Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are widespread and are associated with adverse outcomes in later life, yet few studies have explored their prevalence and consequences in New Zealand. Objectives To provide prevalence estimates of ACEs in New Zealand using a large sample of adults, and to explore the associations between ACEs and experience of violence by intimate partners and non-partners

Background In research and literature, little attention has been paid to the role of women, especially mothers, in child sexual abuse. Objective In order to estimate prevalences on mothers as perpetrators and bystanders, data was collected in a German nationwide representative survey. Participants and setting A total of 2,531 participants (53.3 % female, 14−94 years) were selected by a random route

Background Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers across the globe have attempted to understand how the health and socioeconomic crisis brought about by the coronavirus is affecting children’s exposure to violence. Since containment measures have disrupted many data collection and research efforts, studies have had to rely on existing data or design new approaches to gathering

Background A 1998 seminal study catapulted adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) into the zeitgeist and shaped assessment of these experiences and long-term health consequences via The ACEs Study Questionnaire (ACE-SQ). However, the ACE-SQ’s childhood sexual abuse (CSA) item requires the perpetrator have been 5-years or older than the survivor for endorsement. This may not adequately capture CSA and

This paper aims to unpack the empirical and theoretical complexity that surrounds ‘resilience’, with particular attention to its application to war-affected children and youth. We expand current conceptual frameworks to adopt a more inclusive and intergenerational approach that accounts for the added layers of national, global and intergenerational resilience, arguing for greater recognition of the

Background Trauma-informed parenting interventions have been used in child welfare to help caregivers respond to children in trauma-informed ways that can mitigate the effects of maltreatment and build strong caregiver-child relationships. Existing studies support their effectiveness with children and youth involved in the child welfare system. However, to further advance the effectiveness of evidenced-based

Background Adult substance use contributes to high rates of child maltreatment, adverse parenting, and poor child well-being outcomes. The Children’s Bureau in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) program to improve safety, well-being, and permanency outcomes for children at risk of or in out-of-home placements

Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are disturbingly common and consequential. Priority should be given to identifying populations that bear a disproportionate share of the burden of ACEs, but such disparities have received limited attention to date. Objective This study analyzes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a nationally representative sample

Background Research has indicated an association between child abuse and adolescent suicide. Little population-based information exists, however, about the nature of maltreatment experiences or interactions with the child protection system (CPS). Objective To examine child maltreatment characteristics and system-level responses associated with risk of adolescent suicide. Participants and setting Linked

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is common, severe, and substantively contributes to the global burden of disease through its impact on physical, mental, and behavioral health problems. While CSA is preventable through non-justice system response efforts, the vast majority of resources support criminal justice efforts to identify, prosecute, punish and monitor offenders after CSA has already occurred. Policy

Background Previous studies have found a high co-occurrence between Intimate Partner Violence exposure (IPVe) and other forms of victimization, such as physical and sexual abuse, yet little is known about this issue from community samples in Latin America or –in particular– Chile. Objective To examine the prevalence, sociodemographic correlates and co-occurrence of IPVe with other youth victimizations

Background When people suspect a child or young person is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect, they have to decide how to respond. However, the under and over reporting of child welfare issues indicate that people may struggle to identify an appropriate response. Objective To develop scenarios (for future training and research purposes) that closely resemble the child welfare situations health/allied

Background Although many child maltreatment risk assessment instruments have been implemented in child welfare organizations, thorough studies on their predictive validity are scarce. Objective To examine (1) the predictive validity of a risk assessment instrument that has been widely implemented in the Netherlands, and to examine (2) whether the actuarial risk estimation could be improved and simplified

Teaching young people about “privacy” has serious defects if the goal is to promote children’s online safety. This commentary points out some the key problems to programs and educational modules with this privacy orientation. Privacy is an abstract and complicated concept, whose norms are in flux, making it difficult to impart clear, relevant, consensus-based messages. We also know very little about

