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Several studies have found a number of internalizing (i.e., depressive and anxiety disorders) and externalizing (i.e., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder) disorders to be prevalent among youth who have experienced child maltreatment. Several studies have also demonstrated that aspects of the maltreatment experiences and family environment may potentially predict the severity or magnitude of psychopathology among maltreated children. The purpose of this study was to determine potential abuse-related (i.e., frequency, severity, relation to perpetrator, age at onset, other forms of maltreatment) and family environment (i.e., cohesion, adaptability) predictors of psychological comorbidity in sexually abused children with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants included 75 (56 female) clinically-referred children and adolescents aged 5.89-17.12 years (mean=10.95, SD=3.114) and their parents. Measures included the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, Epidemiological Version, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales, third edition, and a questionnaire assessing demographic and abuse-related information. Based on diagnostic status, participants were assigned to the Simple PTSD group (no comorbid diagnoses), the Internalizing group (met criteria for a depressive or anxiety disorder but no externalizing disorders), or the Global group (met criteria for an externalizing disorder and may or may not have met criteria for an internalizing disorder). Multinomial logistic regression models were estimated and odds ratio cutoff values were utilized to determine clinically significant predictors of comorbidity group. Results indicated that males were more likely to be in one of the comorbid groups (either Internalizing or Global groups) than females, and those who were abused multiple times were more likely to be in one of the two comorbid groups than participants who experienced one incident of abuse. Similarly, participants who had lower levels of family cohesion and adaptability were more likely to be in one of the comorbid groups than those who had higher levels of family cohesion and adaptability. Younger participants and those who had experienced penetration were more likely to have an externalizing diagnosis (i.e., be in the Global group) than older participants and those who had experienced less physically invasive forms of sexual abuse. Results are discussed in light of previous research and theoretical models of heterogeneous presentations of childhood traumatic stress.

Children in the child welfare system comprise a group characterized by their exposure to trauma via experiences of maltreatment, under circumstances presenting multiple risk factors for traumatic stress. High rates of posttraumatic stress have been observed in this population. However, there is currently no standard for the universal screening of children in child welfare for trauma exposure and traumatic stress. The purpose of this study was to analyze the trauma experiences of a sample of maltreated children and examine whether child welfare workers are effective screeners of traumatic stress symptoms with children from their caseloads. Method: A sample of children (N= 131) with trauma screenings completed by their child welfare workers and clinical measures of traumatic stress symptoms based on self or caregiver report was analyzed. Descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted. Hypotheses were tested with a series of four hierarchical regression models to determine whether workers’ screening information regarding child age, trauma exposure history and symptoms of traumatic stress were predictive of outcomes on the clinical measures completed. Results: Findings from the analyses revealed complex trauma exposure histories and high rates of traumatic stress symptoms among this generally younger sample of maltreated children. Additionally, the models tested supported workers’ efficacy in screening for symptoms of total posttraumatic stress and specific trauma symptoms of intrusion and avoidance. Workers were less effective in screening for the traumatic stress symptoms associated with arousal. Implications: These findings support the importance of identifying the trauma recovery needs of maltreated children and the utility of child protection workers in assisting with the trauma screening process. Implications are provided for associated practices, policies and training efforts regarding the implementation of a trauma screening protocol in child welfare. This would serve as a critical pathway for creating trauma-informed systems that better address the needs of maltreated children and their families.

INTRODUCTION: Child maltreatment is a significant public health problem that affects all countries and cultures alike. Child maltreatment, which includes neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse, can result in negative consequences that are lifelong and irreversible. Previous studies have shown the prevalence of all forms of child abuse in India, which is also home to one fifth of the world’s children. However, adequate resources and efforts are not being made to understand the true scope of this problem. AIM: The present study utilized an existing measure, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), to understand how parents from the South Indian culture defined acceptable child rearing practices and physical and emotional child abuse. The items from the physical and emotional abuse subscales on the CTQ were also tested for validity and reliability. It was hypothesized that fathers would report higher scores on the physical abuse subscale and mothers would report higher scores on the emotional abuse subscale. It was also hypothesized that parents would find spanking to be an acceptable form of discipline and note that both child physical and emotional abuse are not prevalent in the South Indian community residing in the United States. METHODS: This study recruited 41 participants (21 mothers and 20 fathers) to complete the CTQ. Of the total number of participants, ten were randomly assigned to participate in an in-depth interview, which focused on how parents in the South Indian community in Georgia interpreted the items on the CTQ and how parents defined child physical and emotional abuse. Reliability and validity testing was conducted using data analysis software SPSS 23.0. Qualitative analysis of the interviews involved Consensual Qualitative Research, identifying common themes among all ten interviews. RESULTS: Quantitative analysis revealed low to moderate internal consistency for the emotional abuse scale (α = 0.65) and moderate to high internal consistency for the physical abuse scale (α = 0.88). Independent t-test results showed that fathers reported higher scores on both the physical and emotional abuse subscale; however, these results were not significant. Using the Consensual Qualitative Research method, six domains were determined from the interviews. These included: (a) parent perspectives on child rearing practices, (b) spanking as a discipline practice, (c) country differences between India and the United States regarding discipline, (d) prevalence of abuse among the South Indian community in the United States, (e) reporting child abuse, and (f) parents’ awareness of resources to develop parenting skills. A majority of participants reported spanking as an acceptable form of discipline and believed that neither child physical nor emotional abuse was prevalent in the South Indian community in the United States. CONCLUSION: This study serves as formative research and encourages further investigation of different forms of child abuse in Indian populations, specifically child physical and emotional abuse. Understanding how a culture views children and child rearing practices is important in determining how abuse is defined within said culture. Societies that are more lenient and accepting of violence in general are at a greater risk for perpetrating the maltreatment of children. Establishing a concise definition of child abuse will aid in the development of valid measures that will determine the actual scope of the problem and create solutions, such as laws and policies that will shift a society’s view on appropriate interactions with children.

