Deinstitutionalisation, international adoption and the effects on the child

The primary question of this PhD study is the role of international adoption in deinstitutionalising young children (under 5). From an attachment theory and the child rights perspective, this PhD study first explored the potential problems with the current practices in international adoption by comparing the conduct of international adoption agencies operating on the internet. It found that at least 38% of the agency websites examined were in breach of the UNCRC and the Hague Convention. It then explored the relationship between international adoption and institutional care and how international adoption may impact on the progress in the deinstitutionalisation of children. Contrary to popular belief, the research found that international adoption is associated with the increase or maintenance of institutional care. The study went on to examine the current practices in the deinstitutionalisation of children in Europe, comparing them to a 10 Step good practice model for transforming children's services. The results tentatively suggest that countries with better community support services were more likely to meet the standards set out in the model. As child abandonment has been identified as one of the main reasons for the high numbers of children in institutional care or placed for international adoptions in the first place, a case study of Romania and a narrative literature review were carried out to explore the extent of the problem and the preventive strategies. In Romania, the main causes of child abandonment by the family were identified as; very serious economical problems, mothers' lack of formal education, lack of specialised services at the level of local communities, poor sexual education, homelessness and teenage parenting. The rate of child abandonment in maternities was calculated to be 1.8% of live births. A pilot study in three maternity units found that the two that introduced social workers saw marked reduction in the number of abandoned children whereas the number in the one without a social worker remained the same.The literature review found that there has been a lack of clear definitions on this social issue and a lack of unified recording system for abandoned children. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate the true extent of the problem. Reasons often observed for abandonment were poverty, young or single parenthood and the lack of welfare and services for parents in serious financial difficulties or found it hard to cope with the demands of the child(ren). To explore possible effects community services have on deinstitutionalised children, a follow up study of the children deinstitutionalised back into family based care, the integral part of community services, were carried out in Romania. Significant differences were found in all aspects of physical and psychology care and carer sensitivity received by the children between children who grew up in their own families, those who were deinstitutionalised into a foster or adoptive family and those who were returned to their biological families. The results showed that the quality of care received by fostered/adopted children was rated the highest on all items. This tentatively suggests that children who were de institutionalised and placed in foster and adoptive families are likely to receive better quality of parenting and have a better chance of rehabilitation and catch up with their peers. It may indicate that the selection process of surrogate families has been relatively successful. Finally, a systematic review comparing the psychosocial outcomes of internationally adopted children to adopted or non-adopted children within the host countries were carried out to shed light on the effects of international adoption on children. The results indicate that internationally adopted children who were not exposed to institutional care on a long term basis can recover well from their early adverse experience and catch up with same age children in the host countries in terms of development and cognitive functioning. However, information on international adoptees prior experience was poorly reported and difficult to verify. No study reported the assessment results that led to the decision on international adoption. Thus, it is not possible to determine whether international adoption was the most appropriate placement for those children

The relationship between childhood adversity and violence to others among individuals with psychosis: a review and meta-analysis

Background: There is a growing body of literature identifying a relationship between experiences of child abuse and symptoms of psychosis in adults. However, the impact of this relationship on risk of violence has not been systematically explored. Aims: This meta-analysis aimed to consider the influence of childhood abuse on the risk of violence amongst individuals with psychosis. Method: Five bibliographic databases and two grey literature resources were systematically searched to identify quantitative research which measured risk of violence and experiences of childhood maltreatment in individuals with psychosis. Risk of bias for each study was assessed under pre-defined criteria. Logged odds ratios were synthesised quantitatively in a meta-analysis. Results: A total of 6298 studies were identified, 11 of which were included in the final analysis (N = 2215), all studies were of a cross-sectional or case-control design. Individuals with psychotic illnesses who reported historical child maltreatment were at approximately twice the risk of perpetrating violence than patients who reported no early abuse (OR = 2.46 (95% CI = 1.91 – 3.16). There was no statistical heterogeneity between main effects (τ = 0.00; Χ² = 8.87, df = 10, p = 0.54, I² = 0%). Discussion: Risk assessments and interventions may benefit from considering the unique contribution of trauma to violence in this population. Future research considering the interaction between childhood experiences and other risk factors for violence in this population, including specific symptoms of psychosis, would inform the current findings. Findings are limited by the lack of longitudinal research in this area, and there was some evidence of publication bias

A systematic review on factors affecting the likelihood of change blindness

Background: The phenomenon of Change Blindness (CB) has been invoked in a number of fields of psychology, particularly eyewitness misidentification, but also hazard perception in driving behaviour. An extensive review of the existing literature suggested that there has been no systematic review to date that has investigated what factors affect CB in real-world contexts. Purpose: This article aims to systematically review factors affecting CB when measured using film or real-world paradigms. Method: Six electronic databases were searched for relevant references, alongside four E-theses. Seven experts were contacted for current and unpublished studies. Each study was compared against inclusion criteria, prior to selection and data synthesis. Results: The full search yielded 12,656 publications; 3,654 duplicates were removed and an additional 8,693 irrelevant publications were excluded. A further 295 publications were removed for not meeting the inclusion criteria. One conference abstract was excluded as contact with the authors produced no response. A total of 13 articles that met the criteria were reviewed. Conclusion: Increasing attention, the saliency of the changed object and spatial violations significantly reduce CB, specifically when measured using the real-world and film paradigms; these have implications for forensic psychology practice relevant to innocent bystanders and eyewitness misidentifications, and witnesses making positive identifications. However, a number of methodological limitations were identified which should be taken into account in designing future research

