ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS THE STRING OF 10,000 FIRECRACKERS by Jan Becker Florida International University, 2017 Miami, Florida Professor Les Standiford, Major Professor THE STRING OF 10,000 FIRECRACKERS is a collection of personal essays that examines the narrator’s upbringing as a Marine Corps brat, and her experience immigrating into civilian society in the United States after a childhood segregated behind barbed-wire on military bases. The collection begins with the title essay, when the narrator, at nine years-of-age, tosses an ignited string of 10,000 firecrackers at her stepfather, a decorated Vietnam veteran, triggering post-traumatic flashback, and a reflection on the author’s experience recovering traumatic amnesia. Intended to mimic the disjointed recall of trauma, the opening essay also serves to inform the subsequent essays in the collection, which take place between 1974 and 2014. Thematically, the collection explores: alienation from homeland and family, the diasporic nature of military life, the devastating effects of war, childhood sexual abuse, violence, death and grief, breaking the silence of long-held family secrets, and finding a place to call home.

Orientador: Sandra Maria Herondina Coelho Ávila de Aguiar / Resumo: A Violência contra a criança vem se alastrando por todo o mundo, não respeitando raça, idade, classe social, gênero ou cor. Oculta pelo baixo nível da sociedade em conhecimento sobre o tema, pela falta de denúncias, estatísticas e o silêncio da população, a violência que se manifesta pelos maus-tratos passando pela negligência e o abuso sexual, podendo levar à morte, atinge um patamar de descaso pelos profissionais da área de saúde que este estudo ressalta. Ao avaliar o conhecimento de médicos e cirurgiões-dentistas, através de questionários, sobre maustratos o autor conclui que estes apresentam conhecimentos a respeito do tema, reconhecem os sinais e sintomas característicos da criança maltratada e do perpetrador assim como os órgãos de proteção à criança, porém não sabem como documentar as evidências e quando suspeitam do fato não denunciam, simplesmente se omitem. Salienta ainda que os cursos de graduação não estão dando o devido valor ao assunto. / Abstract: The violence against children is spreading all over the world, regardless of race, age, social class, gender or color. Hidden by society's low level of knowledge, by the lack of denounces, statistics and the silence of the population, the violence that is shown by mistratment passing by neglect and sexual abuse, that might kill, reaches a level of no concerne by the health area professionals that is highlighted by this study. On evaluating the knowledge of physicians' and dentists', by questionaries, about mistreatment the author concludes that these people show knowledge about the theme, recognize the carachteristics signals and simptoms of the abused child and of the person who caused it, such as the child protection organizations, however they don't know how to document the evidences and when they have a suspect of the fact, they don't make denounces, they just don't care. The autor also emphasises that the under-graduate courses are not covering the subject. / Mestre

Bakgrund: Verksamheter som arbetar med barn är enligt svensk lag skyldiga att anmäla vid misstanke om att ett barn kan ha utsatts för fysiskt våld. Sjuksköterskan kan dagligen komma i kontakt med barn och deras familjer och har därför en central roll när det kommer till att identifiera tecken. Syfte: Litteraturstudiens syfte var att beskriva sjuksköterskans upplevelse i vårdmötet med barn som misstänks ha blivit utsatt för fysiskt våld av en förälder. Metod: En litteraturstudie med innehållsanalys som metod där resultatet är grundat på nio vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultatet: Ur artiklarna framkom två huvudkategorier: att hantera en befarad förövare och att sakna stöd. De subkategorier som framkom ur vardera kategorier var; att sakna kunskap, att sakna insyn om anmälningsprocessen, känsla före plikt, svårhanterligt möte med föräldrarna, osäkerhet och stressfylld arbetssituation. Bristande kunskap, stöd och utmaningar i arbetet upplevdes som en bidragande faktor till sjuksköterskans känsla av otillräcklighet. Konklusion: Riktlinjer samt lagar bör belysas i sjuksköterskans grundutbildning för att minska känslan av otillräcklighet. All hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal bör få adekvat utbildning inom ämnesområdet, eftersom daglig kontakt med barn kan förekomma. / Background: According to the Swedish Social Service Act, all healthcare professionals have an obligation to report any suspicion that a child has been abused by their parent. When it comes to identifying signs of physical abuse the nurses has a central role because it can be easier for a person that sees children and families on a regular basis to identify abuse. Aim: The aim of the literature study was to describe nurses´ experience in the healthcare meeting with children suspected of being subjected to physical abuse by their parent. Method: A general literature study with qualitative approach based on nine studies. Result: The result emerged into two main categories: to handle a feared perpetrator and to lack support. The subcategories that emerged were; the lack of knowledge, lack transparency about the registration process, feeling before duty, difficult meeting with the parents, uncertainty and stressful work situation. Lack of knowledge, support and challenges at work were perceived as a contributing factor to the nurse's sense of insufficiency. Conclusion: Guidelines and laws should be highlighted in the nurse's primary education to reduce the feeling of insufficiency. All healthcare professionals should receive adequate education in the subject area, as daily contact with children may occur.