This study examined factors predictive of post foster care outcomes, with a particular focus on Emotional Intelligence (EI). EI was conceptualized using Bar-On's mixed model approach. Central study questions examined whether EI offered incremental prediction of several meaningful outcomes, over and above other contextual and individual variables. Outcomes included educational attainment, income level, various domains of Quality of Life (QOL), and mental health functioning. Twenty one foster alumni participated in the study. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses were performed. Predictor variables were organized into four blocks and entered using a hierarchical method in the following order: contextual foster care factors, transitional factors, general intelligence (IQ) and EI. Given the small sample size, relevant effect size estimates were used to interpret effects. Results of correlational analyses indicated that EI was meaningfully positively correlated with post-care educational attainment, income, personal growth, marital and extramarital relations, job characteristics and IQ. EI was inversely correlated with depression and anxiety. The results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that EI was the most robust predictor of post foster care outcomes: including annual income, educational attainment, personal growth, job characteristics, extra-marital, marital and extended family relations, depression and anxiety over and above contextual foster care factors, transitional factors, and IQ. Given the study's small sample size, results are regarded as tentative and in need of subsequent replication. Despite relevant limitation, EI is considered an important construct worthy of further study in the foster care population.

Child maltreatment is extremely prevalent and leads to a host of negative effects, both immediately and long term. Instances of maltreatment are often accompanied by deception, both by the perpetrator, as well as by the victim in order to avoid stigma and protect family. Thus, this study investigated social learning of deception through instances of maltreatment. 413 young adults completed an online survey assessing current attitudes toward deception, childhood maltreatment including child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, witnessing interparental violence, psychological abuse, neglect and parental addiction, social support, and participant addiction. Results indicated that neglect and psychological abuse during childhood, and current addiction were associated with a positive attitude toward deception. Severity of CSA and severity of neglect each interacted with role (agent or target) in the deceptive scenario to determine attitude toward deception. Severity of CPA interacted with perceived social support to determine attitude toward deception. Furthermore, victim's awareness of deception by perpetrators of CSA was associated with a more negative attitude toward deception. These findings support both attachment theory and social learning explanations for adulthood attitude toward deception. Attachment theory explains why neglected and psychologically abused individuals find their own deception more acceptable and other's deception less acceptable than their non-neglected counterparts, and why the opposite pattern is true for victims of CSA; and social learning theory's emphasis on attention and reinforcement to motivate behavior are supported by these findings.

With the increase in survival for children with cancer, part of the focus of current research is aimed towards evaluating how these children are adapting psychosocially. Neurocognitive deficits have been well established. However, there are multiple facets encompassing quality of life, including general mental health, lifestyles and health behaviors, and academic and cognitive functioning. The relationship between neurocognitive and psychosocial functioning has yet to be thoroughly evaluated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between neurocognitive and psychosocial functioning in survivors of brain tumors and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Data was collected from existing archival database comprised of patients of the at Cook Children's Medical Center in Texas. The sample consisted of 177 patients between the ages of 3 and 12 who were at least two years post-diagnosis. Measures used included the NEPSY and the Behavioral Assessment for Children. Statistical analyses included a several one-way analysis of variances, an independent samples t-test, a univariate analysis of variance, a hierarchical multiple regression, and odds ratio analyses. Results indicated survivors treated with neurosurgery alone appear to be less at risk for developing behavior problems than other treatment modalities. Also, brain tumor survivors demonstrate more problematic behaviors than survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Visuospatial functioning, diagnosis, and type of treatment were found to be predictive variables of behavior problems. Attention, and perhaps language, deficits may predispose children to more problems in their behavior. It is concluded that there are other factors affecting behavior in this population that were not accounted for in this analysis. It is recommended for future studies to research the individual clinical scales of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, obtain information from multiple informants, study this relationship longitudinally, and research additional factors that may be influencing the relationship between neurocognitive and psychosocial functioning. This provides evidence of risk factors that should be monitored as the child returns home and to school.

Impairments in aspects of social cognition have been found in children who have experienced maltreatment; however, the long-term impact of childhood maltreatment on social cognition is less well understood. This study examined areas of social cognition that may be associated with poor psychological, social, and emotional outcomes in adults who have experienced intra-familial childhood maltreatment. In a sample of university students (N = 68), childhood maltreatment was associated with social cognitive impairment in two models of emotional intelligence (EI), trait EI and ability EI, and advanced theory of mind (ToM). Higher frequency and severity of specific subtypes of childhood maltreatment predicted lower trait EI, ability EI, and ToM. In particular, neglect predicted lower ToM and ability EI scores. Psychological abuse alone predicted lower trait EI while physical abuse was not a significant predictor for any of the social-cognitive variables. Further, the data showed maternal vs. paternal maltreatment predicted specific social cognitive outcomes. Understanding the relationship between social cognitive deficits and intra-familial maltreatment may guide clinical and community assessment and treatment approaches, as well as provide information on the pervasive and continuing impact of childhood maltreatment. / February 2017