Doctor of Philospohy in Social Work / This research is concerned with decision-making in judgments made in the Family Court of Australia where there are allegations of child sexual abuse. The focus of the research is the identification of the concepts that are relied on in the assessment of these allegations by professionals providing evidence to the court and how judges determine what evidence should be given weight and relied on. This research was undertaken against a historical and current backdrop of scepticism about the veracity of child sexual abuse allegations in family law disputes, despite the heightened risk to children, and in particular to girls, after their parents separate and/or divorce. In this context the Family Court is also increasingly becoming a part of the child protection system as allegations of abuse are raised in hearings. This research has taken place in the period of time after the Reform Act (1995) and before new proposed legislation for 2006 was proclaimed. This research is based on a detailed thematic analysis of 21 judgments of first instance trials between 1997 and 2001 that were selected for the presence of a child sexual abuse allegation and at least two professionals disputing some aspect of the allegation. Twenty-five family members, including 18 mothers and four maternal grandmothers, made allegations about 28 family members, 21 of whom were fathers. Professionals who gave evidence included 11 child protection officers and 20 court-ordered private assessors (including 17 child and family psychiatrists, three clinical psychologists and 11 court counsellors). This research found that the context of the allegation, the family law litigation, had a dominant influence on how the allegations were assessed and interpreted: the impact of two influential paradigms, the separation and divorce and the legal/psychiatric paradigms, resulted in a reticence to test out the allegations of child sexual abuse made against fathers. Concepts from these paradigms were applied by court-ordered assessors and represented the sceptical conceptualisation of allegations of child sexual abuse as the product of the parental conflict, associated maternal anxiety and mental illness. In contrast, fathers were not scrutinised as closely against criteria for sex offending even when they made admissions relating to the allegations. Evidence from and about children was not central to the hearings and professionals who were in a position to present assessments of the child sexual abuse allegations to the court were discredited as a result of concerns about ‘contamination’ relating to criticisms of investigation and other methodological errors. In addition, allegations from children were frequently not fully examined or analysed by assessors or the judiciary. There were glimpses of a child-focused approach in a small number of hearings and, while there was no specialist assessment of the child sexual abuse allegations, there was evidence of specialist knowledge pertaining to domestic violence in cases in which there was a high level of evidence relating to serious domestic violence. This research has shown that there is a continuing influence of a sceptical paradigm in relation to the assessment of child sexual abuse allegations in the Family Court. It suggests that the scope of assessments needs to go beyond the usual scope of parental competencies to include an assessment of the propensity for child sexual abuse perpetration and the dynamics and effects of incest.

Doctor of Philospohy in Social Work / This research is concerned with decision-making in judgments made in the Family Court of Australia where there are allegations of child sexual abuse. The focus of the research is the identification of the concepts that are relied on in the assessment of these allegations by professionals providing evidence to the court and how judges determine what evidence should be given weight and relied on. This research was undertaken against a historical and current backdrop of scepticism about the veracity of child sexual abuse allegations in family law disputes, despite the heightened risk to children, and in particular to girls, after their parents separate and/or divorce. In this context the Family Court is also increasingly becoming a part of the child protection system as allegations of abuse are raised in hearings. This research has taken place in the period of time after the Reform Act (1995) and before new proposed legislation for 2006 was proclaimed. This research is based on a detailed thematic analysis of 21 judgments of first instance trials between 1997 and 2001 that were selected for the presence of a child sexual abuse allegation and at least two professionals disputing some aspect of the allegation. Twenty-five family members, including 18 mothers and four maternal grandmothers, made allegations about 28 family members, 21 of whom were fathers. Professionals who gave evidence included 11 child protection officers and 20 court-ordered private assessors (including 17 child and family psychiatrists, three clinical psychologists and 11 court counsellors). This research found that the context of the allegation, the family law litigation, had a dominant influence on how the allegations were assessed and interpreted: the impact of two influential paradigms, the separation and divorce and the legal/psychiatric paradigms, resulted in a reticence to test out the allegations of child sexual abuse made against fathers. Concepts from these paradigms were applied by court-ordered assessors and represented the sceptical conceptualisation of allegations of child sexual abuse as the product of the parental conflict, associated maternal anxiety and mental illness. In contrast, fathers were not scrutinised as closely against criteria for sex offending even when they made admissions relating to the allegations. Evidence from and about children was not central to the hearings and professionals who were in a position to present assessments of the child sexual abuse allegations to the court were discredited as a result of concerns about ‘contamination’ relating to criticisms of investigation and other methodological errors. In addition, allegations from children were frequently not fully examined or analysed by assessors or the judiciary. There were glimpses of a child-focused approach in a small number of hearings and, while there was no specialist assessment of the child sexual abuse allegations, there was evidence of specialist knowledge pertaining to domestic violence in cases in which there was a high level of evidence relating to serious domestic violence. This research has shown that there is a continuing influence of a sceptical paradigm in relation to the assessment of child sexual abuse allegations in the Family Court. It suggests that the scope of assessments needs to go beyond the usual scope of parental competencies to include an assessment of the propensity for child sexual abuse perpetration and the dynamics and effects of incest.

