Child maltreatment appears to be the single most preventable cause of mental illness and behavioral dysfunction in the United States. Few published studies examine the developmental and the psychobiological consequences of sexual abuse. There are multiple mechanisms through which sexual abuse can cause post-traumatic stress disorder, activate…

This paper deals with the topic of child protection in Irish primary schools, and reports on a recently completed survey of newly qualified teachers' knowledge of and familiarity with their school's child protection policies and procedures. The study was undertaken by means of a questionnaire survey, and conducted with 103 teachers from different…

Because child abuse victims are often the only available sources of information about their experiences, extensive efforts have been made to understand how to maximize their informativeness. There is now broad international consensus regarding optimal interview practices, and broad awareness that children's informativeness increases when…

This study examined the relationship between level of depression and level of psychological abuse in women. In addition, the relationship between the use of self-report and measured report of psychological abuse within an intimate relationship was assessed. One hundred women were surveyed using the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory…

Objective: The sexually abused-sexual abuser hypothesis states there is a specific relationship between sexual abuse history and sexual offending, such that individuals who experience sexual abuse are significantly more likely to later engage in sexual offenses. Therefore, samples of adult sex offenders should contain a disproportionate number of…

Objective: Child physical abuse (CPA) has been associated with adverse adult psychosocial outcomes, although some reports describe minimal long-term effects. The search for the explanation for heterogeneous outcomes in women with CPA has led to an examination of a range of CPA-related factors, from the severity of CPA incidents to the childhood…

This article introduces the second issue of the special double issue focusing on forensic, cultural, and systems issues in child sexual abuse cases. We briefly review the articles, which include a discussion of child sexual abuse myths, an empirical analysis of extended child sexual abuse evaluations, an article on the role of the medical provider…

This study used data from the Third National Household and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine the association between pubertal status (Tanner staging for boys and girls and menarche for girls) and alcohol use in a nationally representative sample of youths ages 12 to 17. Logistic regression was used to model the relationship. In…

Objective: Relatively little research has investigated the connection between religiosity and physical child abuse risk. Certain aspects, such as specific religious orientation or beliefs, and cognitive schema, such as socially conformist beliefs, may account for the connection that some have claimed increase religious parents' abuse potential.…

In the United States, annual prevalence factors indicate that 25% of women are reported survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Existential concerns and basic purposes within the physical, social, personal and spiritual dimensions of female CSA survivors' worldviews are explored. The recognition and meanings of existential purposes and concerns…

Child abuse and neglect, often collectively called child maltreatment, are huge social problems affecting millions of children and adolescents in America. Adolescents are affected both by maltreatment which occurred during childhood with lingering effects and by maltreatment that continues into or begins in adolescence. Several decades of research…

This article debates the issues involved in safeguarding and protecting children in maternity services and offers implications for professional practice. Midwives and other staff who work as members of the maternity team have a safeguarding role to play in the identification of babies and children who have been abused, or are at risk of abuse, and…

Objective: To evaluate the utility of skeletal surveys in cases of possible physical abuse in the second year of life. Methods: Radiology records for all children under 24 months of age referred to our child protection team from January 2002 through November 2006, who had a skeletal survey performed and/or interpreted by the pediatric radiologists…

Objective: To describe trends of felony sexual abuse prosecutions between 1992 and 2002 for two districts of a large urban city that differed primarily in their use of children's advocacy centers (CACs) for sexual abuse evaluations in children. Methods: Aggregate data for two districts of a large urban city were provided from 1992 to 2002 from the…

When children are removed from their parents due to child maltreatment, the goal remains to reunite families whenever possible. Although extensive research exists regarding barriers to reunification, little is known about the families who are successfully reunited. The aim of this study was to examine the strengths families found helpful in the…