Now showing 1 - 10 of 18
  • Publication
    Introduction
    (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) ;
    This volume presents results from a series of empirical studies conducted in the field of child protection in Ireland. The studies throw light of the epidemiology of child sexual abuse (CSA), profiles of CSA survivors and perpetrators and their families, and important treatment-related issues. In this chapter an overview of key findings from the studies described in the remainder of the volume is presented.
      386
  • Publication
    Profiles of adolescent perpetrators of CSA
    Studies of the psychological adjustment of adolescents who sexually abuse other youngsters have shown that they differ from normal control groups, and hold some features in common with clinical control groups with other psychological problems and incarcerated control groups convicted of non-sexual offences. For example, they show more behaviour problems than normal controls but not incarcerated controls; they have difficulties with making and maintaining friendships and establishing empathy with others; they have problems with impulse control, anger management and assertiveness; and they come from families characterized by a variety of problems. Despite the burgeoning international literature in this area, few studies have been conducted on Irish adolescent sexual abusers and non-adjudicated abusers.
      176
  • Publication
    Profiles of subgroups of cases referred for CSA assessment
    Objective: This study aimed to profile subgroups of CSA cases referred for assessment at two national CSA assessment centers in Ireland. Method: Historical and clinical data for 150 CSA cases were drawn from records of two Dublin-based national specialist sexual abuse assessment and therapeutic centers. Three main comparisons were made involving: (1) 113 confirmed CSA cases and 37 unconfirmed CSA cases, (2) 55 confirmed CSA cases that displayed clinically significant behavior problems, and the 56 confirmed CSA cases without significant adjustment difficulties, and (3) 19 confirmed CSA cases in which violence was a central feature, and 79 confirmed cases in which violence was not a central feature. Results: There were three main findings. (1) More unconfirmed cases were male; had single or separated parents; and a father with a criminal history. As a group, the confirmed cases were largely youngsters who had been abused by male adults or adolescents outside their nuclear family and who subsequently were well supported by one or two parents. (2) Poorly adjusted CSA victims had a history of coercive violent abuse while better adjusted children were victims of nonviolent abuse. (3) Victims of violent CSA were more likely to have experienced penetrative abuse and to display more externalizing behavior problems. Conclusions: Confirmed and unconfirmed CSA cases, well and poorly adjusted CSA cases, and victims of violent and nonviolent CSA referred for assessment at two national CSA assessment centers in Ireland had distinctive clinical profiles.
      240
  • Publication
    Profiles of parents of adolescent perpetrators of CSA
    (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) ; ; ;
    The present study aimed to expand our knowledge about the profiles of families of adolescent CSA perpetrators by comparing a group of parents of adolescent sexual offenders (PASO); a clinical control group (CC) of parents of non-offending adolescents attending a child and adolescent mental health service; and a normal control group (NC) of parents of non-offending adolescents in the community on a range of demographic, developmental, personal adjustment and family environment variables.
      240
  • Publication
    A comparison of two CSA treatment programmes
    The development of effective treatment programmes to ameliorate the sequelae of CSA is imperative. Ideally such programmes should address intrapsychic psychological difficulties through individually based child-focused interventions; peer-related interpersonal problems through group-based interventions; and difficulties within the family and wider social network through family therapy and systemic interventions. It would be expected that some programmes might be more effective than others for young people with particular constellations of difficulties and that programmes that combined two or more therapeutic modalities might be more effective than more narrowly focused programmes.
      179
  • Publication
    Child sexual abuse: A comprehensive family based approach to treatment
    (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 2000)
    Narrow definitions of CSA which focus on repeated penetrative abuse yield prevalence rates of 2% and 4% for males and females respectively. Most abusers are male. About two thirds of all victims develop psychological symptoms and for a fifth these problems remain into adulthood. Children who have been sexually abused show a range of conduct and emotional problems coupled with oversexualized behaviour. Traumatic sexualization, stigmatization, betrayal and powerlessness are four distinct yet related dynamics that account for the wide variety of symptoms shown by children who have been sexually abused. The degree to which children develop the four traumagenic dynamics and associated behaviour problems following sexual abuse is determined by stresses associated with the abuse itself and the balance of risk and protective factors within the child's family and social network. Case management requires the separation of the child and the abuser to prevent further abuse. A family therapy based multisystemic programme of therapeutic intervention should help the child process the trauma of the abuse and develop protective relationships with non-abusing parents and assertiveness skills to prevent further abuse. For the abuser therapy focuses on letting go of denial and developing and abuse free lifestyle.
      246
  • Publication
    Supporting parents of adolescent perpetrators of CSA
    (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) ; ; ;
    The importance of parental involvement in the treatment of their adolescent CSA perpetrators cannot be underestimated. One of the defining differences between the fields of adult and adolescent sexual offending is the fact that adolescents are still in a formative stage of development. Parents can still exercise a major influence in re-engaging children back on a normative developmental pathway and reducing future risk to a minimum. It is also important to include parents of adolescent CSA perpetrators in treatment programmes because it is well documented in Irish and international studies that some have significant problems.
      415
  • Publication
    Child sex abuse and the Irish criminal justice system
    The aims of this study were to develop scales to assess experiences of sexually abused children in the Irish criminal justice system (CJS); identify aspects of the CJS which children experience as negative; compare the perceptions of children, parents and professionals of sexually abused children's experiences of the CJS; and determine correlations between perceptions of children's CJS experiences and current psychological adjustment. Forty-three children, 101 parents, 32 mental health professionals, 27 police officers and 21 lawyers completed parallel versions of the Criminal Justice System Questionnaire (CJSQ) which assessed satisfaction with aspects of the CJS relevant to sexually abused children, specifically: Gardaí (police), medical examination, Director of Public Prosecutions, waiting for court, court professionals, court context and the CJS. Fifteen scales were developed by conducting principal component analyses. Children gave negative ratings on nine of these, and on seven children, parents and professionals differed in their perceptions of how children experienced the CJS with mental health professionals viewing the impact of the CJS as more problematic than parents and children. Scores of children and parents on CJSQ scales correlated with indices of current psychological adjustment. These results point to the importance of making the Irish CJS more child-friendly and for evaluating these reforms with the CJSQ. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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