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- PublicationSupporting parents of adolescent perpetrators of CSAThe 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.
419 - PublicationPerceptions of the criminal justice system and its association with well-being following a report of child sexual abuse(National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers (NOTA Ireland), 2007)
; ; ; 101 - PublicationFamily–oriented treatment for people with alcohol problems in Ireland: a comparison of the effectiveness of residential and community–based programmesUsing a naturalistic design involving consecutive referrals self-selected for family-oriented treatment, 42 participants from a residential programme and 25 participants from a community-based programme were assessed on a range of alcohol-use and psychosocial measures before treatment. A proportion of these cases were assessed after treatment and at 6 months follow-up. At six months follow-up 79% of both the residential and community groups were either abstinent or drinking moderately. However, more members of the residential group (75%) were abstinent at follow-up compared with the community group (36%). In contrast, more members of the community group were moderate drinkers (43%) at follow-up compared with the residential group (4%). At six months follow-up, compared with the community group, more members of the residential group showed a clinically significant reduction in recent negative consequences of drinking and psychological adjustment problems. Both groups made significant mean gains on indices of alcohol abuse and psychosocial adjustment but there were important intergroup differences. The residential group showed a greater mean reduction in recent negative consequences from drinking but the community group showed a greater mean reduction in the percentage of days heavy drinking.
670Scopus© Citations 8 - PublicationEvaluation of functional family therapy in an Irish contextIn an Irish context we conducted a retrospective archival study of functional family therapy (FFT) for adolescents with behavioural problems. Strengths and difficulties questionnaire data were collected from 118 families at the beginning and end of therapy (at baseline and follow up for dropouts) in a community-based clinic in a socially disadvantaged Dublin suburb. Analyses of the improvement in mean scores and clinical recovery rates showed that the outcome was associated with treatment completion and the extent to which therapists adhered to the FFT treatment manual. Therapy completers treated by high-adherent therapists had the most favourable outcome. In contrast, the worst outcome occurred for dropouts. The outcome of cases treated by low-adherent therapists fell between these two extremes. These results show that FFT may be effectively implemented in an Irish context, and that the effectiveness of treatment is associated with families remaining in treatment for an average of seventeen sessions, and receiving treatment from therapists who implement FFT with a high degree of fidelity.
780Scopus© Citations 25 - PublicationChild maltreatment and adult psychopathology in an Irish context(Elsevier, 2015-07)
; ; ; ; ; ; One-hundred-ninety-nine adult mental health service users were interviewed with a protocol that included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Structured Clinical Interviews for Axis I and II DSM-IV disorders, the Global Assessment of Functioning scale, the SCORE family assessment measure, the Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Schedule, and the Readiness for Psychotherapy Index. Compared to a U.S. normative sample, Irish clinical cases had higher levels of maltreatment. Cases with comorbid axis I and II disorders reported more child maltreatment than those with axis I disorders only. There was no association between types of CM and types of psychopathology. Current family adjustment and service needs (but not global functioning and motivation for psychotherapy) were correlated with a CM history. It was concluded that child maltreatment may contribute to the development of adult psychopathology, and higher levels of trauma are associated with co-morbid personality disorder, greater service needs and poorer family adjustment. A history of child maltreatment should routinely be determined when assessing adult mental health service users, especially those with personality disorders and where appropriate evidence-based psychotherapy which addresses childhood trauma should be offered.479Scopus© Citations 5 - PublicationFactor structures of measures of cognitive distortions, emotional congruence, and victim empathy based on data from Irish child sex offenders(Routledge (Taylor & Francis), 2006)
