Jessica M. Warren , Tanya L. Hanstock , Sally A. Hunt , Sean A. Halpin , Christina M. Warner-Metzger , Robin H. Gurwitch
{"title":"A naturalistic evaluation of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) and PCIT with trauma-directed interaction (PCIT with TDI) in Australian children exposed to abuse and neglect","authors":"Jessica M. Warren , Tanya L. Hanstock , Sally A. Hunt , Sean A. Halpin , Christina M. Warner-Metzger , Robin H. Gurwitch","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100028","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100028","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>To optimize PCIT treatment with children exposed to abuse and neglect, PCIT with Trauma-Directed Interaction (PCIT with TDI) was created.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>The current study was a quasi-experimental cohort study (PCIT and PCIT with TDI treatment groups) with pre/post-treatment comparisons. The study was conducted in a statutory child protection agency and was a naturalistic evaluation of the outcomes achieved by this service. The outcomes under investigation included caregiver and child posttraumatic stress symptoms, child behavior problems, parenting stress, caregiver mental health, child protection notifications, and placement permanency goals.</p></div><div><h3>Participants and setting</h3><p>Children were included in the study if they were aged between 2 and 7 years, had behavioral difficulties or trauma symptoms and/or their caregivers were experiencing parenting stress.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Families were allocated to treatment group by clinician availability/preference (i.e., preference allocation). Caregivers were asked to report on child posttraumatic symptoms and behavioral issues; and to self-report on posttraumatic stress, general stress, parenting stress, and depression and anxiety at prescribed points in treatment.</p></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><p>Sixty-eight children and their caregivers were treated with either PCIT (<em>n</em> = 22) or PCIT with TDI (<em>n</em> = 46). Statistically significant changes were observed for both treatment conditions for some of the outcomes of interest for both children (i.e., child behavioral problems, posttraumatic stress) and their caregivers (i.e., general stress, posttraumatic stress). There was no significant main effect of treatment on any of the outcomes of interest.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Future research should include a randomized controlled trial to adequately determine the efficacy of PCIT versus PCIT with TDI with this population.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100028"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000287/pdfft?md5=9db5091c5b4b13f639b613804786fa65&pid=1-s2.0-S2950193824000287-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140775606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Training and evaluation of robot-based psychological intervention program for preventing child sexual abuse","authors":"Mohammad Tahan , Gholamali Afrooz , Jafar Bolhari","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100030","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100030","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and purpose</h3><p>Preventing child sexual abuse is a health and medical priority in many countries. The risk of sexual abuse can be markedly reduced through education, awareness, and skill-building for children. The purpose of this study was to train and evaluate a robot-based psychological intervention program for preventing child sexual abuse.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>This study had a semiexperimental design that included pre- and posttests as well as a control group. A stratified random sample of 80 individuals was drawn from the population of eight-to ten-year-old children in Ghaen, Iran, in 2018. Subsequently, the sample was randomly divided into two experimental groups and two control groups. The experimental group participated in a robot-based psychological intervention program, for a total of 10 sessions. The control group received no intervention. The tool used to measure children's knowledge and awareness of sexual abuse was a custom-designed questionnaire developed by Tahan (Tahan, 2023). Participants completed the questionnaire in the pretest, posttest, and follow-up stages. The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures ANCOVA in SPSS (v.25).</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The findings demonstrated that educating children about sexual abuse was effective in enhancing their knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate touching (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the robot-based cognitive-behavioral intervention program for the prevention of child sexual abuse was effective (p < 0.01).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The psychological intervention program increased children's knowledge and awareness concerning the prevention of sexual abuse and associated coping skills. Furthermore, psychological intervention programs were effective in preventing child sexual abuse.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100030"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000305/pdfft?md5=365a6a2f7ed47b74403188517d75266d&pid=1-s2.0-S2950193824000305-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140766993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yiran Zhang , Wen Xu , Susan Yoon , Weizhi Chen , Sarah Parmenter
{"title":"Workplace support, job autonomy, and turnover intention among child welfare workers in China: The mediating role of job satisfaction","authors":"Yiran Zhang , Wen Xu , Susan Yoon , Weizhi Chen , Sarah Parmenter","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100027","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study examined the mediating role of job satisfaction in the associations among workplace support, job autonomy, and turnover intention among child welfare workers in China. The differential effects of several sources of workplace support (coworkers, supervisors, and organization leaders) on worker turnover intention were also examined. Using data drawn from the Chinese Social Work Longitudinal survey 2019, a series of path analyses were conducted. The results indicated that job satisfaction partially mediated the effects of workplace support and job autonomy on turnover intention. When the effects of workplace support from different sources were examined, the mediating effect of job satisfaction was significant only for the association between support from organization leaders and turnover intention. Greater workplace support from organization leaders and supervisors directly predicted lower turnover intention, while workplace support from coworkers was not significantly associated with turnover intention. The findings suggest that policies and programs that promote workplace support from organization leaders and supervisors and enhance job autonomy and satisfaction may be critical to address high turnover rates among child welfare workers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100027"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000275/pdfft?md5=ac69084830b6a48b6c87cb3e0fce094a&pid=1-s2.0-S2950193824000275-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140646585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lauren Rumble , Suzanne Petroni , Ruth Graham Goulder