Using a social constructionist perspective, this thesis explores the development of the concepts of “parental alienation syndrome” and “false allegations” in the context of custody and access, as ‘social problems’. Following Joel Best’s framework for critically analysing social problems, it examines the life course of these concepts through an historical account of Canada’s divorce arena and recent changes to custody and access law. It analyzes the reasoning and motives of the major claimsmakers: the Fathers’ Right Movement, medical experts, the legal arena and the counter-claims of Feminist activists. It examines the role of the supervised access facilitator in the construction of the concepts as ‘social problems’. The theories of psychiatrist Richard Gardner are examined in particular, due to their pivotal role in the advancement of the claimsmakers’ goals. Finally, empirical studies are reviewed and analyzed, demonstrating how the concepts of “parental alienation syndrome” and “false allegations” have mutated and permeated the domain of divorce and access in Western society. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-04 11:36:28.395

Since a substantial increase in lawsuits, settlements, jury trial awards, and insurance premiums involving nursing facilities began in the mid 1990s, addressing litigation has been a growing concern for the industry, consumers and their families, insurance carriers, and state and national elected officials. Curbing lawsuit growth has mirrored medical malpractice containment efforts, focusing on the addition of laws to inhibit litigation. The state of Florida initiated such tort reforms along with mandatory increased nursing facility staffing in 2001. Through secondary data analyses, this study examined the initial effects of Florida's tort reform measures. Lawsuits filed (N = 546) against any Hillsborough County nursing facility (N = 33) from 1999 through 2003 were reviewed. One-way analyses of variance and two-way contingency tables were used to identify variations in the elements, extent, and outcome of lawsuits between pre and post tort reform periods. Based on nursing facility admission dates, post tort reform lawsuits exhibited multiple significant changes. Lawsuits filed per month dropped to 14% of pre reform monthly filings. On average, lawsuits were associated with shorter residencies, were filed earlier, and settled six months sooner. They were less apt to include combined wrongful death and negligence survival damage claims, charges intentionally addressed by reform measures in order to eliminate double damage claims. Other lawsuit charges increased, e.g., lethal negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. Mediation was less likely and arbitration attempts more likely to be documented in lawsuits. Mean somatic allegations did not change significantly. Staff-related allegations decreased 21.5% to 8.51 per lawsuit, with 12 out of 22 staff-related allegations decreasing significantly. On average, settlement proposals, total settlements, and attorney fees decreased to 40% and net plaintiff awards to 25% of pre reform amounts. Overall, it appears that 2001 tort reform impacted post reform litigation substantially. However, further research examining a larger post reform lawsuit sample and longer post reform period is required to verify that research findings are stable and reflect sustained changes. Other factors, e.g., decreased nursing facility professional liability insurance coverage, may have affected the numbers and characteristics of lawsuits filed and require further investigation as well.

Parental alienation is when one parent denigrates the other to turn their children against that parent, often after a separation or divorce. It is well-documented but poorly understood as a form of domestic abuse. This study explores how one Austrian and one Swedish father experience parental alienation in the wake of false allegations of sex abuse, how they perceive their emotional situation after the separation, how their interactions with their children have been affected and what economic impact this has had on their lives.  The study concentrates on white, heterosexual, agnostic men. It is based upon in-depth interviews, and analytically framed within the parental alienation theory. The analysis identified several core themes suggesting the need for better education and training on parental alienation, and strategies to enable effective change to public policies and family law.

