Child Abuse: The Human Figure Drawing Test in Evaluating Minors

Abstract: The Human Figure Drawing Test (HFDT) is widely used in clinical and forensic settings. The inappropriate use of this instrument is widespread. This article highlights the expressive and communicative value of children's drawings in child abuse investigations. The drawings of 3 groups of children (11 certified as abused; 11 suspected of being abused, and 11 certified as non-abused) were examined in order to determine the appropriateness of their use in suspected cases of child abuse. The results of our study appear to be divergent. As of the writing of this article, there is no methodologically correct way in which to utilize this instrument that would reveal specific "graphic indicators of abuse" using the drawings of abused, or presumably abused children

Incarcerated Foreign Minors in Italy: How to Treat them?

Abstract: The aim of this study is to provide data regarding the treatment of foreign juveniles in the Italian justice system. The authors examined the records from juvenile detention centers and primary juvenile reception centers in Italy in order to gain a better understanding of how foreign minors are treated with respect to their Italian counterparts. Statistical analysis was then carried out and the results revealed many inequalities. The authors believe that it is important to create secondary and tertiary prevention services in order to decrease the likelihood of recidivism, and to promote the minor's integration into the social fabric of their adopted country. Foreign minors are more frequently placed in jail than their Italian counterparts. The authors conclude that only through the development of a united partnership can a welcoming network be created: one that is able to pick up on the first signs of trouble that often confront foreign minors

SEXUAL OFFENDERS: QUALE TRATTAMENTO?

Interest in the treatment of sexual aggressors has come about because sexual assaults represent a serious problem in our society and they victims and their families. Two types of responses for dealing with this issue in the fields of research and treatment have been developed. One is punitive in nature and is based on the idea that therapeutic treatment is unproductive. It is important to underline that the evidence supporting this idea is scarce. Research on more efficacious treatment models is still open. Psychotherapeutic treatment, which at present seems to produce the best outcomes, is characterized by a plurality of approaches: cognitive-behavioral, individual and group dynamics, familial, and strategic. The aim of this work is to try to look for possible solutions that may lower the frequency of these crimes and to give the aggressors the chance to confront their own problems and to understand the seriousness of the consequences produced by their acts.generate serious issues both for th

Soggetti affetti da disforia di genere, vittime ed autori di violenze: uno studio casistico

è noto come sui soggetti che affrontano percorsi per la rettifica del sesso esistano molti pregiudizi che si allargano anche all’aspetto dei reati commessi e subiti da soggetti con tali caratteristiche personologiche. Finalità della presente ricerca casistica, è offrire un contributo di conoscenza a tale particolare aspetto clinico e criminologico relativo a questa particolare popolazione di soggett

Valutazione della genitorialità e psicopatologia. Studio casistico su strutture consultorii della Regione Puglia

La presenza di una psicopatologia del genitore, però, non mina necessariamente la funzione genitoriale, non trattandosi di una correlazione di tipo deterministico-causale ma può accadere, in taluni casi, che la presenza di una psicopatologia sia correlata ad un’inadeguatezza della funzione genitorial

Senza fissa dimora ed imputabilità: un delitto d’impeto commesso da un eremita del marciapiede

Un caso di «senza dimora autore di reato» (un omicidio commesso con particolare violenza ed efferatezza), ha fornito agli Autori l’occasione per riflettere sui «reati d’impeto» commessi da questa particolare tipologia di soggetti. Il «reato d’impeto» segnala un comportamento di passaggio all’atto repentino, impulsivo, non mediato ed agito secondo modalità piú o meno organizzate, il cui significato criminogenetico e criminodinamico, deve essere esaminato caso per caso. Nel caso di reati d’impeto commessi da soggetti «senza fissa dimora», si tratta di distinguere con molta attenzione tra una condizione di dipendenza da sostanze e di presenza di disturbi mentali rilevanti, come propria della condizione di estrema marginalità di questi soggetti, e come elemento predisponente e favorente il reato d’impeto

Minori Stranieri in Carcere: quale epistemologia del trattamento?