Background Students who experience maltreatment tend to underperform academically relative to their peers, requiring an understanding of academically-related mechanisms that are potential intervention targets. Academic engagement, a multidimensional construct that is influential in students’ investment in learning and the school context, is one such mechanism that has been associated with positive

Background Child maltreatment is a global health concern, which adversely affects millions of children. Among them, child laborers are highly susceptible to maltreatment due to their economic vulnerability and workplace practices. Objectives This review seeks to identify the extent, risk factors and psychological impairments associated with the maltreatment of child laborers in four South East Asian

Background With the increase in internet use, new forms of child victimization like Online Sexual Abuse (OSA) have emerged. Children and adolescents rarely disclose these incidents and most disclosure happens around peers. Objective This research addresses the perspective of adolescents (not victims of OSA), potential recipients of the disclosure, within the context of disclosure of OSA committed by

Background Child maltreatment-related fatalities occur among children of all ages. However, few published studies have examined child abuse and neglect deaths among older children and adolescents. Objective To epidemiologically describe child maltreatment-related fatalities among children in the United States 5−17 years old. Participants and setting Ten years of data from the United States National

Background Children adopted from foster care are at heightened risk for emotional and behavioral challenges, potentially due to early trauma exposure and related risk factors. Research has demonstrated that adoptees with greater pre-adoptive risk exhibit higher rates of internalizing and externalizing problems across childhood and into adulthood. However, these studies have been limited by their use

Background Recent evidence suggests that offspring of mothers having been exposed to childhood abuse and neglect (CA&N) are at increased risk of developmental problems and that boys are more affected by maternal CA&N than girls. Since impairments in reflective functioning (RF) have been associated with maternal CA&N and offspring development, RF could represent a key mechanism in these intergenerational

Background Having a voice in family matters is considered a protective factor from harm, and key to promoting children’s wellbeing. However, since the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and specifically Article 12 pertaining to children’s participation, research reveals that children’s voices often remain invisible in child protection and family welfare services

Objective Researchers are increasingly using parental report measures in population-based surveys of violence against children. No research thus far has examined the factor structure of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Child Abuse Screening Tool Parent Version (ICAST-P), a non-commercialized measure for prevalence studies. Methods This paper uses secondary

Background Experiences of maltreatment in childhood, such as abuse and neglect, have been associated with poorer psychological well-being in adulthood, including elevated risk of revictimization and increased likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Maltreatment has also been associated with reduced resources related to resilience, such as optimism, which may act as a

Background Youth in foster care are more likely than non-foster care youth to experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While research has identified maltreatment as a risk factor for PTSD, this research remains limited because it tends to only (a) examine a single type or dimension of maltreatment and ignore the polyvictimization and heterogeneity in exposure, and (b) study this relation across

Background Zimbabwe has a high prevalence of children who have experienced abuse according to national data. Objective To understand how parents/caregivers and children describe child discipline, abuse, and neglect and what factors influence each, in order to inform the adaptation of a positive parenting/caregiving intervention in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. Participants A total of eight focus groups were

Background Recantation after child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure refers to the complete denial of prior reports by a victim. In substantiated cases of CSA, recantation has negative effects on criminal proceedings and the protection of current and future victims. Past studies have identified the socio-family factors and CSA characteristics that are associated with recantation. However, the systematization

Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may have lasting impacts on cognition. Objective To determine if ACE exposure is prospectively associated with cognition in young adults. We hypothesized that deprivation- and threat-type ACEs as well as higher cumulative ACE exposure predict poorer cognition. Participants & setting Participants were from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent

Background and objectives There is widespread concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the incidence of child maltreatment. However, reports in the scientific literature documenting rates of child maltreatment during this period are scarce. This study was designed to explore whether the incidence of child maltreatment among patients presenting to a pediatric emergency department has increased

Background Home visiting programs constitute an important policy to support vulnerable families with young children. One of their principal aims is to improve infant-parent relationships, so a key measure of their effectiveness is based on observational measures of parent-children interactions. In the present study we provide novel evidence on the effectiveness of home visiting programs in improving

