and neglect in nonhandicapped children. Numerous investigations have found an overrepresentation of handicapped children in maltreated samples, and results of more recent efforts reveal a high incidence of abuse and neglect in handicapped populations. Although these data underscore the high risk for maltreatment in handicapped children, a number of important issues warrant further empirical examination. Moreover, generalizations and interpretations of findings from previous research have been obfuscated by methodological shortcomings. The present paper reviews the literature concerning abuse and neglect of handicapped children. Research strategies and issues are delineated and current problems in this field are discussed. Suggestions for directions future research might take are offered.     

Safety, Health Care, and Bonding Within an Ecobehavioral Approach to Treating and Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect

This paper describes Project SafeCare, an ecobehavioral research and treatment project with families reported or at risk for child abuse or neglect. Preliminary demographic data are reviewed along with indirect assessment data. Four case studies are described to exemplify the effects of training provided to families. The implications for the current assessment data, treatment, and outcome are discussed.