Background: Previous research has demonstrated that a history of childhood maltreatment can lead to significant negative consequences across multiple domains of functioning. A significant minority of individuals remain resilience to such negative consequences, necessitating further research into the factors which protect against negative outcomes in young people who have experienced adversity. A systematic review of the literature was carried out in order to assess the evidence base for factors that predict adolescent resilience following childhood maltreatment. Several factors across the individual, family and community level were identified, however, evidence regarding these factors was mixed. Factors that have been shown to predict resilience in other age groups require further validation within adolescent samples. Aim: The first aim of this study was to investigate the role of resilience in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress. The second aim was to address a possible role for attachment in mediating the relationship between childhood maltreatment and resilience. Method: Adolescents aged 13 – 17 who were attending Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services were asked to complete measures of childhood maltreatment, individual resilience, attachment and psychological distress. Results: Resilience was shown to mediate the relationship between maltreatment and psychological distress. Attachment avoidance was found to mediate the relationship between maltreatment and resilience but not when emotional reactivity was included in the resilience index. Attachment anxiety did not mediate the relationship between maltreatment and resilience, however, maltreatment history was found to moderate the relationship between attachment anxiety and resilience. Discussion: Generalisability of this study was limited due to possible bias within the recruited sample. Implications of the significant results are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining the effects significant symbolic interactions such as victimization, have on the acceptance of aggression and the expectation of assertive traits in children. Information from the General Social Survey (years 1973, 1975, 1976, and 1978) is used to establish measures of victimization, acceptance of aggression, and expectations of assertive traits in children. The findings provide only slight support for a model which places emphasis on the importance of traumatic events in bringing about changes in attitudes. Factors such as age, occupational prestige, education, and military experience appear to be helpful in explaining the conditions under which attitude changes are most likely to occur as a function of victimization.

Methodology of investigation of sexual offences Key words: child abuse, investigation, examination Summary This diploma thesis deals with issues in investigation of sexual crimes, particularly child sexual abuse. Sexual criminality is a very extensive topic, so I decided to aim the thesis for specifics of investigation related to abused children. The aim of the work is to characterise investigation regarding specifics typical for sexual offences. There is difference between adult and child victims. This must be considered in the process of investigation. Each person taking part in investigation should have achieved at least basic course in psychology. It is necessary to apply considerate approach to restrain from secondary victimization. The first chapter describes the term of sexual abuse, fundamental definitions and forms. Current legal regulations in the Czech Republic are analyzed there. The second part is devoted to criminological characteristics. This chapter is about offenders, victims and typical ways of commission. I compare the situation in which the perpetrator comes from the family with the situation of the perpetrator out of the family. Graphs based on police statistics serve for illustration. The next part (chapter 3 - chapter 8) corncerns especially the beginning of investigation, iniciatory...

