Clement, M.E., & Chamberland, C. (2007). Physical violence and psychological aggression towards children: Five-year trends in practices and attitudes from two population surveys. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31(9),1001-1011.
This study, conducted in Quebec, compared the rates of household psychological aggression and physical violence towards children, as reported by mothers in a telephone survey, between 1999 and 2004. Reports of minor physical violence towards a child by an adult living in the household decreased by 5% in 2004 compared to 1999. Reports of repeated psychological violence increased by 5%. Eighty percent of mothers reported the use of psychological aggression towards a child by an adult living in the household, 43% reported at least one episode of minor violence, and 6% reported at least one episode of severe physical violence. Attitudes favoring the use of violence for disciplinary purposes showed a significant decrease over the course of the study.
Gladstone, J.W., & Brown, R.A. (2007). Grandparents' and social workers' experiences with the child welfare system: A case for mutual resources. Child and Youth Services Review, 29(11), 1439-1453.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the circumstances under which grandparents and child welfare workers have contact with each other, as well as factors that are associated with positive working relationships between them. Data were gathered from 63 grandparents who had a grandchild receiving service from a child welfare agency, as well as from 21 child welfare workers, all of whom were in Ontario. Grandparents and social workers came into contact under five different circumstances: 1) the child welfare agency was perceived by the grandparent to be a resource to the grandchild; 2) the grandparent was perceived to be a resource to the grandchild by the child welfare agency; 3) the grandparent was perceived by the child welfare agency to be a resource to his or her child (the parent of the grandchild) and to the agency; 4) the grandparent was perceived by the child welfare agency to be detrimental to the grandchild; and 5) the child welfare agency was seen by the grandparent as a conduit to the grandchild.
Grandparents identified 6 factors that contributed to positive relationships with social workers: friendliness, emotional and material support, advice and services, provision of information, and competency. Social workers identified 6 factors associated with positive relationships with grandparents: caring and respectful attitude, effectiveness as a caregiver, information, problem-focused, and compliancy. The reciprocal exchanges between grandparents and social workers were characterized as an exchange of largely intangible socio-emotional resources, although it was noted that social workers have a "power advantage" since they are agents of the state.
Larrivée, M-C., Tourigny, M., & Bouchard, C. (2007). Child physical abuse with and without other forms of maltreatment: Dysfunctionality versus dysnormality. Child Maltreatment, 12(4), 303-313.
The aim of this study was to compare cases of physical abuse reported to Quebec child protective services (CPS) according to whether the abuse occurred alone or co-occurred with other forms of maltreatment. The data were taken from the Quebec Incidence Study (QIS), which examined 4,929 reports investigated by Quebec CPS in the fall of 1998. Of the 514 children who were physically abused, 269 were not subjected to any other type of maltreatment and 245 were also victims of one or two other forms of maltreatment. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses showed that the profile of physical abuse cases varied depending on whether the physical abuse occurred alone (called dysnormality) or in combination with one or two other forms of maltreatment (dysfunctionality). Results increase knowledge of patterns of physical abuse, such as physical abuse within a disciplinary context, shaken baby syndrome, etc., and the family context within which such abuse occurs.
Strohschein, L. (2007). Challenging the presumption of diminished capacity to parent: Does divorce really change parenting practices? Family Relations, 56(4), 358-368.
This study tracked a sample of Canadian households over time to determine whether divorced parents exhibit a diminished capacity to parent their children in the period following divorce. Using 2 waves of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, the study followed 5,004 children living in 2-biological parent households at initial interviews in 1994 and subsequent interviews in the next two two-year cycles. Changes in parenting practices between those households that subsequently divorced and those that remained intact were compared. Linear regression analysis showed that there were no differences in parenting behavior for parents who divorced compared to parents who remained married. Although earlier studies popularized the concept of a diminished capacity to parent in the aftermath of divorce, this study suggests that there are more similarities than differences in parenting practices between divorced parents and those who do not divorce.
Walsh, C.A., Jamieson, E., MacMillan, H., & Boyle, M. (2007). Child abuse and chronic pain in a community survey of women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(12), 1536-1554.
This study examined the relationship between self-reported history of child physical and sexual abuse and chronic pain among women (N = 3381) as determined by secondary analyses of the Ontario Health Survey and the Ontario Mental Health Supplement. Regression analyses tested the relationships between chronic pain and childhood abuse, age, socioeconomic status, physical health and mental health. Chronic pain was significantly associated with physical abuse, not finishing high school, and age of the respondents, but was unrelated to childhood sexual abuse alone or in combination with physical abuse, mental disorder (anxiety, depression, or substance abuse), or low income. This is the first large population-based study to demonstrate the relationship between childhood physical abuse and chronic pain in adulthood.