Preface

Child maltreatment constitutes a social problem that affects all societies of the world. A recent study by the World Health Organisation points out that millions of children suffer some form of maltreatment and require medical and social attention. It should be noted that around 53,000 children are murdered every year; the prevalence of sexual abuse is 73 million (7%) and 150 million (14%) in boys and girls, respectively, under 18 years of age; and between 25% and 50% of the children inform that they have been physically abused.

Child maltreatment in childhood and adolescence is recognized as an important psychopathological risk factor and is associated with poor psychological function in childhood and adolescence and adulthood. The aim of this book is to address the issue of child abuse and neglect from a multidimensional perspective. The reader will find a selection of internationally recognized works addressing the issue of child maltreatment both from theoretical and applied view.

In the opening chapter, Dr Muela, Dr López de Arana, Dr Barandiaran, Dr Larrea, and Dr Vitoria tackle the difficulties present in adequately conceptualizing child abuse and neglect, provide data on its incidence and describe the main psychopathological consequences associated with each type of child maltreatment. Thus, Dr Muela and colleagues focus on the heterogeneity of the phenomenon and on the complexity that gives rise to that heterogeneity to define the child abuse and neglect. In respect to negative impact of child maltreatment, they emphasize that it is wrong to believe that current knowledge has enabled the identification of clearly differentiated consequences for each type of child maltreatment. There is a high degree of comorbidity among the different types, in such a way that many children experience more than one form of maltreatment and display common consequences. Moreover, it still needs to be clarified whether child abuse and neglect produce a general vulnerability towards psychopathology, in such a way that other factors would be responsible for the form finally adopted by psychopathology.

In the second chapter, Prof Al-Shail Essam, Dr Kattan Hoda, Dr Aldowaish Abdullah, and Dr Hassan Ahmed, focusing on Saudi Arabia, examine cultural factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect. Saudi Arabia is a country occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula with a population of about 27 million who are entirely Muslims. The country is governed according to the Islamic Sharia law whereby the Islamic

#### XII Preface

orthodoxy and conservatism generally dominate the social and cultural characteristics and mechanisms of the Saudi society. Traditional tribal principles and customs, however, have significant influence over a wide range of cultural, behavioral, and attitudinal manifestations in the society. Children are usually well taken care of in terms of basic needs, and are expected to show almost total subordination and obedience to their parents. Corporal punishment by parents is a common practice, especially in less modernized portions of the society. The authors analyze the Saudi Arabian experience in the realm of child abuse that is in its conception stage.

Preface IX

**Dr Alexander Muela** 

Spain

University of Mondragon (MU)

already used to prosecute human trafficking, legal practitioners face some challenges in prosecuting such cases. The politics of legal reform that hinder the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill from coming into effect in South Africa are also discussed. Finally, a more effective policy that could assist in the reduction of human

In the sixth chapter, Prof Bannwart and Prof Williams examine health professionals difficulties in identifying and reporting child maltreatment. These difficulties are related to a gap in their professional training on child abuse and neglect, to the reproduction of cultural patterns of non-involvement in matters concerning the family, the disbelief in the effectiveness of Child Protection Services, negative past experiences, and other personal issues. The authors present a case study whose goal was to raise awareness among Brazilian Family Health Professionals on the need to report child abuse and neglect, by evaluating a training course to identify and report child maltreatment. They conclude that the training of health professionals to identify and report cases of child abuse is an efficient way to maximize reporting behavior.

In the seventh chapter, Dr Martín analyzes the role played by residential care within the childhood welfare systems, acknowledging its strengths, but also its weaknesses. The historical evolution and changes undergone by the model to adapt it to current legislations are briefly analyzed. The model is contextualized in the Spanish reality, where it is still more relevant than in other European countries, in which other alternatives of solutions for children and adolescents who must be separated from their biological families-such as placement with foster families-are more developed. Data are presented about the number of children who live in residential care in comparison to other protective measures, as well as the principles of quality criteria of the care of the children within these resources that the people who are in charge attempt to apply.

Finally, in the last chapter, Prof Euichul Jung and Prof Joonbin Im analyze current technologies used to prevent crimes against children. The chapter is focused on discussing various examples and features of the current interaction designs based on diversified examination on designed products, services and social systems. It also aims to understand and analyze characteristics of crimes against children from designer's perspectives and suggest a new direction for design while discussing basic suggestions on crimes against children and examining various methods on designs

I want to thank all the professionals who have made this book possible. I hope that it will be a humble contribution that will enrich all of those who want to learn more

with regard to crimes against children.

about child maltreatment.

trafficking of young women and girls for sexual exploitation is proposed.

