Showing posts with label Child Maltreatment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child Maltreatment. Show all posts

Monday, February 8, 2016

Characteristics of Child Maltreatment and Adolescent Marijuana Use

There has been increasing acceptance of marijuana use in the US in recent years, and rates among adolescents have risen. At the same time, marijuana use during adolescence has been linked to an array of health and social problems. Maltreated children are at risk for marijuana use, but the relationships among characteristics of maltreatment and marijuana use are unclear. 

In this paper we examine how the type and the extent of maltreatment are related to the level of adolescent marijuana use. Data analyses were conducted on a subsample of maltreated adolescents (n = 702) from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) project. Approximately half the sample had used marijuana, and maltreatment was associated with its use. 

Multivariate regression models showed that being male, extensive maltreatment, and peer marijuana use were associated with heavy use of marijuana. 

These findings suggest the importance of comprehensively assessing children’s maltreatment experiences and their peers’ drug use to help prevent or address possible marijuana use in these high-risk adolescents.

…Maltreatment was associated with marijuana use in bivariate models, but did not retain significance in models that adjusted for peer marijuana use. In terms of type of maltreatment, sexual abuse predicted marijuana use. This finding is consistent with earlier research (; ) which found that physical abuse and sexual abuse (and these combined) predicted substance abuse or dependence, although not specifically marijuana use. Physical abuse has also been found to predict earlier onset of substance use in young adolescents (). Those who experienced Extensive maltreatment were more likely to report Heavy Use of marijuana. This finding is consistent with research suggesting the importance of both early (e.g., ) and recent (i.e., adolescent) exposure to maltreatment (e.g., ). It appears likely that persistent exposure to maltreatment carries an especially high level of risk for adolescent substance use (). Indeed, Extensive CM was the one characteristic that significantly predicted adolescent marijuana use, after taking into account demographic variables and peer use.

With these caveats, this study’s findings, especially given earlier research, strongly suggest that children exposed to physical and sexual abuse are at increased risk of marijuana use. Child-serving professionals should begin to integrate the findings from this and other studies into discussions about effective interventions to decrease the likelihood of vulnerable populations engaging in illicit drug use – in this case, marijuana. Prior research suggests the importance of primary prevention and early intervention. Adolescents who use substances have been found to increase their use during adolescence (; ). This may be part of a risk-taking or emotional coping approach common among adolescents with maltreatment experiences (). Alternatively, recent research with veterans has highlighted the possibility that use of marijuana may be a form of self-medication of some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (), and our findings are consistent with this possibility as well. In any case, earlier studies have found that maltreatment and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase the likelihood of future substance use well into adulthood (; ; ; ). Therefore, it is important to disrupt these potential trajectories at the earliest possible stage…

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/PfQz68

Howard Dubowitz, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore;
Corresponding Author: Howard Dubowitz, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 520 West Lombard Street, 1stFloor, Baltimore, Maryland 21201




Friday, January 29, 2016

The Prevalence of Potentially Victimizing Events, Poly-Victimization, and Its Association to Sociodemographic Factors: A Swedish Youth Survey

Studying the extent to which children are exposed to victimizing events is important to fully understand the effect of such exposure in shaping them as adults. The aim of this study was to use self-report by adolescents to measure the prevalence of victimizing events and of poly-victimization. 

A representative sample of 5,960 students (aged 17) from high schools in Sweden was given the self-administrated version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) along with questions concerning gender, birthplace, parents' birthplace and employment, residence, educational program, and municipality size. 

The results show that 84.1% (83.0% young men and 85.2% young women) of the students had experienced victimization during their lifetime, and 10.3% were categorized as poly-victims (8.1% young men and 12.5% young women). Adolescents living with both parents were at lower risk of any form of victimization for both genders, while females were at higher risk of maltreatment, peer victimization, and, most significantly, sexual victimization. 

In conclusion, the vast majority of young people have been victimized during their lifetime. A greater awareness of the impact of these victimizing events on children and adolescents is important as a basis for providing a safer milieu and establishing better interventions, especially for those that have been victimized on multiple occasions. The high-exposure group was determined by using ≥10 events as a cutoff. Findings on this group corresponded with findings in other international studies regarding distribution, elevated risk for females, and the possibility of limiting the effects of victimization by modifying living conditions.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/tDF6hm

  • 1Linköping University, Sweden nikolas.aho@liu.se.
  • 2Linköping University, Sweden. 
  •  2016 Feb;31(4):620-51. doi: 10.1177/0886260514556105. Epub 2014 Nov 11.





Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Minimization of Childhood Maltreatment Is Common and Consequential

Childhood maltreatment has diverse, lifelong impact on morbidity and mortality. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is one of the most commonly used scales to assess and quantify these experiences and their impact. Curiously, despite very widespread use of the CTQ, scores on its Minimization-Denial (MD) subscale—originally designed to assess a positive response bias—are rarely reported. Hence, little is known about this measure. If response biases are either common or consequential, current practices of ignoring the MD scale deserve revision. 

Therewith, we designed a study to investigate 3 aspects of minimization, as defined by the CTQ’s MD scale: 1) its prevalence; 2) its latent structure; and finally 3) whether minimization moderates the CTQ’s discriminative validity in terms of distinguishing between psychiatric patients and community volunteers. Archival, item-level CTQ data from 24 multinational samples were combined for a total of 19,652 participants. Analyses indicated: 1) minimization is common; 2) minimization functions as a continuous construct; and 3) high MD scores attenuate the ability of the CTQ to distinguish between psychiatric patients and community volunteers. 

Overall, results suggest that a minimizing response bias—as detected by the MD subscale—has a small but significant moderating effect on the CTQ’s discriminative validity. Results also may suggest that some prior analyses of maltreatment rates or the effects of early maltreatment that have used the CTQ may have underestimated its incidence and impact. 

We caution researchers and clinicians about the widespread practice of using the CTQ without the MD or collecting MD data but failing to assess and control for its effects on outcomes or dependent variables.

Below:  Percentages of Clinical and Community Samples in CTQ Severity Quartiles



Full article at:   http://goo.gl/5cJT4g

By:  
Kai MacDonald, Michael L. Thomas, Beacher Schneider, Katherine Pappas, Murray B Stein
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America

Andres F. Sciolla
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America

Gijs Bleijenberg, Marianne Heins, Hans Knoop
Expert Center Chronic Fatigue, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Martin Bohus
Universität Heidelberg, Central Institute of Mental Health, Heidelberg, Germany

Bradley Bekh
Atlanta VA Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America

Bradley Bekh
Department of Psychiatry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America

Linda Carpenter
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America

Alan Carr
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Udo Dannlowski
Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany

Martin Dorahy
Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Claudia Fahlke
Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

Ricky Finzi-Dottan, Tobi Karu
Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

Arne Gerdner
School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden

Heide Glaesmer
Department of Medical Psychology and Medical, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

Hans Jörgen Grabe
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Helios Hospital Stralsund, Stralsund, Germany

Hans Jörgen Grabe
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

Dianna T Kenny
University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Daeho Kim
Department of Psychiatry, Hanyang University Medical School, Seoul, South Korea

Jill Lobbestael
Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

Christine Lochner
University of Stellenbosch, MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Grethe Lauritzen, Edle Ravndal
Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug research (SIRUS), and Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Shelley Riggs
University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, United States of America

Vedat Sar
Koç University Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey

Ingo Schäfer
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

Nicole Schlosser
Research Department, Evangelical Hospital Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

Melanie L Schwandt
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America

Claudia Subic-Wrana
Department für Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of Mainz University, Mainz, Germany

Mark Vogel
Division of Substance Use Disorders, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Katja Wingenfeld
Department of Psychiatry, Charité University Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany





Parental Criminal Justice Involvement and Children's Involvement with Child Protective Services: Do Adult Drug Treatment Courts Prevent Child Maltreatment?

BACKGROUND:
In light of evidence showing reduced criminal recidivism and cost savings, adult drug treatment courts have grown in popularity. However, the potential spillover benefits to family members are understudied.

OBJECTIVES:
To examine: (1) the overlap between parents who were convicted of a substance-related offense and their children's involvement with child protective services (CPS); and (2) whether parental participation in an adult drug treatment court program reduces children's risk for CPS involvement.

METHODS:
Administrative data from North Carolina courts, birth records, and social services were linked at the child level. First, children of parents convicted of a substance-related offense were matched to (a) children of parents convicted of a nonsubstance-related offense and (b) those not convicted of any offense. Second, we compared children of parents who completed a DTC program with children of parents who were referred but did not enroll, who enrolled for <90 days but did not complete, and who enrolled for 90+ days but did not complete. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model group differences in the odds of being reported to CPS in the 1 to 3 years following parental criminal conviction or, alternatively, being referred to a DTC program.