Background Despite debates on what should constitute sexual interest in children in terms of definition and diagnostic criteria and its strong association with individuals who commit sexual offences against children, research in this area has shown that sexual interest in children is also commonly seen in the general population. Studies in this field have investigated its prevalence and its correlates

Background The way people process trauma and adverse relationships may be more predictive of subsequent adaptation than trauma exposure in itself. However, there is currently no self-report instrument assessing failures in the mentalization of trauma and adverse relationships. Objective We developed the Failure to Mentalize Trauma Questionnaire (FMTQ) and evaluated its psychometric properties. The

Objectives We investigated the prevalence rates of childhood trauma, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and suicidal behaviors among Vietnamese adolescents and compared the differences between institutionalized adolescents (IAs) and noninstitutionalized adolescents (NIAs). In addition, we examined the multidimensional associations between childhood trauma and psychopathology among IAs. Methods Five

Background Emotional abuse in childhood has been linked to a higher expression of aggressive behavior in adulthood. The identification of protective factors that mitigate this association is needed. Mentalizing—the capacity to understand behavior in terms of intentional mental states—appears to be a promising candidate factor that possibly modifies maladaptive consequences of early emotional abuse

Background Previous research has demonstrated that social support systems such as family, peers, or social services can play a role in adolescent girls' involvement in commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) (Hargreaves- Cormany & Patterson, 2016; Phillips, 2015, Reid & Piquero, 2016). Objectives Few studies have specifically explored the meanings adolescent girls with a history of CSE give to their social

Background Housing First (HF) is an evidence-based service model that combines permanent housing and supportive case management premised on harm reduction and consumer self-determination to end homelessness for high-need individuals. Originally developed for use with single adults, this model is now being employed with families. Yet there is little empirical work on how HF is implemented with this

Background and objective Youth with intellectual disabilities involved in child welfare systems are at greater risk of sexual victimization than youth who have not been investigated for child maltreatment. This study addresses a gap in the literature regarding older youth with intellectual disabilities who are sexually victimized and pushed to engage in transactional sex while they are transitioning

Background Research has largely overlooked expressions of reluctance in commercially sexually exploited adolescent (“CSEA”) victims. This is problematic because gaining information from known victims is of the utmost importance in order to better serve the needs of current and potential future victims. Objective The current study proposes a novel conceptualization of reluctance based on CSEA victims’

Background Housing insecurity is endemic among low-income, marginalized families throughout the United States. Unstably housed families face increased likelihood of coming into contact with various social systems that upend family routines and norms, but the roles of these contacts in linking housing insecurity with long-term adolescent outcomes are unknown. Objective The present study tested whether

Background Childhood maltreatment has been associated with deficits in cognitive functioning and poor academic performance. Not known is whether these characteristics are the direct consequence of the childhood maltreatment (that is, maltreatment plays a causal role) or whether other factors explain the relationship. Objectives To examine whether childhood maltreatment predicts cognitive and academic

Background Child maltreatment is associated with short- and long-term mental health sequelae. Extant research has demonstrated that exposure characteristics (i.e., severity, frequency, duration, onset) are important in the measurement of maltreatment experiences. Emerging research has highlighted the contributions of these characteristics on symptom outcomes. Objective The current study used multiple

Background Examination of racial/ethnic differences in positive childhood experiences (PCEs) is needed, as the absence of supportive factors may hinder children from healthy processing and mitigation of adversity. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of PCEs in a nationally representative sample of children and determine whether PCE exposure differed across race and ethnic

Background Previous research has shown the effectiveness of simulation training using avatars paired with feedback in improving child sexual abuse interview quality. However, it has room for improvement. Objective The present study aimed to determine if the combination of two interventions, feedback and modeling, would further improve interview quality compared to either intervention alone. Participants

Background Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic childhood events associated with negative health outcomes. Limited data on ACEs exists from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). No ACEs studies have been done in Honduras. Objective This study assessed the prevalence of ACEs in Honduras and associated health risks and risk behaviors among young adults. Participants and