L’objectif principal de cette thèse de doctorat est de déterminer, à l’aide d’une grille d’observation des comportements parentaux après la séparation , si des catégories de la grille permettent de distinguer entre eux les couples parentaux où le risque de Détérioration du Lien Parent-Enfant en contexte de séparation conflictuelle (DLPE) est très élevé des couples parentaux où le risque de DLPE est très faible. De plus, trois objectifs secondaires s’ajoutent à notre objectif principal. Premièrement, nous avons tenté de voir s’il était possible de prédire les cas où les risques de DLPE sont très élevés. Deuxièmement, nous avons exploré comment la DLPE s’inscrit dans les conséquences pouvant découler de la séparation parentale. Et enfin, troisièmement, nous avons brièvement exploré la question des allégations d’agression sexuelle envers l’enfant dans les contextes de DLPE. Cette thèse est composée de deux articles et d’une note de recherche brève. Le premier article s’intitule En quoi et pourquoi les hommes et les femmes sont-ils affectés différemment par la séparation conjugale? Cet article est une recension critique de la littérature traitant des conséquences du divorce chez les adultes ainsi que des conséquences différentielles du divorce pour les hommes et les femmes. Dans cet article, des hypothèses explicatives quant à l’origine de ces diverses conséquences sont discutées et nous proposons de les conceptualiser sous la forme d’un éventail rendant compte des impacts tant positifs que négatifs, notamment à une extrémité du continuum où se retrouvent les dynamiques DLPE. Ce continuum sur lequel s’inscrit la DLPE permet de conceptualiser et de discuter de l’adaptation ou de la mésadaptation des individus face à la séparation. Dans cet article, notre regard sur la DLPE fait ressortir les lacunes de la recherche actuelle sur ce phénomène. Il ressort un manque flagrant de connaissances du contexte d’apparition du phénomène, de connaissances empiriques sur la question des allégations d’abus sexuel se produisant dans le cadre de telles dynamiques ainsi que de connaissances des caractéristiques et des comportements des individus qui y sont impliqués. Conséquemment, notre article met l’emphase sur la nécessité qu’une tradition de recherche se développe dans le domaine de la DLPE afin de clarifier tous ces aspects. Enfin, cet article met en lumière différents facteurs de risque et différents facteurs de protection susceptibles d’expliquer que le divorce ait des conséquences différentes chez les hommes et les femmes. Le deuxième article s’intitule Étude exploratoire des caractéristiques et des comportements de couples parentaux séparés engagés dans une dynamique de Détérioration du Lien Parent-Enfant. Cet article cherchait à déterminer si les couples parentaux séparés hautement à risque d’être engagés dans une dynamique de DLPE se distinguent des couples parentaux séparés dont le risque de DLPE est faible sur certaines variables. Nous avons étudié cette question auprès de notre échantillon de 82 couples parentaux séparés pour lesquels le risque de DLPE est évalué comme étant soit très faible (groupe de comparaison) ou soit très élevé (en tenant compte du fait que la mère ou le père soit le parent dénigrant). À cette fin, nous avons utilisé un instrument de mesure, la Grille d’observation de la Détérioration du Lien Parent-Enfant après la séparation (GODLPE), adapté de celui développé par Johnston, Walters, & Olesen, (2005). Les résultats obtenus à l’aide de tests d’analyse de variance et de khi-deux démontrent que les ex-couples du groupe de comparaison se distinguent des ex-couples du groupe où le risque de DLPE est très élevé par un mariage significativement plus long et un niveau de conflit plus élevé. Également, les résultats démontrent que les parents du groupe de comparaison, les parents dénigrés et les parents dénigrants se distinguent entre eux quant à leurs comportements coparentaux aliénants, à leur relation coparentale supportante, à leur relation coparentale méfiante et à leurs comportements de renversement de rôle. Finalement, notre étude révèle que la durée du mariage et l’intensité des conflits permettent de prédire le risque de DLPE. La note de recherche brève s’intitule Étude exploratoire des allégations d’agression sexuelle envers l’enfant dans un contexte de Détérioration du Lien Parent-Enfant. Cet note de recherche s’intéresse à ce qui a longtemps été considéré comme l’une des caractéristiques déterminantes des dynamiques de DLPE, soit les allégations d’agression sexuelle envers l’enfant professées par