RESULTS:
Children of parents convicted of a substance-related offense were at greater risk of CPS involvement than children whose parents were not convicted of any charge, but DTC participation did not mitigate this risk. Conclusion/Importance: The role of specialty courts as a strategy for reducing children's risk of maltreatment should be further explored.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/Y0rs05

  • 1 Center for Child and Family Policy , Duke University , Durham , North Carolina , USA.
  • 2 Department of Economics , Duke University , Durham , North Carolina , USA.
  •  2016 Jan 20:1-14 



 More about photo:  http://goo.gl/HCGRGU

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Intergenerational Continuity of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Homeless Families: Unpacking Exposure to Maltreatment Versus Family Dysfunction

Despite the expanding research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and corpus of studies on intergenerational maltreatment in high-risk families, studies have not examined intergenerational ACEs more broadly, much less in severely disadvantaged families. 

This study investigated the intergenerational continuity of ACEs in mothers and young children aged 4 to 6 years living in emergency homeless shelters. It also examined whether unpacking ACEs into categories of exposure to maltreatment versus family dysfunction affected intergenerational continuity patterns or child socioemotional problems in school. 

Negative parenting, in the form of observed inept coercive discipline with children, and cumulative sociodemographic risk were examined as additional predictors of child ACEs and socioemotional problems. 

Mothers (N = 95; aged 20-45; 64.2% African American, 3.2% African Native, 11.6% Caucasian, 7.4% biracial/multiracial, and 13.6% other) completed questionnaires on parent and child ACEs and cumulative risk factors. They participated in videotaped parent-child interactions rated for observed coercive discipline, and teachers provided reports of children's socioemotional problems. 

Results indicated that higher parental ACEs predicted higher child ACEs, with higher numbers of parental ACEs in either category (maltreatment or family dysfunction) predicting higher levels of child ACEs in both categories. However, child exposure to maltreatment, but not family dysfunction, significantly predicted elevations in children's socioemotional problems. 

Findings underscore the role of intergenerational childhood adversity in homeless families and also emphasize that unpacking ACEs in children may illuminate key areas of vulnerability for school adjustment. 

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/j7fVf3






Saturday, January 16, 2016

Hostility and Substance Use in Relation to Intimate Partner Violence and Parenting among Fathers

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health and economic problem, which also increases the risks for child maltreatment. One attribute that may contribute to both IPV and poor parenting is hostility. Moreover, the link between hostility and these outcomes may be mediated by substance use, such that more hostile individuals are at greater risk for using drugs and alcohol, leading them to engage in more aggressive and rejecting behavior towards their partners and children. We tested this possibility in sample of 132 fathers. Additionally, we explored whether hostility and substance use had interactive effects on IPV and parenting by examining moderated-mediation models. 

The results show that substance use mediated the relationship between hostility and all IPV and parenting outcomes. Furthermore, this mediated relationship was moderated by substance use level for parenting outcomes, but not IPV. In the case of parenting, the mediated path from hostility to aggressive and rejecting parenting only occurred for those high in substance use. 

Limitations and implications for prevention and treatment of IPV and aggressive and rejecting parenting are discussed.

Below:  Hostility X substance use interactions predicting rejecting and aggressive parenting



Full article at:   http://goo.gl/hfR04I

By:  Carla Smith Stover, Ph.D. and Andrew Kiselica, B.A.
Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, University of South Florida (http://mhlp.fmhi.usf.edu/), 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL, 813-974-6019
Carla Smith Stover: ude.fsu@revotsalraC






Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Does The Impact of Child Sexual Abuse Differ from Maltreated But Non-Sexually Abused Children?

Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a significant problem with significant short and long term consequences. However, extant literature is limited by the reliance on retrospective recall of adult samples, single-time assessments, and lack of longitudinal data during the childhood and adolescent years. 

The purpose of this study was to compare internalizing and externalizing behavior problems of those with a history of sexual abuse to those with a history of maltreatment, but not sexual abuse. We examined whether gender moderated problems over time. Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) at ages 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 (N=977). The Child Behavior Checklist was used to assess internalizing and externalizing problems. Maltreatment history and types were obtained from official Child Protective Services (CPS) records. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) were used to assess behavior problems over time by maltreatment group. 