; ; ; ; ; This study evaluated the factor structures of three instruments from the Sexual Offender Assessment Pack. The Children and Sex Cognitive Distortions Scale, the Children and Sex Emotional Congruence Scale, and the Child Victim Empathy Distortions Scale were administered to 203 sex offenders in Ireland. Confirmatory factor analyses did not support the proposed single factor structure for each of the three scales. Exploratory factor analyses suggested more complex factor structures. The Children and Sex Cognitive Distortions Scale was found to have two factors: (a) Perceptions of Children as Sexually Mature and (b) General Justifications for Sex With Children. The Children and Sex Emotional Congruence Scale was found to have three factors: (a) Positive Affect From Children, (b) Special Relationships With Children and (c) Preference for Relationships With Children. The Victim Empathy Scale was found to have two factors: (a) Positive Misattributions of Pleasure and (b) Denial of Negative Feelings in the Child. In clinical settings, the more complex factor structures identified in this study may used in scoring and interpreting responses to the three instruments investigated here. Our results require replication and further research should focus on the correlates of the factorial scales identified in this study.984Scopus© Citations 9 - PublicationAttachment styles and psychological profiles of child sex offenders in IrelandWhen 29 child sex offenders, 30 violent offenders, 30 nonviolent offenders, and 30 community controls were compared, a secure adult attachment style was 4 times less common in the child sex offender group than in any of the other three groups. Ninety-three percent of sex offenders had an insecure adult attachment style. Compared with community controls, the child sex offender group reported significantly lower levels of maternal and paternal care and significantly higher levels of maternal and paternal overprotection during their childhood. Compared with all three comparison groups, the child sexual offenders reported significantly more emotional loneliness and a more external locus of control. With respect to anger management, the child sexual offenders’ profile more closely approximated those of nonviolent offenders and community controls than that of violent offenders.
2706Scopus© Citations 84 - PublicationProfiles of the parents of adolescent CSA perpetrators attending a voluntary outpatient treatment programme in IrelandA group of 22 parents of adolescent sexual offenders (PASO) was compared with a group of 19 normal controls (NC) and 10 clinical controls (CC) on demographic, developmental, personal adjustment and family environment variables. The assessment protocol included the General Health Questionnaire –12, the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory, the Child Behaviour Checklist, the Family Assessment Device, the Parent Satisfaction Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Compared with clinical and normal controls, more parents in the PASO group reported that they had been arrested orcharged for a criminal offence; had personally experienced child abuse; and more of their adolescents had experienced child abuse, with emotional abuse being the most common form of abuse for both parents and adolescents. Compared with clinical and normal controls, more adolescents of parents in the PASO group had witnessed parental drug or alcohol abuse and had been placed in care outside their home. While parents in the PASO group did not differ from clinical or normal controls in terms of personal adjustment, their adolescents had significantly more internalizing behaviour problems than normal controls, whereas adolescents of parents in the clinical control group had significantly more externalizing behaviour problems than normal controls. Compared with normal controls, parents in both the PASO and clinical control groups reported more difficulties with general family functioning, roles, affective responsiveness, affective involvement and behaviour control and lower levels of parental satisfaction. But the groups did not differ significantly in their levels of perceived social support.
689Scopus© Citations 15 - PublicationChild sex abuse and the Irish criminal justice systemThe 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: Gardaà (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.
542Scopus© Citations 9 - PublicationProfiles of adult survivors of severe sexual, physical and emotional institutional abuse in Ireland(Wiley, 2010-12)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Adult survivors of institutional abuse were interviewed with a comprehensive assessment protocol which included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Institutional Child Abuse Processes and Coping Inventory, the Structured Clinical Interviews for Disorders of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV axis I disorders and personality disorders, the Trauma Symptoms Inventory, a Life Problems Checklist, the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. Profiles were identified for subgroups that described severe sexual (N = 60), physical (N = 102), or emotional (N = 85) abuse as their worst forms of maltreatment. Survivors of severe sexual abuse had the most abnormal profile, which was characterised by higher rates of all forms of child maltreatment and higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and substance abuse, antisocial personality disorder, trauma symptoms and life problems. Survivors of severe emotional abuse were better adjusted than the other two groups. The profile of survivors of severe physical abuse occupied an intermediate position between the other two groups. A thorough assessment of abuse history and current functioning should be conducted when providing services to adult survivors of institutional abuse, since this may have important implications for the intensity of services required. Survivors of severe sexual abuse may require more intensive services.1079Scopus© Citations 30