In the third chapter, Dr Lazenbatt examines how domestic maltreatment can have an impact early in an infant's life, even as early as pregnancy and the postpartum period and can affect infants' physical and emotional health, their learning and their capacity to form positive relationships throughout their lives. The chapter is divided into sections that cover the issues of domestic abuse as a child protection issue; the cooccurrence of domestic and child abuse; understanding the impact that both domestic and child abuse have on both mother and child in the perinatal period; the impact of foetal abuse; and the role of health professionals especially midwives in recognizing and reporting the co-occurrence of domestic and child maltreatment.

In the fourth chapter, Dr Cyr, Dr Dubois-Comtois, Dr Michel, Dr Poulin, Dr Pascuzzo, Dr Losier, Dr St-Laurent, Dr Moss, and Dr Dumais inform on how attachment theory may be useful to assess and promote parental competency in child protection cases. Child attachment is predictive of short- and long-term child psychosocial adaptation and cognitive functioning in normative as well as clinical groups. According to the ecological-transactional perspective and related empirical studies, child attachment has even shown to be an important protective factor for the development of children with a history of abuse and neglect. Hence, attachment theory provides a solid foundation for both understanding the risk and resiliency factors involved in the development of maltreated children, and guiding the development of assessment and intervention protocols for this multiple-risk population. Attachment-based intervention aims at increasing maternal sensitivity to decrease child maltreatment and increase child attachment security and socioemotional and cognitive functioning. Cyr and colleagues describe the attachment-based treatment programs that have been specifically developed for maltreated children and their parents reported to Child Protection Services, and scientifically tested using state-of-the-art randomized control trials. They also present an innovative project that uses the short-term video-feedback intervention strategy to assess parents' capacity to change.

In the fifth chapter, Prof Mandisa Lutya provides a background theoretical context to the occurrence of human trafficking of young women and girls for sexual exploitation in South Africa. Although forms of human trafficking for the purposes of muti murder, child labour, criminal activities and adoption are acknowledged, this work presents a literature review that focuses on young women and girls trafficked in South Africa, of whom 79% are trafficked to be sexually exploited. The socio-cultural and socio-economic context within which human trafficking occurs is analysed, and South African responses to human trafficking are described. Although some sections of existing legislation are already used to prosecute human trafficking, legal practitioners face some challenges in prosecuting such cases. The politics of legal reform that hinder the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill from coming into effect in South Africa are also discussed. Finally, a more effective policy that could assist in the reduction of human trafficking of young women and girls for sexual exploitation is proposed.

VIII Preface

orthodoxy and conservatism generally dominate the social and cultural characteristics and mechanisms of the Saudi society. Traditional tribal principles and customs, however, have significant influence over a wide range of cultural, behavioral, and attitudinal manifestations in the society. Children are usually well taken care of in terms of basic needs, and are expected to show almost total subordination and obedience to their parents. Corporal punishment by parents is a common practice, especially in less modernized portions of the society. The authors analyze the Saudi

In the third chapter, Dr Lazenbatt examines how domestic maltreatment can have an impact early in an infant's life, even as early as pregnancy and the postpartum period and can affect infants' physical and emotional health, their learning and their capacity to form positive relationships throughout their lives. The chapter is divided into sections that cover the issues of domestic abuse as a child protection issue; the cooccurrence of domestic and child abuse; understanding the impact that both domestic and child abuse have on both mother and child in the perinatal period; the impact of foetal abuse; and the role of health professionals especially midwives in recognizing

In the fourth chapter, Dr Cyr, Dr Dubois-Comtois, Dr Michel, Dr Poulin, Dr Pascuzzo, Dr Losier, Dr St-Laurent, Dr Moss, and Dr Dumais inform on how attachment theory may be useful to assess and promote parental competency in child protection cases. Child attachment is predictive of short- and long-term child psychosocial adaptation and cognitive functioning in normative as well as clinical groups. According to the ecological-transactional perspective and related empirical studies, child attachment has even shown to be an important protective factor for the development of children with a history of abuse and neglect. Hence, attachment theory provides a solid foundation for both understanding the risk and resiliency factors involved in the development of maltreated children, and guiding the development of assessment and intervention protocols for this multiple-risk population. Attachment-based intervention aims at increasing maternal sensitivity to decrease child maltreatment and increase child attachment security and socioemotional and cognitive functioning. Cyr and colleagues describe the attachment-based treatment programs that have been specifically developed for maltreated children and their parents reported to Child Protection Services, and scientifically tested using state-of-the-art randomized control trials. They also present an innovative project that uses the short-term video-feedback