Findings indicated significantly more problems in the CSA group than the maltreated group without CSA over time. Internalizing problems were higher for sexually abused boys compared to girls. For sexually abused girls internalizing problems, but not externalizing problems increased with age relative to boys. This pattern was similar among maltreated but not sexually abused youth. 

Further efforts are needed to examine the psychological effects of maltreatment, particularly CSA longitudinally as well as better understand possible gender differences in order to best guide treatment efforts.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/S2scBk

By:   Lewis T1McElroy E1Harlaar N1Runyan D1.
  • 1The Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, University of Colorado, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, USA. 


Monday, December 28, 2015

Maltreatment, Child Welfare, and Recidivism in a Sample of Deep-End Crossover Youth

Although research has oft-documented a maltreatment-delinquency link, the effect of involvement in-and timing of-child welfare system involvement on offending has received less attention. We examine whether the timing of child welfare involvement has differential effects on recidivism of deep-end juvenile offenders (youth who have been adjudicated delinquent by the court and placed in juvenile justice residential programs). 

The current study uses a large, diverse sample of 12,955 youth completing juvenile justice residential programs between 1 January 2010 and 30 June 2013 in Florida (13 % female, 55 % Black, 11 % Hispanic). Additionally, we explore the direct effects of childhood traumatic events on delinquency, as well as their indirect effects through child welfare involvement using structural equation modeling. 

The findings indicate that adverse childhood experiences fail to exert a direct effect on recidivism, but do exhibit a significant indirect effect on recidivism through child welfare involvement, which is itself associated with recidivism. This means that while having exposures to more types of childhood traumatic events does not, in and of itself, increase the likelihood of re-offending, effects of such experiences operate through child welfare placement. 

Differences in the effects of maltreatment timing and of adverse childhood experiences are observed across sex and race/ethnicity subgroups. Across all racial subgroups, exposures to adverse childhood experiences have a significant effect on the likelihood of child welfare placement, yet child welfare placement exerts a significant effect on recidivism for White and Hispanic youth, but not for Black youth. Only Hispanic female and White male youth with overlapping child welfare and juvenile justice cases (open cases in both systems at the same time during the study period) were more likely to recidivate than their delinquent-only counterpart youth. 

Crossover status (child welfare and juvenile justice involvement, whether prior or open cases) was essentially irrelevant with respect to the re-offending of Black youth completing juvenile justice residential programs. 

The findings indicate the effects of exposure to adverse childhood experiences, and child welfare system and juvenile justice system involvement on re-offending are not uniform across subgroups of youth but that earlier child welfare involvement is more detrimental than concurrent child welfare system involvement when it does matter.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/ltBD85

  • 1G4S Youth Services, LLC, 6302 Benjamin Rd., Suite 400, Tampa, FL, 33625, USA. Michael.Baglivio@us.g4s.com.
  • 2John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 524 West 59th St., New York, NY, 10019, USA. kwolff@jjay.cuny.edu.
  • 3University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., GR31, Richardson, TX, 75080, USA. apiquero@utdallas.edu.
  • 4Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, 3300 Whitehaven St. NW, R. 5045, Washington, DC, 20007, USA. Shay.bilchik@gmail.com.
  • 5G4S Youth Services, LLC, 6302 Benjamin Rd., Suite 400, Tampa, FL, 33625, USA. Katherine.Jackowski@us.g4s.com.
  • 6Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, 2737 Centerview Drive, Tallahassee, FL, 32399, USA. Mark.Greenwald@djj.state.fl.us.
  • 7Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, 2737 Centerview Drive, Tallahassee, FL, 32399, USA. Nathan.Epps@djj.state.fl.us.


Sunday, December 20, 2015

The Effect of Victimization, Mental Health & Protective Factors on Crime & Illicit Drug Use among Homeless Young Adults

Although research has found high rates of child maltreatment, widespread victimization, and other negative outcomes among homeless youth and young adults, resiliency among this population has largely been understudied. 

Specifically, a gap remains in terms of how protective factors such as self-efficacy, low deviant beliefs, and religiosity operate among homeless youth and young adults. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between various forms of victimization, mental health, and protective factors with property and violent crime and illicit drug use among homeless young adults. 

Results from regression analyses indicate that running away from home more frequently, experiencing more physical victimization on the street, higher levels of self-efficacy, and more deviant beliefs were associated with greater property crime. 

Significant correlates of violent crime included being male, running away from home more frequently, greater sexual and physical victimization on the street, higher levels of self-efficacy, and more deviant beliefs. 

