CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
► Understand the difference between child abuse and child neglect.
► Know the three main types of child abuse.
► Know the definition of pedophilia and how it is assessed.
KEY TERMS
Child abuse Child neglect
Child Sexual Abuse Parental Alienation Syndrome
Paraphilia Sexual Predator
Neonatacide Filicide
LECTURE NOTES
Forensic Psychology applied to Children and Families
Types of Maltreatment: Neglect, abuse, and Sexual abuse
Child Neglect
Child neglect is demonstrated by a failure to provide for a child‘s basic needs, it is an act of
omission rather than one of commission.
Child Abuse
Child abuse may be physical or emotional. Physical child abuse is anything that may
cause physical injury (e.g. punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing,
stabbing, choking, burning, or hitting). About 19% of maltreatment victims experience
physical abuse.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse can include molestation (indecent touching of the child or forcing the child
to touch the perpetrator on the genitals or breasts), rape (the insertion of any object into
any orifice for sexual gratification), voyeurism (looking at the victim in various stages of
Indicators of Child Sexual Abuse
Certain behavioral patterns are strongly suggestive, but by no means conclusive of child
sexual abuse.
Pedophilia
Pedophilia is a paraphilia.
A paraphilia is a condition in which a person’s ability for sexual arousal and
gratification is based upon fantasizing about and engaging in sexual behavior that is
atypical and usually extreme. A paraphilia can center around certain objects (shoes,
underwear, animals, and children) or around specific behaviors (inflicting pain, exposing
Hebephilia is a term closely related to pedophilia and is used to describe the sexual
preference for pubescent children. Unlike pedophiles, hebephiles are attracted to
children who show some signs of secondary sexual development, such as the emergence
of pubic hair and the initial development of breasts in girls. Unlike pedophilia, however,
hebephilia is not listed in the DSM-IV-TR.
Methods of Assessing Pedophilia: Clinical interviews, self-report questionnaires,
and neuroimaging
Clinical interviews usually allow for pedophiles or sexual offenders to be asked questions
about sexual thoughts and behaviors with regard to children. During interviews, the
Self-report questionnaires have also been used to assess pedophilia. Examples include:
The Multiphasic Sex Inventory
The Clarke Sexual History Questionnaire
Questionnaires, like interviews, are vulnerable to self-report biases, and there are no
studies on the predictive validity of these questionnaires.
Neuroimaging
There is research suggesting that such neuroimaging can be used to measure sexual
Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome
In 1983, psychiatrist Roland Summit introduced the formal concept of child sexual abuse
accommodation syndrome (CSAAS). According to CSAAS, there are five explanation
for why child victims of intra-family sexual abuse may be reluctant to disclose their
experiences.
The fourth is being conflicted over the right thing to.
The fifth is the unconvincing disclosures which had already been made.
Testimony of CSAAS has been used to explain seemingly inconsistent or illogical
behavior on the part of child victims of sexual abuse, including delayed reporting, the
lack of witnesses or physical evidence, and retraction by the victim.
Online Sexual Predators
The Internet has opened a world of possibilities for children, but it has also unfortunately
Infanticide
The deliberate killing of a newborn.
Neonaticide
The killing of a newborn within the first 24 hours.
Traits of Mothers who commit Fillicide
These include (1) coolness and detachment during childhood from their own
mothers, (2) suicidal thoughts or attempts, (3) substantial feelings of personal
inadequacy, (4) actual mental illness, and (5) feelings that their child are somehow
defective.
Motives of Mothers who Commit Fillicide
Filicide associated with suicide in which the parent (usually the mother) desires to
commit suicide but does not want to abandon the child when she kills herself.
The psychotic form of Postpartum depression is characterized by command
hallucinations to kill the infant or delusions that the infant is possessed. Postpartum
psychosis this severe seems to occur in from 1 in 500 to 1 in 1,000 deliveries, and the risk
of psychotic episodes is increased for women who have experienced prior postpartum
mood episodes.
