Brown, J. (2007). Fostering children with disabilities: A concept map of parent needs. Children and Youth Services Review, 29(9), 1235-1248.
This study reports on a survey in which 83 foster parents caring for children with disabilities were asked their opinion as to what is needed to be a good foster parent to a child with disabilities. Results showed that the personal characteristics of foster parents were important, as well as financial supports, certain skills, a range of support systems and recognitions of roles and responsibilities of foster parents.
Brown, J. D., & Campbell, M. (2007). Foster parent perceptions of placement success. Children and Youth Services Review, 29(8), 1010-1020.
This study reports on a survey in which 61 foster parents were asked their opinions as to what constitutes a successful foster placement. Results were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis, showing six themes: security of the foster child, family connections, good relationships, positive family change, seamless involvement on the part of the child welfare agency, and growth on the part of the child.
De Marco, R., Tonmyr, L., Fallon, B., & Trocmé, N. (2007). The Effect of Maltreatment Co-occurrence on Emotional Harm among Sexually Abused Children. Victims and Offenders, 2(1), 45- 62.
Using data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS), this study examined the extent to which emotional harm was observed for children who were victims of sexual abuse on its own or in combination with other forms of maltreatment. Emotional harm was noted in 40% of cases involving sexual abuse on its own, and in 51% of cases involving sexual abuse in combination with other forms of maltreatment. However, the authors found that when they controlled for other differences between the cases, such as child age, duration of abuse and parent risk factors, there was no statistically significant difference in the observed rate of emotional harm for victims of isolated sexual abuse compared to victims of sexual abuse co-occurring with other forms of maltreatment.
De Wit, D. J., Lipman, E., Manzano-Munguia, M., Bisanz, J., Graham, K., Offord, D. R., O'Neill, E., et. al. (2007). Feasibility of a randomized controlled trial for evaluating the effectiveness of the Big Brothers Big Sisters community match program at the national level. Children and Youth Services Review, 29(3), 383-404.
This study was conducted to assess the feasibility of a randomized control trial to evaluate the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) community match programs at the national level. Seventy-one families with children aged 7-14 years were recruited, along with 30 adult mentors. Families were randomly assigned to the BBBS program (n=39) or to a waiting list control group (n=32), and information was obtained on the children's behaviour and psychosocial characteristics before the study began and at the 12 month point. Results indicated that a randomized control trial to evaluate the BBBS programs is feasible, although the design may be challenged ethically due to the length of time children in the control group were kept waiting.
Dhami, M.K., Mandel, D.R., & Sothmann, K. An evaluation of post-adoption services. (2007). Children and Youth Services Review, 29(2), 162-179.
This study reports on an evaluation of post-adoption services done in B.C., looking at the needs of adoptive families and the effectiveness of post-adoption services. Adoptive parents indicated their concerns about adoption, the types of post-adoption services that they needed, their sources of support, and the importance of various kinds of support services. The report recommends ways in which post-adoption services can be developed to have an increased positive impact on the lives of adoptive families.
Gagné, M., Tourigny, M., Joly, J., & Pouliot-lapointe, J. (2007). Predictors of Adult Attitudes Toward Corporal Punishment of Children. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(10), 1285-1304.
Using data collected by a telephone survey of 1000 adult residents of Quebec, this study looked at predictors of attitudes towards spanking children. Results showed that 66.4% of participants were spanked in childhood. Older participants were more in favour of spanking than younger ones. The more participants reported spanking in their own childhoods, the more they approved of it as a method of discipline. Participants who had sustained severe physical violence and who had felt threatened or humiliated by their parents in childhood were least in favour of spanking. Positive attitudes towards spanking correlated most strongly with a belief that corporal punishment is not physically dangerous. Overall, predictors used in the analysis explained 15% of the variance in attitudes towards spanking.
Hildyard, K., & Wolfe, D. (2007). Cognitive processes associated with child neglect. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31(8), 895-907.