Foreign minors have a lot of integration problems and create tensions within the receiving community. They have less safety and fewer rights of the Italian minors for the same deviant behaviour.This paper presents the conditions of minors in Italian judicial system, with particular attention to foreign younger. The analysis of the statistical data and the study of laws about the Italian intramoenia regime allows authors to identify the role of institutions which must give to juvenile prisons the task of establish precautionary measures, in order to avoid recidivism and to promote minors positive integration in the society within a legal contextI minori stranieri presentano problemi di assimilazione nella società e tensioni che si creano tra loro e la società che li accoglie. Il risultato di essere al contempo stranieri ed adolescenti spesso pone loro nella situazione di avere, a parità di condotta deviante, meno sicurezze e meno diritti dei loro coetanei italiani. La finalità di questo contributo è quello di fornire uno sguardo alla situazione italiana per fornire dati relativi alle condizioni in cui i minori sono sottoposti nel sistema della giustizia, con particolare enfasi ai giovani stranieri.Attraverso un’ analisi dei dati statistici e delle normative in merito agli interventi trattamentali intra-moenia di tali minori, gli autori osservano come uno dei mandati istituzionali sia quello di attivare negli istituti penali minorili un servizio di prevenzione secondaria e terziaria che consenta, nel maggior numero possibile di casi, di evitare la recidiva e di promuovere e realizzare una positiva integrazione del minore nel tessuto sociale all’interno di un contesto di legalità

False Accusations of Sexual Abuse as a Means of Revenge in Couple Disputes

When carrying out forensic-psychiatric evaluations on a minor who is the presumed victim of sexual abuse, one may come across both “false positives” and “false negatives”. These may be the result of honest mistakes, or are intentionally false, and the result of manipulation and exploitation. False accusations may come about under certain conditions such as in particularly bitter cases of separation and divorce where one of the parents files charges against the other, and is well aware of the untruthfulness of them. In other cases, the adult reports sexual abuse that did not in fact take place, but believes in good faith that it has. Such a parent’s motives are protective in nature. Investigations carried out using inappropriate techniques may result in erroneous conclusions, thus confirming abuse that had, in fact, never taken place. The aim of this study is to examine the phenomenon of false accusations of sexual abuse as a form of revenge by one ex-partner against another, and to offer recommendations as to how to avoid falling into these traps. The authors examined Seventy-five technical consultations and expert testimonials, requested by judicial authorities, and carried out between 2003 and 2009 at the Department of Criminology of the University of Bari (Italy). These cases regarded marital unrest where intrafamilial sexual abuse of a minor was reported. Twenty-two (30%) of these reports were found to be baseless and merely a result of conflict, as well as a strategic maneuver employed by one of the partners as an act of revenge upon the other. Of these 22 baseless charges, five involved men who accused their ex-wives and/or live-in partners. The remaining 17 cases involved charges by women against their ex- husbands, and/or live-in partners. This echoes what is reported in the literature. Mothers (alienating parents) often level “Virtual accusations of abuse” against fathers (alienated parents). When, on the other hand, it is the father who is the instigator or the alienating parent, the accusations are usually aimed at the new partner of the ex-wife or ex-girlfriend. Nowadays, technical consultants who work with separated and conflicted families are increasingly involved in court cases that follow a characteristic pattern: one parent is accused of sexual abuse or serious maltreatment. This causes harm to the youngster and the accused parent is subsequently turned out, losing all contact with the child. It is important to bear in mind how Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a form of violence perpetrated on minors. A parent who alienates the other commits a form of abuse that Gardner defines as “emotional”, and may result in the permanent alienation of one loving parent, as well as psychiatric disorders. The estranged parent who forces his or her child into a situation of continual denigration and denial of the other parent can irreversibly damage fundamental psychological bonds. When parents become estranged, a serious deficit in parental care is always a risk and should seriously be considered by the courts when they make decisions regarding child custody. Charges of abuse represent not only an instrument of protection of one’s own children, but also a weapon of revenge against an ex-partner, paradoxically putting these minors into the role of victims