Background Substance use and victimization are known to be related to juvenile recidivism. Self-harm, a factor that commonly accompanies substance use and victimization, is not known to be related to said recidivism but may be so in a welfare-oriented juvenile justice system as found in Japan. Objective We examine the extent to which maladaptive coping, comprising substance use and self-harm, increases

Background Exposure to maltreatment has a detrimental impact on both physical and mental health. However, research on the relationship between polyvictimization and care planning needs is scarce. Objectives This study investigated the associations between interpersonal polyvictimization and care planning needs for children and youth, controlling for sex and age differences. Participants and settings

Background Midwives and children’s services social workers have responsibilities to identify and support pregnant women where there are child protection concerns. Professionals seek to anticipate the risk of harm and initiate interventions to provide support to families. There is little research on how professionals prioritise risk factors and the challenges they face in protecting unborn babies. Objective

Background Extensive research has documented the importance of neighborhood contextual factors in shaping maltreatment risk. Evidence is limited about the role of economic inequality within neighborhoods, which has increased substantially in the US over the past decade. Objective This study examines the relationship between neighborhood-level inequality and child maltreatment risk, paying particular

Background Youth who are victimized by violence are at heightened risk for substance use (SU) during adolescence, a period characterized by elevated impulsivity and risk-taking behavior. This risk may be magnified by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Objective To examine risk/protective factors for adolescent SU among adolescents at-risk for victimization and whether ADHD moderates these

Background Home visiting programs are widely endorsed for preventing child maltreatment. Yet, knowledge is lacking on what and how individual program components are related to the effectiveness of these programs. Objective The aim of this meta-analysis was to increase this knowledge by summarizing findings on effects of home visiting programs on child maltreatment and by examining potential moderators

Background The co-occurrence of childhood abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among United States military veterans is highly prevalent and clinically significant. Emotion dysregulation is one factor that has been found to underlie the association between childhood abuse and PTSD, yet past research has focused exclusively on dysregulation stemming from negative emotions. Objective The current

Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are known as risk factors for poor adulthood mental health, including ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD). While many studies focused on the association of ACE and CPTSD, examining variant symptom patterns related to ACE is lacking. Objective This study aimed to identify the factorial validity of the ICD-11 CPTSD and its

Background Emotion regulation strategies may help explain the risk of experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among adults with a history of child maltreatment. However, no study to date has examined the roles of both thought suppression and cognitive reappraisal in the association between childhood maltreatment and PTSD symptoms. Objective The current study sought to understand

Background Co-occurring parental substance use and child maltreatment has increased in recent years and is associated with poor child welfare outcomes. The Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) program was developed to meet the needs of these families. Objective A randomized controlled trial was implemented to compare START to usual child welfare services on three outcomes: out-of-home care

Background Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have negative effects on subsequent wellbeing, questions remain regarding how and why they do so. Sex, environmental effects, and genetic influences may play a role in both one’s exposure to ACEs as well as one’s reactions to ACEs. Objective To understand the combined genetic and environmental influences on males’ and females’ exposure and reactions

Background Racial/ethnic disparities are persistent in referrals and removals of children into child welfare systems. Yet, less is known about disparities in reunification, and how system factors may contribute to more equitable outcomes for families of color. Objective This study examined racial/ethnic disparities in reunification rates across U.S. child welfare systems controlling for child- and

Background Childhood adversity is generally associated with adult mental health problems, but most studies have an insufficient sample size to examine relationships among various aspects of childhood adversity and adult mental health outcomes. Further, past research has predominantly been restricted to a single or limited types of adverse events, which ignores the inherent interdependence among childhood

Background Despite reliable definitions and evidence of harm to children, psychological maltreatment (PM) is significantly less reported to Child Protective Services than physical or sexual abuse in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). Objective The goal of this study was to identify factors influencing identification and intent to report psychological maltreatment