Finally, being male, running away more frequently from home, greater child physical abuse and partner victimization, and more deviant beliefs were all associated with greater illicit drug use. 

Self-efficacy was positively related to both property and violent crime, suggesting that it may not operate for homeless young adults in the same manner as it does for normative populations.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/xKIK3t

 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Testing the Sexually Abused-Sexual Abuser Hypothesis: A Prospective Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study

The sexually abused-sexual abuser hypothesis posits that persons, especially males, who are sexually abused as children are at particular risk of sexually abusing others later in life. We tested this hypothesis by prospectively examining associations between maltreatment and offending in a birth cohort of 38,282 males with a maltreatment history and/or at least one finalized offense. We examined these associations within the context of the wider birth population. 

Proportionally few boys were the subject of official notifications for sexual abuse (14.8% of maltreated boys, and 1.4% of the birth population); proportionally very few of these sexually abused boys (3%) went on to become sexual offenders; and, contrary to findings typically reported in retrospective clinical studies, proportionally few sexual offenders (4%) had a confirmed history of sexual abuse. 

Poly-victimization (exposure to multiple types of maltreatment) was significantly associated with sexual offending, violent offending, and general (nonsexual, nonviolent) offending. We found no specific association between sexual abuse and sexual offending, and nor did we find any association between sexual abuse and sexual offending specifically within the poly-victimized group. 

The total number of sexual abuse notifications did make a small unique contribution to the variance in sexual offending compared to other offending. Implications concerning maltreated boys and male sexual offenders are discussed.

Purchase full article at:  http://goo.gl/lDHj6z

  • 1Griffith University, 176 Messines Ridge Rd, Mt Gravatt, QLD, Australia. 





Sunday, November 29, 2015

Strain and Opportunity: A Theory of Repeat Victimization

General strain theory is often applied to explain the origin of deviant behavior, while the risky lifestyles and opportunities perspective is often used to examine the ongoing risk for victimization. However, given evidence that the delinquent coping mechanisms operationalized by the general strain tests and the risky behaviors measured in the risky lifestyles models are often the same behaviors, the current study argues that these two models can be constructed as a uniform framework to explain the onset and continuity of victimization, including involvement in delinquency, from childhood through adolescence. 

Experiences of child maltreatment are posited to trigger feelings of negative emotions more likely managed with forms of coping that can foster opportunities for suffering further victimization. Using data from the first three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the results show that youth who adopt maladaptive forms of coping with childhood abuse and neglect, including engaging in substance abuse, running away from home, and drug selling, are at further risk for subsequent experiences of victimization in adolescence. 

However, the model provides only one pathway linking child maltreatment to adolescent victimization, and the strength of support varies based on the measures of negative emotions and coping strategies.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/0OAQYJ

By:  Iratzoqui A1.
  • 1University of Memphis, TN, USA ratzoqui@memphis.edu. 



Monday, November 9, 2015

The Relationship Between Maltreatment Victimisation & Sexual & Violent Offending: Differences Between Adolescent Offenders With & Without Intellectual Disability

Juveniles with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more often victims of maltreatment and more often perpetrators of abuse than juveniles without ID. Because previous research on the relationship between maltreatment victimisation and subsequent offending behaviour was primarily performed in non-disabled samples, the present study aimed to examine differences between juvenile offenders with and without ID in the relationship between maltreatment victimisation and sexual and violent offending.

The sample consisted of juvenile offenders with ID (n = 102) and without ID (n = 526) who appeared before the courts for a criminal act and for whom the Washington State Juvenile Court Assessment (WSJCA) was completed. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the strength of the relationship between maltreatment and offending, Fisher's z tests were calculated to assess the significance of the differences between the two groups in the strength of the correlations, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the unique contribution of maltreatment victimisation to the prediction of violent and sexual offending.

Seventy per cent of the juvenile offenders with ID and 42% of the juvenile offenders without ID had experienced abuse and/or neglect. Both sexual and violent offending were more common in juvenile offenders with ID than in juvenile offenders without ID. Moreover, the relationship between different forms of maltreatment and sexual offending was stronger in juvenile offenders with ID than in juvenile offenders without ID.

Given the high rates of abuse and neglect victimisation and the strength of the association between victimisation and sexual offending, especially in juvenile offenders with ID, treatment should focus on potential trauma and other problems associated with the abuse.

Purchase full article at:  http://goo.gl/spUIxn

  • 1Forensic Child and Youth Care Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.