un parent à l’endroit de l’autre parent ou d’un membre de son entourage proche. Nous avons étudié cette question chez 82 couples parentaux séparés pour lesquels le risque de DLPE était évalué comme étant très faible ou très élevé. Les résultats indiquent qu’il n’existe aucune différence significative entre les groupes relativement à cette caractéristique. Cependant, les mères auraient davantage tendance à alléguer de tels abus que les pères. Enfin, aucune des allégations professées n’a été jugée suffisamment crédible pour que la Directeur de la protection de la Jeunesse (DPJ) juge nécessaire d’intervenir. Plusieurs hypothèses sont soulevées pour expliquer ces résultats. / The main goal of the present doctoral thesis was to determine whether certain items of an observation grid assessing parental behaviors following separation allow to distinguish parents whose risk of Deterioration of the Parent-Child Relationship (DPCR) is very high from those whose risk of DPCR is very low. This goal led to secondary objectives regarding the prediction of such dynamics, the issue of sexual abuse allegation toward the child in such situations, and the context in which this phenomenon appears in the context of parental separation. This thesis includes two articles and a brief note of research. The first article is entitled: How and Why Are Men and Women Affected Differently by Marital Separation? This article is a critical literature review regarding the consequences of divorce for adults as well as its differential impact on men and women. Explanatory hypotheses regarding the origin of these diverse impacts are discussed. Furthermore, this article offers a conceptualization of such impacts as a continuum, which takes into account the positive and as well as the negative consequences of divorce, such as the dynamics of DPCR following separation. Different risk factors and protective factors are also suggested. The second article is entitled: Exploratory Study of the Characteristics and Behaviors of Separated Couples Engaged in a Dynamic of Deterioration of the Parent-Child Relationship. This article discusses whether it is possible to distinguish, on certain variables, separated couples who are at high risk of being engaged in a dynamic of DPCR from those who are at low risk. This issue was studied among 82 separated couples for which the risk of DPCR was assessed as being very low or very high (in the latter case was distinguished the group where the mother was the denigrating parent from the group where the father was the denigrating parent). An instrument called the Deterioration of the Parent-Child Relationship Observation Grid (DPCROG), adapted from an instrument developed by Johnson, Walters, & Olesen, 2005, was used in the present study. Analyses of variance and chi-squared analyses were carried out and revealed that ex-couples in the group at high risk for DPCR distinguished themselves from ex-couples in the comparison group by a significantly longer marriage and a higher level of conflict. In addition, results of 2 X 2 repeated measures analyses of variance, as well as results of Tukey’s post-hoc tests, revealed that parents in the comparison group, denigrated parents, and denigrating parents differed from one another in terms of their alienating coparenting behaviors, their supportive coparenting relationship, their mistrustful coparenting relationship and their role reversal behaviors. Finally, results of Tukey’s post-hoc analyses and chi-squared analyses indicated that the length of marriage and the intensity of conflict allow to predict the risk of DPCR. The brief note of research is entitled: Exploratory Study of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations in the context of a Deterioration of the Parent-Child Relationship. This note of research is concerned with what has long been considered as one of the characteristics of the dynamics of DPCR: the allegation of child sexual abuse declared by a parent against the other parent or against people close to the other parent. This issue was studied among 82 separated couples for which the risk of DPCR was assessed as being very high or very low. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between groups in regards to these allegations. Furthermore, mothers seemed to have a greater tendency to allege such abuse in comparison to fathers. Finally, whereas none of these allegations were judged as sufficiently credible in order for the Direction de la Protection de la Jeunesse (DPJ) to intervene, several hypotheses were raised to explain this finding.

