Dion, J., & Cyr, M. (2008). The use of the NICHD protocol to enhance the quantity of details obtained from children with low verbal abilities in investigative interviews: A pilot study. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 17(2), 144-162.
Research suggests that specialized interview techniques may be required to elicit detailed accounts of sensitive events (e.g., abuse) with vulnerable children, such as those with low verbal abilities (LVA). This study sought to explore the impact of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) protocol to enhance details given by children with low verbal ability in forensic interviews. The protocol is a structured investigative guideline for enhancing the retrieval of complete and accurate accounts of alleged incidents. Verbal ability was measured with the vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Third Edition. Thirty-four children between the ages of 6 and 14 were interviewed following an experience of sexual abuse. Half the interviews used the NICHD protocol administered by trained interviewers.
Univariate analyses of variance revealed that invitational (i.e., open-ended) questions were asked significantly more in the protocol than nonprotocol interviews. Interestingly, interviewers asked significantly less directive or option-posing questions to children with LVA compared to those with average verbal ability (AVA). A univariate analysis of covariance yielded significant results showing that children in the protocol condition (both LVA and AVA) recalled more details than those in the nonprotocol condition. These findings suggest that invitational and open-ended questioning should be encouraged in forensic interviews, and that using the NICHD protocol may enhance LVA children’s production of event details. Further research with larger samples and a greater diversity of verbal ability measures is warranted.
Francis, K. J., & Wolfe, D. A. (2008). Cognitive and Emotional Differences between Abusive and Non-Abusive Fathers. Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal, 32(12), 1127-1137.
There is a need for greater understanding of the characteristics of abusive fathers and appropriate interventions as fathers perpetrate a substantial portion of child physical abuse in North America. The present study examined differences between abusive and non-abusive fathers on a broad range of demographic, cognitive, and affective factors Twenty-four abusive fathers, all with a record of perpetrating child physical abuse, were compared to twenty-five non-abusive fathers recruited from the same community. All fathers completed several self-report measures on mental health status, parenting stress, anger, empathy, and perceptions of child emotions.
Abusive fathers reported significantly more experiences of childhood maltreatment than non-abusive fathers, and this maltreatment was largely comprised of multiple forms of severe and degrading maltreatment. Abusive fathers reported more mental health concerns such as depression and hostility, more parenting stress, and more verbal and physical expressions of anger. They also rated themselves as having less empathetic concern for their child and as being less likely to consider their child’s perspective. Abusive fathers also tended to perceive children’s emotional displays as more negative and threatening compared to non-abusive fathers.
These findings underscore a need to provide increased and comprehensive therapeutic treatment for fathers who abuse their children. Limitations of the study include low response rate, possible under-representation of severely abusive fathers, and a lack of available measures validated for use with abusive fathers.
Brown, J. D. (2008). Rewards of fostering children with disabilities. Journal of Family Social Work, 11(1), 36-49.
Relatively little attention has been paid in the literature to the possible rewards of fostering children with disabilities. This qualitative study sought to identify the benefits of fostering children with disabilities from a sample of 44 foster parents who reported having cared for a foster child with a disability in the past year. Participants were asked the open-ended question, “What are the rewards you receive for fostering a child with a disability?” Twenty-two of the participants agreed to sort the 57 responses to this question into groups. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were used to construct a concept map.
Six clusters describing concepts related to the rewards of fostering a child with a disability emerged: feeling needed, financial/economic rewards, learning something new, observing child’s progress, making a difference, and caring for self and others. Practice implications of these findings include considering the use of a strengths-based approach when working with such families, and building capacity within these foster families at a policy level.
Walsh, C. A., MacMillan, H. L., Trocmé, N., Jamieson, E., & Boyle, M. H. (2008). Measurement of victimization in adolescence: Development and validation of the childhood experiences of violence questionnaire. Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal, 32(11), 1037-1057.
The perceived need for a reliable and valid instrument to assess exposure to multiple forms of maltreatment among youth led to the development of the Childhood Experiences of Violence Questionnaire (CEVQ). The CEVQ is an 18-item self-report measure of victimization in seven categories (peer-on-peer violence, witnessing domestic violence, emotional abuse, physical punishment, physical abuse, and sexual abuse). It also gathers information on perpetrators, severity, onset, duration, and disclosure of abuse.
The instrument was developed through extensive literature reviews, expert consultations, and individual interviews with youths drawn from various settings (child welfare, health clinics, secondary school). The initial draft questionnaire composed of 12 items was pilot tested with a second round of interviews and focus groups with mothers, youth, and child protection workers and test-retest reliability was estimated as good to excellent for all stem items, except for two. At this stage, the emotional abuse question was added. The final phase involved evaluation of the final 18-item CEVQ. Test-retest reliability was estimated from a sample of 179 participants and was found to be excellent, except for peer violence. Content validity was established by a panel of eleven child welfare workers. Construct validity was confirmed in a sample of 177 youth by significantly higher scores for self-reported emotional and behavioural psychopathology among youth reporting victimization. Fair to good agreement between clinicians’ independent judgements of physical abuse and sexual abuse and youths’ self-reports established criterion validity of the CEVQ.
These findings provide preliminary evidence that the CEVQ is a brief, reliable, valid, and informative instrument for assessing exposure to victimization and maltreatment among youth. The instrument requires further evaluation with larger samples before it can be used in clinical practice and presents some limitations such as the lack of items assessing neglect.