Parental Alienation Syndrome
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) has been described as intense rejection of a parent
by children after divorce (Gardner, 1987). Another quality of this syndrome is
exaggerated criticism by one parent of the other parent which is expressed to the children.
Some of the behavior evidenced in PAS include:
(1) Access and Contact Blocking between the child and the absent parent
(2) Unfounded Abuse Allegations where false or unfounded accusations of abuse against
the absent parent
The scientific status of PAS generally remains questionable.
Religiously Motivated Filicide: Honor Killings and Gendercide
Honor killings can be defined as acts of murder in which a woman is killed for her actual
Gendercide refers to the killing of female babies and young girls by their families.
This practice was apparently common in Greece prior to 200 B.C.E. In modern times it
has been particularly noted in India and China.
Elder Abuse and Neglect
Between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 or older are injured, exploited, or otherwise
mistreated every year by someone on whom they depended for care or protection.
Types of Abuse or Neglect
Physical abuse accounts for 15% of the substantiated cases of elder mistreatment in the United
States. This kind of abuse includes the use of force against an elderly person that results in
Neglect or abandonment is the most common type of elder mistreatment. Abandonment occurs
when an older person is deserted by his or her caregiver who previously had assumed
responsibility for providing care for that individual.
Sexual abuse is defined as non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an elderly individual.
Financial exploitation represents about 12% of substantiated abuse cases and refers to misuse of
an elder’s funds, fraud, taking money under false pretenses, forgery, forced property transfers,
Intervention Strategies
Some of the intervention strategies for elder abuse are known to include:
(1) the creation of residential shelters for victims with a staff attorney available to provide direct
legal services, and a designated social worker and nurse experienced with victims of abuse
(4) a combination of individual therapy, family therapy, and relationship counseling that
focuses on behavioral skills training, cognitive restructuring, and emotional control.
outlet for the relief of tension and frustration
SUMMARY
There are two broad categories of child maltreatment: neglect and abuse. Neglect is
demonstrated by a failure to provide for a child’s basic needs, it is an act of omission. Abuse is
an act of “commission” and can be physical, emotional, or sexual in nature. The impact of
A paraphilia is a condition in which a person’s ability for sexual arousal and gratification
is upon fantasizing about and engaging in sexual behavior that is atypical and usually extreme.
Paraphilias can center around specific objects such as shoes or underwear, or around specific
behaviors such as inflicting pain or exposing oneself. Pedophilia is one type of paraphilia which
crosses the boundaries between physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. It is a disorder of sexual
desire involving fantasy and gratification-seeking behavior relating to children, but it is not
synonymous with sexual offending against children, although it can lead to extremely abusive
and criminal activity.
Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome attempts to explain why children who
are sexually abused by family members are often reluctant to disclose the abuse. Forced secrecy
by the abuser, as well as helplessness, and feeling trapped and conflicted by the victim, all
contribute to non-disclosure. Testimony regarding this syndrome is often confusing to jurors in
that the “syndrome” is used to explain why children don’t report abuse and at the same time to
Infanticide is the deliberate killing of a newborn..When the killing occurs within 24 hours
after birth, it is called neonaticide. Some of the motives associated with neonaticide and filicide
include filicide associated with suicide, filicide to relieve suffering, acutely psychotic filicide. In
response to public and media attention regarding instances where infants have been discarded in
public places and left to die, every state has adopted some sort of legislation that offers a legal
and safe means for mothers to relinquish newborn infants. Another type of filicide is referred to
as “gendercide” in which girls are killed simply for being girls. In some instances this behavior
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What are the various types of child maltreatment?
5. What are some of the indicators of child sexual abuse?
6. What is the definition of pedophilia?
7. What is a paraphilia?
8. What is the logic behind the Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome?
12. What is “gendercide”?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
► Understand the function of mental health courts.
► Know the functioning of alternative dispute resolution.
► Understand the various methods used for treatment of child abuse.
KEY TERMS
Mental Health Court Alternative Dispute Resolution
Negotiation Mediation
Parent–Child Interaction Therapy Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Overt Sensitization Covert Sensitization