{"title":"Early learnings from UNICEF's work to employ gender transformative approaches to advance adolescent girls' rights","authors":"Lauren Rumble , Suzanne Petroni , Ruth Graham Goulder","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>UNICEF policies, plans, and strategies increasingly demonstrate that gender equality and the empowerment of girls are central to the organization's mandate to advance child rights. In its newest frameworks, UNICEF has pledged to practice gender transformative approaches to achieve progress toward advancing adolescent girls' wellbeing and agency, as well as a more gender equal world. Employing such approaches requires shifting power and resources to adolescent girls and girl-led organizations and networks. This means deliberate support for girls' capacities as leaders and changemakers; understanding and confronting the gendered and age-related power dynamics and norms that impede gender equality at all levels of society and stages of life; and working with girls and their communities to create more gender equitable environments for girls' rights (Rumble et al., 2022).</p><p>UNICEF has seen some early successes, but also encountered challenges in applying these approaches. Gaps in expertise, restricted funding, and political sensitivities are just a few impediments to ensuring transformative action at scale. Yet, the potential impacts are enormous.</p><p>In this Practice Perspective Article, we share our reflections on principles UNICEF is applying, implementation challenges it is encountering, early outcomes it is capturing, and lessons it is learning in its work to employ gender-transformative approaches to further adolescent girls’ rights.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100026"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000263/pdfft?md5=a521a6859c12c2f6e992bd30a90db408&pid=1-s2.0-S2950193824000263-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140773327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A systematic review of the effects of housing support on social welfare outcomes in pregnancy and early childhood","authors":"Kathleen Brew , Jessica Heerde , Anna Price , Karen McLean","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Homelessness during pregnancy and early childhood is associated with poorer social welfare outcomes for birth parents and their children. For these clients, contact with the child protection system is common. In some cases, children are removed.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To systematically review published literature investigating the impact of housing support during pregnancy and early childhood on child protection outcomes.</p></div><div><h3>Participants</h3><p>and setting: Provision of housing support for clients experiencing homelessness while pregnant or parenting young children (0–7 years) in high-income countries.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A systematic search of databases CINAHL and SocIndex for peer reviewed studies, with independent double-screening of retrieved studies and full-text review of eligible studies.</p></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><p>Of 793 screens and 37 studies with full-text review, two were eligible. Both were small, without a control group, and one was qualitative. There was no convincing evidence for impacts, and meta-analysis was not possible. In post-hoc reviews, five additional studies met all criteria except child protection outcomes. These studies’ findings suggested that, compared with controls, housing interventions led to faster initial improvements in housing status and decreased alcohol use, as well as decreases in child internalising and externalising behaviours.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>There are promising indications that housing interventions generate benefits for clients experiencing homelessness while pregnant or parenting young children. However, high-quality longitudinal studies with robust intervention designs are lacking, likely due to the challenges inherent in embedding research to evaluate such programs. Given the importance of pregnancy and early childhood on children's development, existing housing support and policy implementation evaluations should be prioritised.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100024"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S295019382400024X/pdfft?md5=950825bc1e9b4c5b575964deda52f5f0&pid=1-s2.0-S295019382400024X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140637839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexia Medeiros , Lennon Li , Brendan T. Smith , Sarah Carsley , Alex Zheng , Ian Pike , Alison K. Macpherson , Justin Thielman , Ashini Weerasinghe , Shazya Karmali , Natasha Saunders , Sarah A. Richmond
{"title":"Inflicted violence-related injuries among children and youth in ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Alexia Medeiros , Lennon Li , Brendan T. Smith , Sarah Carsley , Alex Zheng , Ian Pike , Alison K. Macpherson , Justin Thielman , Ashini Weerasinghe , Shazya Karmali , Natasha Saunders , Sarah A. Richmond","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hypothesized that stay-at-home policies would impact cases of violence, abuse, and neglect among children and youth due to increased familial stressors.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>We examined the effect of the implementation of pandemic policies on violence-related emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations among youth.</p></div><div><h3>Participants</h3><p>Violence-related ED visits and hospitalizations among children and youth ages 0–19 in Ontario, Canada were obtained from April 2015 until the most recent available date, March 31, 2022.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We used an interrupted time series design to model the change in monthly violence-related ED visits and hospitalizations before and during the pandemic. We used negative binomial models to estimate the immediate effect of the policy and the change in the number of injuries during the pandemic.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>After adjusting for seasonality and population changes over our study period, we observed a 56% decrease in violence-related ED visits (RR: 0.44, 95%CI: 0.38, 0.50) and a 35% decrease in hospitalizations (RR: 0.65, 95%CI: 0.52, 0.82) immediately after the implementation of the pandemic policy, followed by moderate increasing trends. We observed no difference in the effect of the pandemic policies on the rate of violence-related ED visits and hospitalizations by sex, age or material deprivation; however, males aged 10–19 years and those in higher quintiles of material deprivation had higher average rates of injuries compared to females, those in younger age groups and lower quintiles of deprivation over the study period.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>We observed an abrupt decrease in the rate of violence-related ED visits and hospitalizations immediately after the onset of pandemic policies in Ontario. Following this, violence-related injuries increased, approaching pre-pandemic levels.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100020"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000202/pdfft?md5=6b0efa060e3837be38684c68c2d4021f&pid=1-s2.0-S2950193824000202-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140786903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rachael Lefebvre , Barbara Fallon , John Fluke , Nico Trocmé , Tara Black , Tonino Esposito , David W. Rothwell