L’objectif principal de cette thèse de doctorat est de déterminer, à l’aide d’une grille d’observation des comportements parentaux après la séparation , si des catégories de la grille permettent de distinguer entre eux les couples parentaux où le risque de Détérioration du Lien Parent-Enfant en contexte de séparation conflictuelle (DLPE) est très élevé des couples parentaux où le risque de DLPE est très faible. De plus, trois objectifs secondaires s’ajoutent à notre objectif principal. Premièrement, nous avons tenté de voir s’il était possible de prédire les cas où les risques de DLPE sont très élevés. Deuxièmement, nous avons exploré comment la DLPE s’inscrit dans les conséquences pouvant découler de la séparation parentale. Et enfin, troisièmement, nous avons brièvement exploré la question des allégations d’agression sexuelle envers l’enfant dans les contextes de DLPE. Cette thèse est composée de deux articles et d’une note de recherche brève. Le premier article s’intitule En quoi et pourquoi les hommes et les femmes sont-ils affectés différemment par la séparation conjugale? Cet article est une recension critique de la littérature traitant des conséquences du divorce chez les adultes ainsi que des conséquences différentielles du divorce pour les hommes et les femmes. Dans cet article, des hypothèses explicatives quant à l’origine de ces diverses conséquences sont discutées et nous proposons de les conceptualiser sous la forme d’un éventail rendant compte des impacts tant positifs que négatifs, notamment à une extrémité du continuum où se retrouvent les dynamiques DLPE. Ce continuum sur lequel s’inscrit la DLPE permet de conceptualiser et de discuter de l’adaptation ou de la mésadaptation des individus face à la séparation. Dans cet article, notre regard sur la DLPE fait ressortir les lacunes de la recherche actuelle sur ce phénomène. Il ressort un manque flagrant de connaissances du contexte d’apparition du phénomène, de connaissances empiriques sur la question des allégations d’abus sexuel se produisant dans le cadre de telles dynamiques ainsi que de connaissances des caractéristiques et des comportements des individus qui y sont impliqués. Conséquemment, notre article met l’emphase sur la nécessité qu’une tradition de recherche se développe dans le domaine de la DLPE afin de clarifier tous ces aspects. Enfin, cet article met en lumière différents facteurs de risque et différents facteurs de protection susceptibles d’expliquer que le divorce ait des conséquences différentes chez les hommes et les femmes. Le deuxième article s’intitule Étude exploratoire des caractéristiques et des comportements de couples parentaux séparés engagés dans une dynamique de Détérioration du Lien Parent-Enfant. Cet article cherchait à déterminer si les couples parentaux séparés hautement à risque d’être engagés dans une dynamique de DLPE se distinguent des couples parentaux séparés dont le risque de DLPE est faible sur certaines variables. Nous avons étudié cette question auprès de notre échantillon de 82 couples parentaux séparés pour lesquels le risque de DLPE est évalué comme étant soit très faible (groupe de comparaison) ou soit très élevé (en tenant compte du fait que la mère ou le père soit le parent dénigrant). À cette fin, nous avons utilisé un instrument de mesure, la Grille d’observation de la Détérioration du Lien Parent-Enfant après la séparation (GODLPE), adapté de celui développé par Johnston, Walters, & Olesen, (2005). Les résultats obtenus à l’aide de tests d’analyse de variance et de khi-deux démontrent que les ex-couples du groupe de comparaison se distinguent des ex-couples du groupe où le risque de DLPE est très élevé par un mariage significativement plus long et un niveau de conflit plus élevé. Également, les résultats démontrent que les parents du groupe de comparaison, les parents dénigrés et les parents dénigrants se distinguent entre eux quant à leurs comportements coparentaux aliénants, à leur relation coparentale supportante, à leur relation coparentale méfiante et à leurs comportements de renversement de rôle. Finalement, notre étude révèle que la durée du mariage et l’intensité des conflits permettent de prédire le risque de DLPE. La note de recherche brève s’intitule Étude exploratoire des allégations d’agression sexuelle envers l’enfant dans un contexte de Détérioration du Lien Parent-Enfant. Cet note de recherche s’intéresse à ce qui a longtemps été considéré comme l’une des caractéristiques déterminantes des dynamiques de DLPE, soit les allégations d’agression sexuelle envers l’enfant professées par un parent à l’endroit de l’autre parent ou d’un membre de son entourage proche. Nous avons étudié cette question chez 82 couples parentaux séparés pour lesquels le risque de DLPE était évalué comme étant très faible ou très élevé. Les résultats indiquent qu’il n’existe aucune différence significative entre les groupes relativement à cette caractéristique. Cependant, les mères auraient davantage tendance à alléguer de tels abus que les pères. Enfin, aucune des allégations professées n’a été jugée suffisamment crédible pour que la Directeur de la protection de la Jeunesse (DPJ) juge