This study compared 34 neglectful mothers to 33 non-neglectful mothers to assess their ability to process and remember information related to children's emotions and behavior. Neglectful mothers were significantly less likely to recognize infants' feelings of interest, more likely to see sadness and shame, more inaccurate in labeling infants' emotions, and had a more limited emotional vocabulary and a poorer recall of information. Results indicated that neglectful mothers have significant problems in processing information related to their children's emotions and behaviour, which may affect their childrearing.
Kidd, S. A., Miner, S., Walker, D., & Davidson, L. (2007). Stories of working with homeless youth: On being "mind-boggling". Children and Youth Services Review, 29(1), 16-34.
Narrative data of the experiences of 15 street youth workers revealed the need to be versatile in approaches with street youth and the importance of developing a working relationship based on trust and respect. Relationships among staff, agency structure, and the stigmatization of the homeless was discussed, along with the process of becoming an effective worker, including the establishment of clear boundaries and avoiding burnout.
Lee, V., & Hoaken, P. N. S. (2007). Cognition, Emotion, and Neurobiological Development: Mediating the Relation Between Maltreatment and Aggression. Child Maltreatment, 12(3), 281-298.
This article reviews the link between maltreatment and aggression, positing that maltreatment increases the risk of aggression through its impact on cognitive and emotional processing, with persistent effects because of impacts on the child's developing neurobiology.
Nolin, P., & Ethier, L. (2007). Using neuropsychological profiles to classify neglected children with or without physical abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31(6), 631-643.
This study compared the neuropsychological profiles of 79 neglected children (with and without physical abuse) to a control group of 53 children matched for age, gender and annual family income. Children who were neglected as well as being physically abused showed cognitive deficits in auditory attention and response set, visual-motor integration, problem solving, abstraction, and planning. Children who were neglected, but not physically abused, showed cognitive deficits in auditory attention and response set and visual motor integration. However, surprisingly, these children also demonstrated a greater capacity for problem solving, abstraction, and planning, when compared to the physically abused and neglected children and the control children. Results show that cognitive deficits in maltreated children are heterogeneous, and neglect combined with physical abuse is more harmful than neglect alone.
Serran, G. A., Moulden, H., Firestone, P., & Marshall, W. l. (2007). Changes in Coping Following Treatment for Child Molesters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(9), 1199-1210.
Research with sexual offenders has suggested that there is a need to go beyond classical relapse prevention treatment in order to focus on effective styles of coping with high-risk situations. This study aimed to determine whether child molesters would demonstrate improved coping abilities following a modified form of cognitive-behavioural relapse prevention (RP) treatment. The study compared a group of 60 convicted adult child molesters who entered a 4-month treatment program to 27 convicted adult child molesters who did not. The treatment combined elements of RP with an approach that focused on acceptance of responsibility, self-esteem, social competence, understanding the offense process and risk factors, and development of a self-management plan. Data were gathered from self-reported surveys after treatment. Results showed that the treated child molesters demonstrated a significant increase in the effectiveness of their abilities to cope with risk. However, they continued to demonstrate an emotion-focused coping style, which has been linked to various dimensions of psychopathology that could lead to re-offending.
Wekerle, C., Wall, A.-M.; Leung, E., & Trocmé, N. (2007). Cumulative stress and substantiated maltreatment: The importance of caregiver vulnerability and adult partner violence. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31(4), 427-443.
Secondary analyses of the 1998 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Maltreatment were carried out to investigate the effect of caregiver vulnerabilities on the substantiation of child abuse and neglect. Analyses were done of (1) demographic factors, socioeconomic disadvantage, and caregiver's history of abuse; (2) caregiver vulnerability factors; (3) involvement in partner violence; and (4) the interaction between caregiver vulnerability and partner violence. Results showed that the total number of caregiver vulnerabilities was the best predictor of the substantiation of child abuse and neglect. Caregiver substance abuse was the single most important caregiver vulnerability in predicting maltreatment substantiation. High caregiver vulnerability and high partner violence increased the likelihood that maltreatment would be substantiated.