Showing papers by "David Finkelhor published in 2015"

Prevalence of Childhood Exposure to Violence, Crime, and Abuse: Results From the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence

Abstract: Importance It is important to estimate the burden of and trends for violence, crime, and abuse in the lives of children. Objective To provide health care professionals, policy makers, and parents with current estimates of exposure to violence, crime, and abuse across childhood and at different developmental stages. Design, Setting, and Participants The National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV) includes a representative sample of US telephone numbers from August 28, 2013, to April 30, 2014. Via telephone interviews, information was obtained on 4000 children 0 to 17 years old, with information about exposure to violence, crime, and abuse provided by youth 10 to 17 years old and by caregivers for children 0 to 9 years old. Main Outcome and Measure Exposure to violence, crime, and abuse using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. Results In total, 37.3% of youth experienced a physical assault in the study year, and 9.3% of youth experienced an assault-related injury. Two percent of girls experienced sexual assault or sexual abuse in the study year, while the rate was 4.6% for girls 14 to 17 years old. Overall, 15.2% of children and youth experienced maltreatment by a caregiver, including 5.0% who experienced physical abuse. In total, 5.8% witnessed an assault between parents. Only 2 significant rate changes could be detected compared with the last survey in 2011, namely, declines in past-year exposure to dating violence and lifetime exposure to household theft. Conclusions and Relevance Children and youth are exposed to violence, abuse, and crime in varied and extensive ways, which justifies continued monitoring and prevention efforts.

The burden of child maltreatment in China: a systematic review

Abstract: Objective To estimate the health and economic burdens of child maltreatment in China. Methods We did a systematic review for studies on child maltreatment in China using PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL-EBSCO, ERIC and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. We did meta-analyses of studies that met inclusion criteria to estimate the prevalence of child neglect and child physical, emotional and sexual abuse. We used data from the 2010 global burden of disease estimates to calculate disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) lost as a result of child maltreatment. Findings From 68 studies we estimated that 26.6% of children under 18 years of age have suffered physical abuse, 19.6% emotional abuse, 8.7% sexual abuse and 26.0% neglect. We estimate that emotional abuse in childhood accounts for 26.3% of the DALYs lost because of mental disorders and 18.0% of those lost because of self-harm. Physical abuse in childhood accounts for 12.2% of DALYs lost because of depression, 17.0% of those lost to anxiety, 20.7% of those lost to problem drinking, 18.8% of those lost to illicit drug use and 18.3% of those lost to self-harm. The consequences of physical abuse of children costs China an estimated 0.84% of its gross domestic product – i.e. 50 billion United States dollars – in 2010. The corresponding losses attributable to emotional and sexual abuse in childhood were 0.47% and 0.39% of the gross domestic product, respectively. Conclusion In China, child maltreatment is common and associated with large economic losses because many maltreated children suffer substantial psychological distress and might adopt behaviours that increase their risk of chronic disease.

Updated Trends in Child Maltreatment, 2013.

Abstract: The data in the tables and graphs included below are derived from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), which aggregates and publishes statistics from state child protection agencies. The most recent data from NCANDS were released in December, 2014, and concern cases of child maltreatment investigated in 2013 (USDHHS, 2015). http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/childmaltreatment-2013

Beyond Bullying: Aggravating Elements of Peer Victimization Episodes

Abstract: This study sought to identify features of peer victimization that aggravate negative outcomes in children. The features that were assessed include "power imbalance," a commonly used criterion in defining bullying, and 5 other characteristics: injury, weapon involvement, Internet involvement, sexual content, and bias content. Three outcomes were assessed: level of fear, missing school, and trauma symptoms. A nationally representative sample of 3,164 children and youth ages 6-17 (51.8% male; 68.4% white, 12.5% black, 13.5% Hispanic, 5.7% other race) was obtained through Random Digit Dial and supplemented with an address-based sample to capture cell-phone-only households. One child was randomly selected from each household. Interviews were conducted with parents of children age 6-9 and with the youths themselves if they were age 10-17. Peer victimization was assessed with the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ). Almost half (48.4%) of the entire sample of school-age children experienced at least 1 form of peer victimization in the past year. Injury and power imbalance independently increased the impact on children for all 3 outcomes. Additionally, weapon involvement and sexual content were associated with trauma symptoms, with sexual content having the strongest effect (B = .23, p < .001). This diversity of aggravating features suggests a need to reconsider the current emphasis on prioritizing bullying with its exclusionary power imbalance definition as the central focus for prevention and intervention. We recommend a broader focus on peer victimization along with more research to identify the aggravating features that signal the greatest need for intervention.