Repeat missing child reports in Wales

Background: There were approximately 306,000 reports of missing persons in the UK from 2012 to 2013, 64% involved children. Repeat missing incidents account for approximately 38% of reported missing incidences. Within their research Biehal et al. (2003) identified that 70% of missing children had voluntarily left their home and the majority of these were considered to have 'run away'. Research suggests that there is heavy demand on public services in responding to children that are regularly reported missing.Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore data recorded in respect of children reported missing as a result of running away. The main objective of this study was to develop a set of risk factors to predict repeat missing incidences using a logistic regression method.Participants and setting: This study explored the characteristics of 523 children who were reported missing to Gwent (Wales) Police as a result of running away.Methods: Using data collected by the Gwent Missing Children's Team in Wales, over a one-year period, this study compared two groups of children: 275 (53%) who were reported missing once ('low risk') and 248 (47%) who were reported more than once ('high risk').Results: Results indicated that five significant risk factors identified by logistic regression could distinguish outcome in 73% of cases. The five risk factors were; looked after children, substance use, suspected sexual exploitation, known to Youth Offending Services and a history of abuse/neglect.Conclusions: These risk factors could potentially be used in Gwent to guide intervention strategies, with those children identified as 'high risk' of repeat missing incidents requiring more comprehensive intervention and support

A systematic review on the relationship between self-esteem and interrogative suggestibility

Some factors, such as age, learning disability and mental health difficulties, have been identified as making police suspects more vulnerable to suggestibility and false confessions during interview. However, there has been no systematic review on the association between self-esteem and suggestibility. Seven electronic bibliographic databases and reference lists of previous literature reviews of suggestibility in children were searched. Selected studies were quality assessed using pre-defined criteria before data were extracted. Electronic searches yielded 1914 hits. Of these, 685 duplicates, 1181 irrelevant references and 39 references that did not meet the inclusion criteria were removed. Nine publications were included in the review. Significant correlations between self-esteem and suggestibility, most notably on the Yield 1 subscale of the GSS, were found but four of the nine studies found no significant correlation. The prevalent use of self-report measures and lack of clarity in defining self-esteem limit the validity of those studies

An exploration of the current knowledge on young people who kill: a systematic review

This exploratory systematic review assessed the quality of primary studies on young people who kill and synthesised the findings regarding the characteristics of these offenders. An electronic search yielded 12,717 hits of papers published between 1989 and 2012. Of these, 8,395 duplicates, 3,787 irrelevant hits, and 527 publications not meeting the inclusion criteria of the review were excluded (15 publications were added after searching the grey literature), leaving 23 good quality studies. From these, a further seven were removed due to their small sample size (i.e., n < 30), leaving a total of 16 studies reviewed in detail. A search update was carried out on 2 February 2014 and no further studies meeting the inclusion criteria were found. The results indicate that juvenile homicide offenders are a heterogeneous group and the risk factors for juvenile homicide are cumulative and evolve through life. The findings are mixed, but ten risk factors are identified which appear to be consistent for offenders across the studies reviewed. The limitations of the current review are highlighted and recommendations for future research are outlined, with particular consideration given to improving the quality of the literature in this field

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the characteristics of multiple perpetrator sexual offences

This systematic review examined the demographic and offence variables in group sexual offending. Eight bibliographic databases and three thesis portals were searched. The reference lists of five papers and one textbook were hand searched. Nine experts were contacted for ongoing or unpublished studies. The total number of hits was 1853, of which 55 were duplicates, 1769 were irrelevant, 14 did not meet the inclusion criteria and one paper was unobtainable. The remaining 15 papers were quality assessed before the data were extracted and synthesized. There were 2,873 cases of Multiple Perpetrator Sexual (MPS) offences in total. The majority of MPS offending in the included studies involved perpetrators in their early twenties (90% of studies), of Black/African Caribbean ethnicity (30.1%), and operated as part of a „duo‟ (49.8%). Thirty-five percent of MPS offences were committed by perpetrators with a previous conviction, with 11% of the cases showing a previous conviction for sexual offending. Offenders were most likely to approach victims outdoors with the offence itself occurring indoors. The most frequent offence behaviors included vaginal rape, multiple penetration and fellatio. A model of MPS offending is suggested based on the findings of this review. Future research should aim to explore and refine theories of MPS offending in order to understand the etiology of this unique offending group

A critique of the revised Conflict Tactics Scales-2 (CTS-2)

The purpose of this review is to critically evaluate the Conflict Tactics Scales-2, a measure used worldwide for research and clinical practices. The reliability, validity and normative samples of the CTS-2 are considered and compared with similar psychometric measures. The limitations of the original CTS have been discussed alongside the CTS-2. Reliability is considered to be good to excellent by alpha coefficient and the variance explained by differing samples or methods of administration. Caution is recommended when interpreting the CTS-2 in clinical settings. Researchers point toward a five-factor structure to the CTS-2. The importance of appropriate norms is discussed and considered crucial when using the tool in settings where reporting patterns may differ. Difficulties in comparing CTS-2 scores across samples, cultures and countries are highlighted. Overall, the CTS-2 is a robust psychometric measure, although it holds limited clinical utility if it is used separately from other sources of information gathering (i.e. psychometric measures or interview). In order to enhance clinical utility, it should be administered alongside measures or clinical interviews that can provide added context regarding violence in the family. More research is required in diverse population samples, cultures/countries and languages