Revealing the existence of child abuse in the context of marital breakdown and custody and access disputes

Brown, Thea; Frederico, Margartia; Hewitt, Lesley; Sheehan, Rosemary

doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(00)00140-x

Cited by 43 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Professional help: An Australian study (Brown, Frederico, Hewitt, & Sheehan, 2000) explored court records of approximately 200 families and shows how federal family courts in Australia deal with child abuse (not limited to sexual abuse) in the context of legal and de facto marital breakdown. In Australia, separate authorities provide Child Protective Services (CPS) and other child welfare services.…”

Section: Judicial Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

“…When the allegation is judged to be founded, the judge generally terminates visitation rights, though s/he in some cases might allow visitation if it is considered to be in the child's best interest (e.g., because the child feels emotionally attached to the accused parent). In Australia, it is reported that courts often order a change in access or custody, and limit the accused parent's access to the child (Brown et al, 2000).…”

Section: Judicial Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thoennes and Pearson (1988) reported that family court personnel had indicated that deliberately fabricated allegations are extremely rare, however the authors did not quantify this. In reviewing court records of around 200 families in custody and access disputes in Australia, Brown et al (2000) found that around 9% of the allegations had been proven to be false. In evaluating a small sample of 11 children in cases of suspected child sexual abuse in custody disputes, Green (1986) concluded that four out of the eleven cases had been fabricated.…”

Section: Founded Vs Unfoundedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One study reported on children's well-being during the divorce process. In a study of approximately 200 Australian families where CSA allegations had been made during divorce or custody/visitation disputes, Brown et al (2000) measured levels of distress of the children involved in these cases. Due to the long time of the investigation, the multiple hearings and a number of court ordered changes in custody and visitation, children were found to be suffering high levels of distress: "The longer the dispute took the greater was the child's deterioration" (Brown et al, 2000: p. 856).…”

Section: Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Between Scylla and Charybdis: A Literature Review of Sexual Abuse Allegations in Divorce Proceedings

Smit¹,

Antokolskaia²,

Bijleveld³

2015

PSYCH

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In this study international literature is reviewed on allegations of child sexual abuse (CSA) during divorce proceedings. It aims to build upon the existing knowledge on this topic by combining empirical findings from various disciplines. We attempted to answer four research questions that focus on 1) the prevalence of CSA allegations in divorce procedures; 2) the response of family court judges; 3) the ratio of founded vs. unfounded allegations of CSA under these circumstances; and 4) the possible consequences of the false positives and false negatives in legal decision making for the children and parents involved. The literature study shows that civil judges often seek professional help. The judge generally tends to (temporarily) stop contact between accused parent and child during an investigation. Additionally, there is a general concern about the many actors involved in such cases. It can also be cautiously assumed that one in seven to eight allegations is not founded. We conclude that civil judges have to make important decisions under difficult circumstances: there is little or no evidence, no guidelines, external help lengthens the trial, and there are serious consequences of false positives and false negatives in legal decision-making. Literature is surprisingly scarce and generally outdated.

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Section: Judicial Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Judicial Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Founded Vs Unfoundedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Between Scylla and Charybdis: A Literature Review of Sexual Abuse Allegations in Divorce Proceedings

Smit¹,

Antokolskaia²,

Bijleveld³

2015

PSYCH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Physical abuse during childhood has been associated with parental addiction, 4 parental conflict, divorce, step-families and single-parent families, 4,7,[17][18][19][20] household poverty, 19,21 and parental unemployment. [17][18][19]21 There is some evidence to indicate a potential relationship between parental divorce during childhood and adult cancer such as upper aerodigestive tract, esophageal, anal, pancreatic, lung, and cervical cancer in adulthood. The relationship is thought to be mediated through health risk behaviors such as increased use of alcohol, tobacco, and risky sex practices.…”

Section: Childhood Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making a link between childhood physical abuse and cancer

Fuller‐Thomson

Brennenstuhl

2009

Cancer

105

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BACKGROUND:Abuse in childhood is associated with many negative adult health outcomes. Only 1 study to date has found an association between childhood abuse and cancer. By using a regionally representative community sample, this preliminary study sought to investigate the association between childhood physical abuse and cancer while controlling for 3 clusters of risk factors: childhood stressors, adult health behaviors, and adult socioeconomic status.METHODS:Regional data from the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan were selected from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey. Of the 13,092 respondents, 7.4% (n = 1025) reported that they had been physically abused as a child by someone close to them, and 5.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.9‐6.6) reported that they had been diagnosed with cancer by a health professional. The regional level response rate was 84%.RESULTS:Childhood physical abuse was associated with 49% higher odds (95% CI, 1.10‐2.01) of cancer when adjusting for age, sex, and race only. The odds ratio decreased only slightly to 47% higher odds (95% CI, 1.05‐1.99) when the model was adjusted for all 3 clusters of risk factors.CONCLUSIONS:A significant and highly stable association between childhood physical abuse and cancer was found even when adjusting for 3 clusters of risk factors. Further research focusing on the potential mechanisms linking childhood abuse and cancer is needed. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.

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The robust association between childhood physical abuse and osteoarthritis in adulthood: Findings from a representative community sample

Fuller‐Thomson¹,

Stefanyk²,

Brennenstuhl³

2009

Arthritis & Rheumatism

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Objective. Research suggests a role of early-life trauma in the development of arthritis. This study investigated the relationship between childhood physical abuse and osteoarthritis (OA) while controlling for age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status (SES), in addition to the following types of risk factors for OA: 1) concurrent childhood stressors, 2) adult health behaviors, and 3) depression. Methods. Data from the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan were selected from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey (n ‫؍‬ 13,093). Respondents with missing arthritis data or with arthritis types other than OA were excluded (n ‫؍‬ 1,985). Of the 11,108 remaining respondents, 6.9% (n ‫؍‬ 854) reported childhood physical abuse by someone close to them, and 10.1% (n ‫؍‬ 1,452) reported that they had been diagnosed with OA by a health professional. The regional-level response rate was 84%. Results. When adjusting for all 3 types of risk factors, a significant association between childhood physical abuse and OA was found (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.21-2.00). In contrast, when adjusting for age, sex, race, and SES only, the OR was 1.99 (95% CI 1.57-2.52). Conclusion. The association between childhood physical abuse and OA remained significant, even after controlling for many risk factors that may mediate the relationship. Further research is needed to investigate potential pathways through which arthritis develops as a consequence of childhood physical abuse.

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Revealing the existence of child abuse in the context of marital breakdown and custody and access disputes

Cited by 43 publications

References 5 publications

Between Scylla and Charybdis: A Literature Review of Sexual Abuse Allegations in Divorce Proceedings

Between Scylla and Charybdis: A Literature Review of Sexual Abuse Allegations in Divorce Proceedings

Making a link between childhood physical abuse and cancer

The robust association between childhood physical abuse and osteoarthritis in adulthood: Findings from a representative community sample

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