Filicide, the murder of a child by its parents, is sometimes accompanied by suicide of the perpetrator. Few studies have examined the differences between suicidal and non-suicidal filicides, as data sources often lack detailed information regarding psychiatric factors as well as the motives underlying the offence. This descriptive, exploratory…

Objective: This study assessed infant disposition and health outcomes among offspring born to mothers without prenatal care, based on maternal characteristics and the reason for lack of prenatal care (i.e., denial of pregnancy, concealment of pregnancy, primary substance use, financial barriers and multiparity). Methods: A retrospective record…

Objective: One objective was to determine if cocaine-using women who did not maintain infant custody (NMC) would report more psychological distress, domestic violence, negative coping skills, lower social support and more childhood trauma than cocaine-using women who maintained custody (MC) of their infant. A second objective was to evaluate the…

Objectives: Children are often considered a primary motivator for women seeking substance abuse treatment. This study tested a model predicting treatment motivation in substance-abusing mothers. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS). It used structural equation modeling to describe factors…

Objective: The 1998 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-98) is the first national study to document the rate of intentionally false allegations of abuse and neglect investigated by child welfare services in Canada. This paper provides a detailed summary of the characteristics associated with intentionally false…

This study of 60 contested custody cases in Florida found that judges appeared responsive to allegations of abuse with regard to awards of the children's primary physical residence but not with regard to shared custody. Reports of parental substance abuse had no apparent impact on judicial decision making. (Author/JDD)

Placement outcomes for 206 severely maltreated Boston (Massachusetts) children 7.5 years after arraignment on care and protection petitions were examined, with attention to the percent permanently removed from parents, cases dismissed, temporary custody, drifting back to parents despite removal, time spent in probate proceedings, and rate of court…

The welfare of children in Lagos, Nigeria, after marital disruption was assessed using 1,000 social welfare case records. Findings include: single custody was commonly practiced; few of the women remarried; and many of the biological fathers were not responsible for the maintenance of their children, and the few that were defaulted regularly.…

Court-appointed child advocates, attorneys, guardians ad litem, and therapists (total n=116) made custody decisions and abuse likelihood ratings for children in one of two vignettes that varied as to whether mother or father was incompetent to parent without threat of further abuse. Decisions were not affected by sex role stereotypes,…