Thesis--Stanford University. / Includes bibliographical references.

[No abstract submitted] / Arts, Faculty of / Philosophy, Department of / Graduate

Child abuse has been studied for the past twenty years in an attempt to define it, delineate etiology and suggest treatment modalities. Inadequate methodological controls and therapeutic assumptions incestuously shared have resulted in a theory that defines parents as bad, sick or ignorant but definitely as the culprits. More recently, sociological explanations have been written to present a psychosocial model for abuse. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a relationship exists between child abuse and a mother's knowledge of growth and development. Two groups of single parent, female headed families were chosen in the community. Twenty-three mothers participated in a thirty card growth and development sort, derived by the author from a developmental profile by Alpern and Boll (1972), indicating their understanding of when a child could first perform the behavior. The mothers were also assigned a number on an abuse continuum. The resulting data and demographic information were correlated using a Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient and Chi-Squared Contingency analysis at the 0.05 level of significance. No significant relationship was found between level of abuse or knowledge of growth and development. Some significant associations were found within the demographic characteristics, with implications for study of variable clusters. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

Typescript, etc. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

Forms in pocket. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

No description available.

Child labour is a global problem. There have been significant steps to combat the problem from international arena, but its prevalence gives reason for concerns. In this study a comparative case study of two African countries will be examined. The two countries are; Somalia and Namibia, where the first mentioned country are still having child labour and the last mentioned have succeeded in combating child labour. With a theoretical framework I will try to answer what made the Somalia failing and what made Namibia succeeding in the elimination of child labour. The methodology that has been used is a structured focused comparison. In the concluding part I will bring fourth several points of what Somalia can learn from Namibia.

The proposed study will investigate how having a speech and/or language impairment, as well as age, affect children’s self-esteem and levels of social anxiety compared to children who have typical language development (TLD). This cross-sectional correlational study will examine approximately 160 participants between the ages of 5 to 10 who fall into one of four communication type groups: speech impairments (speech sound disorders and/or stuttering), language impairments (specific language impairment), speech and language impairments, or TLD. The participants’ self-esteem, levels of social anxiety, and attitudes about their communication ability will be measured via established scales. Participants will also be asked questions after viewing an animated video depicting dogs with communication impairments, in order to assess their awareness of their communication abilities. Participants with speech and language impairments are expected to have the lowest self-esteem and highest levels of social anxiety, while participants with TLD are expected to have the highest self-esteem and lowest levels of social anxiety. The older participants are expected to experience more problems than the younger participants. Lastly, it is expected that the relationship between the participants’ age, self-esteem, and social anxiety will be mediated by their awareness of their communication impairments, and moderated by their attitudes about their communication impairments. These findings will hopefully increase the knowledge that children experiencing communication impairments may need assistance to aid their psychosocial well-being.

This study investigated decision making factors used by child caregivers to identify suspected child abuse and neglect and collected data on caregiver training in the recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect. Data was collected in July 1999 in fourteen north Texas childcare programs. One hundred twenty three teaching and administrative staff completed a survey based on Jacobson, A., Glass, J. and Ruggiere, P. (1998). Five teachers and five administrators chosen for convenience were read eleven vignettes describing possibly abusive situations to decide whether they were reportable or non-reportable, and to indicate factors used to make their decisions. Administrators (50%) and teachers (13.3%) reported being unfamiliar with child abuse and neglect definitions and reporting laws. Two thirds (66.7%) of the administrators and 39.8% of the teachers had received specific training in recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect. Administrators were more likely than teachers to report suspected child abuse and neglect. Teachers often reported to program administrators rather than state designated authorities. All subjects relied on information about children, but administrators also used information about parents, with teachers more likely to make excuses for parental actions. With 110 reporting opportunities, training was cited as a factor only twice by administrators. No teachers made reports to anyone other than program administrators, a factor named deference in this study. Four of five administrators expected deference from teachers when reporting decisions were made. Present training in the recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect is inadequate. Caregivers need additional training in differences between accidental and intentional injuries, detection of child sexual abuse and emotional neglect, recognition and assessment of injuries among infants and toddlers, and mandated reporting procedures. Further research on optimal training for accurate reporting of suspected abuse and neglect is needed. A mandate to report to authorities outside the child care center should be clarified in state law. Licensing individuals as well as programs would strengthen reporting by caregivers.

Typescript, etc.