M.A. (Social Work) / The important role that social workers, in relation to the assessment of emotional abuse play, necessitated an investigation of the essence of all forms of child abuse, namely emotional abuse. The aim of this study was to set certain guidelines for the assessment of emotional child abuse which could be used by the social workers in service of the "Sinodale Kommissie vir die Diens van Barmhartigheid van Noord-Transvaal". During this investigation a qualitative as well as a quantitative approach was followed, thus, this study could be described as exploring/ descriptive. A literature review, where the indicators of emotional abuse was defined, was firstly undertaken. Secondly, a questionnaire was drawn up and completed by twenty five selected social workers. The aim of this questionnaire was to ascertain what the perception of, the family care worker in relation to the assessment of emotional abuse, was. Furthermore, one focus group materialised and four interviews with concerned parties were conducted. These parties included a social consultant from a state department, a social worker in private practise whom is concerned with the training of people involved in assessment of child abuse and two Commissionaries of Child Welfare. The purpose of these interviews was to determine their perception of factors involved in emotional abuse as well as their interpretation of the definition of emotional abuse in the Act on Child Care. A short, structured interview schedule was used to obtain certain general information that could be of value when interpreting the data. It was concluded that the perceptions of social workers and other concerned parties corresponded with concepts gained from the literature. Recommendations concerning the assessment of emotional child abuse, was also disclosed. Guidelines for the assessment of certain factors of emotional abuse were also expressed.

This longitudinal study addresses the interface between the emerging paradigm of Transpersonal Psychology, which recognizes the transbiographical domain of consciousness, and the clinical area of child abuse. By using the transpersonal concept of the karmic complex, which was developed in the discourse of Roger Woolger, it explores the clinical value of past-life regressions and other transpersonal phenomena in the therapeutic process. The study provides an in-depth phenomenological description and a theoreticalheuristic explication of the experience of a single subject who was an adult survivor of physical and sexual abuse as well as early emotional deprivation in childhood, and who, over a four-year period of intensive psychotherapy, experienced a wide spectrum of transpersonal phenomena which included 123 past-life regressions. The therapeutic process could be clearly delineated into a biographical phase, which was dominated by biographical traumas, and a subsequ~nt transpersonal phase, during which the focus was almost exclusively on transpersonal material. This provided the opportunity to explore the therapeutic impact of trans personal mechanisms" of healing on an interlocking constellation of complexes in terms of achieving an integration of archetypal opposites in the psyche. The study provides strong support for transpersonal concepts about the nature of consciousness, as developed by Grof and Woolger. It affirms spirituality as an intrinsic property of the psyche, and verifies that the healing of psychological trauma is on a continuum with the process of spiritual purification and growth. The ,study establishes support for the clinical value of the karmic complex as a conceptual tool and provides a systematic, extended analysis of the multi levelled processes involved in the breaking of the complex.

Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a childhood disorder that arises almost exclusively in child custody disputes. Its primary manifestation is the unjustified rejection of a once-loved parent by a child due to a combination of the 'programming' parent's alienating techniques and the child's own contributions to the vilification of the targeted parent. Parental Alienation (PA) is differentiated from PAS as in the case of the former the child's rejection is justified and may be explained either by normal developmental behaviours or by child abuse that involves no form of programming. The purpose of this study is to develop a preliminary interview protocol to aid in the detection of PAS, with a special emphasis on differentiating false allegations of abuse, which usually accompany severe PAS, from true abuse. The aim of the study is to develop a protocol to enhance diagnostic clarity and facilitate appropriate custody-related recommendations. The interview protocol is based on an extensive thematic literature analysis in conjunction with existing guidelines for conducting a child custody and visitation interview. The interview protocol comprises a child and parent section, which both have their own reference tables with supporting corresponding information. The protocol 's administration instructions are outlined in a covering information page. Rigour was added to the protocol by having it assessed for clarity and accessibility by four medico-legal professionals with custody-related experience, and their opinions regarding the protocol's structure, sections, questions and reference tables were taken into consideration in the revision of the protocol. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The primary intent of this study was to seek solutions to the practical problems experienced by practitioners in their management of child abuse cases. A fundamental problem regarding the current management of child abuse is that there is no guarantee that a child entering the child protective system will be dealt with in terms of a set procedure and/or protected against further abuse. To address this problem in the Western Cape, the Intervention Research (IR) methodology (Rothman & Thomas, 1994) was used to develop a Protocol for the Multi-Disciplinary Management of Child Abuse and Neglect. The protocol was designed for agencies that intervene in instances of child abuse. It establishes criteria and procedures for interdisciplinary co-ordination and effective case management, delineates the professional roles and responsibilities and provides step-by-step intervention procedures.