This study evaluated a personal safety educational program designed for Latino families attending preschools in a large metropolis. Seventy-eight children who participated in the Kids Learning About Safety program were compared to 45 control children. Compared with controls, participating children demonstrated enhanced ability to recognize…

Child sexual abuse is a widespread social problem that negatively affects victims, families, communities, and society. This article briefly describes the scope and consequences of child sexual abuse and briefly critiques child-focused personal safety educational programs designed to prevent sexual victimization. The final section offers…

The sexual abuse of children and adolescents by Roman Catholic priests entails a violation of meaning as well as persons. Precisely because the priest is regarded by Catholics as an "alter Christus," another Christ, his violation of a child's or adolescent's body is also a violation of a sacred trust and worldview. The implications of this…

A psychologist's husband molested their young daughter. Consulting psychologists purported that research indicated it would be developmentally advantageous for their daughter to continue a relationship with the father following the marital separation. The consulting psychologists did not reference the literature, prompting the mother to conduct a…

The issue of child sexual abuse is not a black and white issue; young children often cannot describe their experiences in a way that can be admitted in court, and, even if admitted, they are often unable to stand for cross examination of their statements. The custodial parent believes something has happened as they have witnessed the fears,…

According to these authors, it is correct to assume that mental health professionals, including psychologists, may not have adequate literature that provides an evidence-informed basis for making decisions about a parent's contact with a child whom he/she has sexually molested. Indeed, there are several sources of information that may negatively…

This commentary discusses the decisions of child protective service (CPS) investigators to substantiate mothers for failure-to-protect (FTP) in child sexual abuse cases. Four areas are identified in which the scientific literature remains inadequate to fully inform child maltreatment researchers, CPS practitioners and child welfare policymakers on…

Although collaboration in child abuse investigations has been emphasized since 1974, barriers, including role conflicts and organizational differences, have often been reported. This study describes the process of collaboration based on the perceptions of investigators working with a Child Advocacy Center. Telephone interviews were conducted with…

Coohey's paper is a valuable investigation of the substantiation of mothers for failure to protect their children from child sexual abuse (CSA). Drawing on concerns regarding the possible inconsistency of decisions to substantiate, Coohey sought to determine the factors relied on by CPS investigators in the decision-making process. Multivariate…

The purpose of this study was to determine how Child Protective Services (CPS) investigators decide to substantiate mothers for failure-to-protect from sexual abuse. A case-comparison study was used to compare 31 mothers who were and 62 mothers who were not substantiated for failure-to-protect by CPS. The multivariate analysis showed that mothers…