Intervention Following Family Violence: Best Practices and Helpseeking Obstacles in a Nationally Representative Sample of Families With Children

Abstract: Objective: To provide the first nationally representative data on service contact, police or advocate best practices, and helpseeking obstacles for family violence that involved exposure to children. Method: A nationally representative sample of 517 family violence incidents drawn from the 4,503 respondents to the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence II. Results: A range of 10 best practices were offered in 13‐58% of police contacts and 34‐97% of advocate contacts. Most police best practices were associated with increased likelihood of arrest. Referrals and information about restraining orders and shelter were associated with victim-perpetrator separation. There was marked case attrition for all criminal justice services, including reporting to police, in-person police responding, arrest, convictions, and incarceration. Only 10 cases resulted in jail time. Counter to hypothesis, higher rates of some police best practices were associated with lower likelihood of advocate contact. Also unexpectedly, higher rates of some obstacles, such as lack of transportation, were associated with higher use of police services. Conclusions: Referral to specific resources is recommended as a focus of crisis intervention efforts. Some family’s needs may be served by a single provider if best practices are used. Some obstacles may influence which services are sought rather than depress helpseeking altogether. These nationally representative data can be used as benchmarks for program evaluations and needs assessments.

A Typology of Offenders Who Use Online Communications to Commit Sex Crimes Against Minors

Abstract: This study aims to present a qualitative, empirically based typology of offenders who use online communications to commit sex crimes against minors, including offenders who met victims online and those who knew them in advance. Seventy-five reports made by law enforcement officers were analyzed using a qualitative software program, during which a typology defining 4 types of offenders was identified: the expert, the cynical, the affection-focused, and the sex-focused. Each type of offender was characterized by patterns of online communication, offline and online identity, relationship dynamics with the victim, and level of sex crime expertise. The typology reveals the heterogeneous nature of sex offenders who use online communications. This diversity must be addressed to provide satisfactory interventions for both victims and offenders.

Juvenile Justice Bulletin: Children's Exposure to Violence, Crime, and Abuse: An Update

Abstract: This bulletin discusses the second National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV II), which was conducted in 2011 as a followup to the original NatSCEV I survey. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sponsored both surveys. The Crimes against Children Research Center of the University of New Hampshire conducted the NatSCEV I survey between January and May 2008. NatSCEV I represented the first comprehensive national survey of children's past-year and lifetime exposure to violence, crime, and abuse in the home, school, and community across children and youth from ages 1 month to 17 years. (For more information on NatSCEV I, see "History of the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence"). Children are exposed to violence every day in their homes, schools, and communities. Such exposure can cause them significant physical, mental, and emotional harm with long-term effects that can last well into adulthood. The Attorney General launched Defending Childhood in September 2010 to unify the Department of Justice's efforts to address children's exposure to violence under one initiative. Through Defending Childhood, the Department is raising public awareness about the issue and supporting practitioners, researchers, and policymakers as they seek solutions to address it. A component of Defending Childhood, OJJDP's Safe Start Initiative continues efforts begun in 1999 to enhance practice, research, training and technical assistance, and public education about children and violence. Under Safe Start, OJJDP conducted the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence, the most comprehensive effort to date to measure the extent and nature of the violence that children endure and its consequences on their lives. This is the first study to ask children and caregivers about exposure to a range of violence, crime, and abuse in children's lives. As amply evidenced in this bulletin series, children's exposure to violence is pervasive and affects all ages. The research findings reported here and in the other bulletins in this series are critical to informing our efforts to protect children from its damaging effects. This article was adapted from Finkelhor, D., Turner, H.A., Shattuck, A.M., and Hamby, S.L. 2013. Violence, crime, and abuse exposure in a national sample of children and youth: An update. JAMA Pediatrics 167(7):614–621.

Toolkit on mapping legal, health and social services responses to child maltreatment. Jud, A, Jones, L, Mikton, C. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization, 2015.

Abstract: The toolkit, developed with academic from several countries, provides researchers with guidance for improving the quality of studies that use administrative data to better ascertain child maltreatment incidence, response and service delivery.

A National profile of children exposed to family violence: Police response, family response, and individual impact.

Abstract: A National Profile of Children Exposed to Family Violence: Police Response, Family Response and Individual Impact provides the first nationally representative data on youth contact with law enforcement and victim services – including best practices and help-seeking obstacles – for cases of family violence involving exposure to children. These data come from a nationally representative sample of 517 family violence incidents drawn from the 4503 respondents to the Second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV II). The NatSCEV study, conducted in 2011, involved telephone interviews with parents of children age 0-9 and with the youths themselves if they were age 10-17. Between 13%-58% of police contacts and between 34%-97% of advocate contacts following domestic violence incidents involving a child witness included actions from one or more of 10 best practices. Most police best practices were associated with increased likelihood of arrest. Almost half of children witnessed an arrest when one occurred, though only 1 in 4 youth were spoken to by police responding to the scene. Youth exposed to domestic violence, as a group, have high rates of other victimizations and adversities. Although this group reports elevated trauma symptoms, the characteristics of a specific domestic violence incident and the response to that incident by police were generally unrelated to youth's current trauma symptoms after controlling for history of victimization and other adversities. However, child current trauma symptoms were lowest when perpetrators left the house after the incident, followed by when no one moved out, and were highest when the victim moved out. Child witnesses to family violence are a highly victimized group, and it is recommended that they systematically receive assessment and services when any member of their family enters the system due to family violence. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ 2010-IJ-CX-0021 Final Report 3