nécessaire d’intervenir. Plusieurs hypothèses sont soulevées pour expliquer ces résultats. / The main goal of the present doctoral thesis was to determine whether certain items of an observation grid assessing parental behaviors following separation allow to distinguish parents whose risk of Deterioration of the Parent-Child Relationship (DPCR) is very high from those whose risk of DPCR is very low. This goal led to secondary objectives regarding the prediction of such dynamics, the issue of sexual abuse allegation toward the child in such situations, and the context in which this phenomenon appears in the context of parental separation. This thesis includes two articles and a brief note of research. The first article is entitled: How and Why Are Men and Women Affected Differently by Marital Separation? This article is a critical literature review regarding the consequences of divorce for adults as well as its differential impact on men and women. Explanatory hypotheses regarding the origin of these diverse impacts are discussed. Furthermore, this article offers a conceptualization of such impacts as a continuum, which takes into account the positive and as well as the negative consequences of divorce, such as the dynamics of DPCR following separation. Different risk factors and protective factors are also suggested. The second article is entitled: Exploratory Study of the Characteristics and Behaviors of Separated Couples Engaged in a Dynamic of Deterioration of the Parent-Child Relationship. This article discusses whether it is possible to distinguish, on certain variables, separated couples who are at high risk of being engaged in a dynamic of DPCR from those who are at low risk. This issue was studied among 82 separated couples for which the risk of DPCR was assessed as being very low or very high (in the latter case was distinguished the group where the mother was the denigrating parent from the group where the father was the denigrating parent). An instrument called the Deterioration of the Parent-Child Relationship Observation Grid (DPCROG), adapted from an instrument developed by Johnson, Walters, & Olesen, 2005, was used in the present study. Analyses of variance and chi-squared analyses were carried out and revealed that ex-couples in the group at high risk for DPCR distinguished themselves from ex-couples in the comparison group by a significantly longer marriage and a higher level of conflict. In addition, results of 2 X 2 repeated measures analyses of variance, as well as results of Tukey’s post-hoc tests, revealed that parents in the comparison group, denigrated parents, and denigrating parents differed from one another in terms of their alienating coparenting behaviors, their supportive coparenting relationship, their mistrustful coparenting relationship and their role reversal behaviors. Finally, results of Tukey’s post-hoc analyses and chi-squared analyses indicated that the length of marriage and the intensity of conflict allow to predict the risk of DPCR. The brief note of research is entitled: Exploratory Study of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations in the context of a Deterioration of the Parent-Child Relationship. This note of research is concerned with what has long been considered as one of the characteristics of the dynamics of DPCR: the allegation of child sexual abuse declared by a parent against the other parent or against people close to the other parent. This issue was studied among 82 separated couples for which the risk of DPCR was assessed as being very high or very low. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between groups in regards to these allegations. Furthermore, mothers seemed to have a greater tendency to allege such abuse in comparison to fathers. Finally, whereas none of these allegations were judged as sufficiently credible in order for the Direction de la Protection de la Jeunesse (DPJ) to intervene, several hypotheses were raised to explain this finding.

It's a misconception that those who leave a violent relationship are safer than those who stay. For those who have children with their perpetrator there is an increased risk for post-separation violence (Fleury, Sullivan & Bybee, 2000). The aim of this study has been to examine the child rights perspective through how the court judges and resonates in custody disputes with information regarding violence and therefore a possible risk for post-separation violence. Data was retrieved in the form of 34 custody cases from the court of appeal. In order to fulfil the purpose of the study a multi-method investigation has been used, both a quantitative content analysis and a discourse analysis. The results showed that the parent who was mainly referred to as the perpetrator was assigned visitation rights in 64.4 % of the cases, joint custody in 46.6 % and housing in 20 %. The main result showed that the courts ruled the child’s right to close and good contact with both parents outweighs the risk of post-separation abuse, either towards the other parent or the child himself. Children should be allowed to grow up with both parents. However, one could question at what price.