What Really Happened to Baby Johan?

One of the most read articles this month is What really happened to baby Johan?, written by Elizabeth Weil in Matter.

It's the story of a father who dropped his three-month-old son, which became a criminal case. The article highlights the complexities and controversies of child welfare.

Child Sexual Abuse Images Online

Child sexual abuse images online (CSAIO) is a new area of child welfare that social workers should be more involved in developing. Here are two resources for addressing CSAIO:

• Cybertip is a tipline where you can report online sexual exploitation of children. It's also a good source of information on this topic.
• There is also a Virtual Global Taskforce that addresses online child abuse and other forms of transnational child sexual exploitation.

Abuse and Recruitment of Children in Central African Republic

This week, the BBC reported that over 100,000 children in the Central African Republic (CAR) are being sexually and physically abused, recruited for armed groups, and suffering from malnutition and malaria. This is the result of what UN chief Ban Ki-Moon has called "a total breakdown of law and order" after Michel Djotodia overthrew President Francois Bozize in March of this year. Djotodia has "promised" to step down after elections scheduled for 2016, but a lot more damage can come to children and their families in three years of instability and violence. The article continues to describe the complete collapse of the health care system and destruction of whole villages. Children are obviously a major population that will be negatively affected by the political chaos in CAR.

[Photo: AP]

Quality of Parental Involvement More Relevant Than Use of Child Corporal Punishment in Development of Negative Adolescent Outcomes

Child development researchers have long suggested that corporal punishment is a predictor of negative behavioral outcomes in children. However, because they suffer from serious methodological limitations, studies on the effects of corporal punishment have yet to definitively determine if corporal punishment is causally related to negative adolescent outcomes. In this study, the authors attempt to determine the extent that quality of parental involvement and corporal punishment independently predict adolescent maladjustment, specifically adolescent aggressiveness, delinquency, and psychological well-being. The authors used a prospective study design, interviewing 332 families annually over a three-year period. Interviews consisted of parent self-reports, adolescent reports, and observed ratings of family interaction tasks. Corporal punishment was determined by time (i.e., consistent use of physical discipline over the three-year study period), age-appropriateness (i.e., continuing during adolescence, indicating harsh discipline), and type (i.e., use of object, being shoved or pushed.) Quality of parental involvement was determined by display of warmth and affection, monitoring and supervision, consistency of discipline, and use of inductive reasoning to explain rules and expectations. The authors found that once other dimensions of parenting are controlled for, there exists a significant relationship between quality of parental involvement and adolescent outcomes. Contrary to past research on this topic, the study found no significant relationship between corporal punishment and the adolescent outcomes.

This study’s main strength lies in its design aimed at isolating other parenting behaviors to determine that quality of parental involvement, rather than corporal punishment, was a predictor of maladaptive behavior among adolescents. The study’s use of self-reports from parents and adolescents, combined with observation of family interactions, created a more comprehensive depiction of family interaction. However, the sample selection presents some limitations to the study. Firstly, the sample represents a rural population, highlighting the need for the study to be replicated in an urban setting. Furthermore, though 451 families were recruited for the study, only 404 families completed all four waves, 19 families were not eligible after divorcing during the study period, and there was incomplete data for 53 of the families. Secondly, the authors emphasize that corporal punishment should not be confused with physical abuse, for in this study, the corporal punishment wasn’t extreme enough to be considered physical abuse; therefore, additional studies should be conducted to examine the effects of physical abuse on adolescent outcomes, independent of other parental behaviors. Thirdly, there might be other adolescent dimensions not addressed in this study that would be important indicators of maladjustment; the authors suggest looking at autonomy, self-reliance, and creativity in future research.

Reference:
Simons, R.L., Johnson, C., and Conger, R.D. (1994). Harsh corporal punishment versus quality of parental involvement as an explanation of adolescent maladjustment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56(August 1994), 591-607.

Preventive Interventions Help Secure Attachment in Maltreated Infants

Child maltreatment presents threats to child developmental processes, including long-term maladjustment and development of psychopathology. Cicchetti, Rogosch, and Toth’s (2006) study examines the effectiveness of two preventive interventions: psychosocial parenting education (PPI) and infant-parent psychotherapy (IPP). Based on the theory that secure attachment is derived from parental knowledge and skills, PPI involves a series of psychoeducation-focused home visits with mothers to improve parenting skills, increase mothers’ knowledge of child development, and enhance coping and social support skills. IPP is based on attachment theory and includes an exploration of the parent-child relationship through therapy. The hypothesis that PPI or IPP interventions will be most effective for ameliorating the effects of maltreatment of infants is explored in this study. The study sampled mothers and their infants in maltreating families (n=137). Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three cohorts: (1) psychosocial parenting education (PPI), (2) infant-parent psychotherapy (IPP), or (3) community standard (CS). A normative comparison (NC) group of non-maltreated infants and their mothers (n=52), with similar demographics to the intervention group, was also included. Using validity tested measures, the authors found that mothers and children in the PPI and IPP groups showed greater increases in secure attachment than mothers and children in the CS and control groups. This study supports evidence that preventive intervention programs can alter attachment organization and ameliorate the negative developmental consequences of maltreatment.

As compared to results from the CS group, the authors provide evidence that the PPI and IPP interventions result in greater increases of secure attachment in maltreating families. However, the non-maltreating control group varied greatly from the maltreating group, with maltreating mothers reporting higher rates of maltreatment in their own childhoods, more insecure relationships with their mothers, more maladaptive parenting attitudes, more parenting stress, and lower family support. Similarly, despite trying to maintain uniform adherence to the therapeutic intervention, the therapy was not completely standardized, because the intervention used different therapists. Lastly, the intervention groups were actively pursued to follow the therapy schedule, which is not commonly done in treatment modalities such as the CS group.
The authors attempt to eliminate any self-selection bias, by seeking out maltreating families rather than the families seeking to be enrolled in the study.

Reference:
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F.A., and Toth, S.L. (2006). Fostering secure attachment in infants in maltreating families through preventive interventions. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 623-649.