In the fifth chapter, Prof Mandisa Lutya provides a background theoretical context to the occurrence of human trafficking of young women and girls for sexual exploitation in South Africa. Although forms of human trafficking for the purposes of muti murder, child labour, criminal activities and adoption are acknowledged, this work presents a literature review that focuses on young women and girls trafficked in South Africa, of whom 79% are trafficked to be sexually exploited. The socio-cultural and socio-economic context within which human trafficking occurs is analysed, and South African responses to human trafficking are described. Although some sections of existing legislation are

Arabian experience in the realm of child abuse that is in its conception stage.

and reporting the co-occurrence of domestic and child maltreatment.

intervention strategy to assess parents' capacity to change.

In the sixth chapter, Prof Bannwart and Prof Williams examine health professionals difficulties in identifying and reporting child maltreatment. These difficulties are related to a gap in their professional training on child abuse and neglect, to the reproduction of cultural patterns of non-involvement in matters concerning the family, the disbelief in the effectiveness of Child Protection Services, negative past experiences, and other personal issues. The authors present a case study whose goal was to raise awareness among Brazilian Family Health Professionals on the need to report child abuse and neglect, by evaluating a training course to identify and report child maltreatment. They conclude that the training of health professionals to identify and report cases of child abuse is an efficient way to maximize reporting behavior.

In the seventh chapter, Dr Martín analyzes the role played by residential care within the childhood welfare systems, acknowledging its strengths, but also its weaknesses. The historical evolution and changes undergone by the model to adapt it to current legislations are briefly analyzed. The model is contextualized in the Spanish reality, where it is still more relevant than in other European countries, in which other alternatives of solutions for children and adolescents who must be separated from their biological families-such as placement with foster families-are more developed. Data are presented about the number of children who live in residential care in comparison to other protective measures, as well as the principles of quality criteria of the care of the children within these resources that the people who are in charge attempt to apply.

Finally, in the last chapter, Prof Euichul Jung and Prof Joonbin Im analyze current technologies used to prevent crimes against children. The chapter is focused on discussing various examples and features of the current interaction designs based on diversified examination on designed products, services and social systems. It also aims to understand and analyze characteristics of crimes against children from designer's perspectives and suggest a new direction for design while discussing basic suggestions on crimes against children and examining various methods on designs with regard to crimes against children.

I want to thank all the professionals who have made this book possible. I hope that it will be a humble contribution that will enrich all of those who want to learn more about child maltreatment.

> **Dr Alexander Muela**  University of Mondragon (MU) Spain

**Chapter 1** 

© 2012 Muela et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2012 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

**Definition, Incidence and Psychopathological** 

In this paper we tackle the difficulties present in adequately conceptualising child abuse and neglect, we provide data on its incidence and we describe the main psychopathological

Thus, we focus on the heterogeneity of the phenomenon (heterogeneity of the notion of "child maltreatment", heterogeneity of the classification criteria, heterogeneity of the different approaches that are related to maltreatment and the heterogeneity of the causes and consequences) and on the complexity that gives rise to that heterogeneity to define the

In children and adolescents, child abuse and neglect can produce a decline in their biological, psychological and social functions. Child maltreatment in childhood and adolescence is recognised as an important psychopathological risk factor and is associated with poor psychological function in childhood and adolescence and adulthood. In this respect, we emphasise that it is wrong to believe that current knowledge has enabled the identification of clearly differentiated consequences for each type of child maltreatment. There is a high degree of co-morbidity among the different types, in such a way that many children experience more than one form of maltreatment and display common consequences. Moreover, it still needs to be clarified whether child abuse and neglect produces a general vulnerability towards psychopathology, in such a way that other factors

The first problem we encounter when studying child abuse and neglect is that of its

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect** 

Alexander Barandiaran, Iñaki Larrea and José Ramón Vitoria

consequences associated with each type of child maltreatment.

would be responsible for the form finally adopted by psychopathology.

Alexander Muela, Elena López de Arana,

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/46135

**1. Introduction** 

child abuse and neglect.

**2. Definition of child abuse** 

definition [1-9].