{"title":"Distinguishing profiles of adversity among child protection investigations in Ontario, Canada: A latent class analysis","authors":"Rachael Lefebvre , Barbara Fallon , John Fluke , Nico Trocmé , Tara Black , Tonino Esposito , David W. Rothwell","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100022","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100022","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Child welfare-involved families have diverse and multi-faceted needs. Families who experience poverty and are investigated by the child protection system may represent a particularly vulnerable group.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This study aims to understand the unique profiles of need that exist for families who experience poverty and are investigated by the Ontario child protection system.</p></div><div><h3>Participants and setting</h3><p>Data from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2018 (OIS-2018) was used. The OIS-2018 is a cross-sectional study which collected information on investigations conducted in Ontario, Canada in 2018.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A latent class analysis was conducted to identify and describe distinct classes of adversity among a representative sample of child protection investigations. Indicators of child, caregiver and economic adversity were used.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>This study found evidence for eight distinct classes of adversity. With the exception of a low adversity class which emerged, the identified classes were characterized by distinct profiles of cooccurring adversities and there were several classes where indicators of poverty were probable. Investigation dispositions varied greatly by class.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The findings highlight the importance of ensuring an optimal fit between the distinct needs of investigated families and the child welfare interventions provided. Services and supports that are tailored to the specific constellations of cooccurring adversities that families face may be more effective in reducing the need for future child welfare involvement and/or more intrusive child protection responses. It is likely that investigated families who experience poverty would benefit from a range of economic and concrete supports.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100022"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000226/pdfft?md5=c0415b2e72449c8963726cde0ea2a29b&pid=1-s2.0-S2950193824000226-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140399403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The association of adverse childhood experiences with household income, educational attainment and partnered status among adults aged 30-39","authors":"Claire Fisher , Audrey Stillerman , Joe Feinglass","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The association of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with young adult social outcomes is poorly understood.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To examine the relationship between ACEs and young adult household income, education, and partnered status.</p></div><div><h3>Participants</h3><p>13,767 respondents (population-weighted estimate N = 13,191,291) aged 30–39 completed the optional ACES module in the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from 17 states.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>The 2019 BRFSS was used to analyze the significance of ACE scores for the likelihood of reporting household income greater than $75,000, a college or postgraduate degree, and living with a partner among respondents aged 30–39. Poisson regression analyses controlled for sociodemographic, health status, and behavioral risk characteristics.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>As compared to those with zero ACEs, respondents reporting four or more ACE exposures (20.2% of respondents) were marginally less likely to report high income (IRR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.79–0.97) and one-third less likely to report a college degree (IRR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.61–0.76), with no significant difference in partnered status.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Young adult social status may be shaped by social-emotional effects of ACEs that go beyond demographic and health status differences. Enhancing resilience to childhood adversity can benefit from a trauma-informed approach in health care, education, and employment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100021"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000214/pdfft?md5=7964435c487db8bbb0c2ebbc0ab8961d&pid=1-s2.0-S2950193824000214-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140279840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Considerations for child protection and practice: What is child protection now?","authors":"Christine Wekerle","doi":"10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100025","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Over the last 50 years, the global community has forged consensus on child rights and, thereby, laid the basis for defining child protection in terms of three cornerstones: (1) the protection from all forms of violence in all settings and contexts and for all children, without discrimination; (2) the provision of supports within governments, to families, and children for the promotion of child health when failures to child protection occurs; (3) and the participation of child and youth voices to value their lived experience and developmentally-based understanding of adult decisions impacting their rights. As such, child protection has historically been internationally focused, broad-based, with accountability structures within countries and internationally. When we survey some current contexts, the implementation of child rights seems to have been met with a blockage in realizing child protection, within child welfare system settings, but more graphically within conflict settings. This discussion serves as an introduction to the needed discourse on standards in responding to child rights violations, and the urgent need to formulate preventive, protective strategies to uphold the law-based consensus of global child rights and global child health goals. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its Optional Protocols, continues to be the leading guidepost for country-level and international efforts to protect children and promote their well-being, and informs the Sustainable Development Goals integrating the protection from violence with child health, as benefiting the public health and global health targets. With seemingly shifting alliances among countries, the central focus on child rights as foundational and the driving force to child protection needs to remain as a cross-cutting, sustained commitment. Duty of care precedes the standards of care, and such standards are uppermost in need in our current socio-economic-political landscape.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100237,"journal":{"name":"Child Protection and Practice","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100025"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000251/pdfft?md5=db86f3c1a0f237f7da890344070785ec&pid=1-s2.0-S2950193824000251-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140618765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}