Objectives: Current research suggests that effective psychotherapies for Self Injurious Behavior (SIB) in the context of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) contain generic common elements which are responsible for their success. Because of the links between BPD, SIB, and child abuse, it is likely that these common elements can also be applied…

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important possible outcome of exposure to traumatic events that occur in childhood. However, early traumatic experiences are also an important risk factor for several other mental disorders, such as borderline personality disorder and major depressive disorder. Furthermore, chronic stress, including daily…

Objective: This study examined levels of dissociation in school-aged foster children who had been maltreated before age 5. Method: Data were collected from 118 children (age in years: M=9.34, SD=1.02) and their caregivers. Chi-Square and ANOVA were used to compare foster children (n=67) to community comparison children (n=51). Regression analyses…

Objective: Children of mothers with mental illness are at risk for multiple untoward outcomes, including child maltreatment and foster care placement. The purpose of this analysis was to determine the association between maternal mental illness and children's long term safety and stability. Methods: A multi-sector administrative dataset from the…

Objectives: Using judicial files on neonaticides, (1) to examine the frequency of the association between neonaticide and denial of pregnancy; (2) to assess the accuracy of the concept of denial of pregnancy; (3) to examine its usefulness in programs to prevent neonaticides. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative analyses of data collected from…

Objective: This descriptive study focused on cyber-pedocriminality, a term chosen to describe the phenomenon of child pornography on the internet. Two specific questions were addressed: whether cyber-pedocriminals present with a specific sociodemographic or psychological profile and what type of contents can be found in the criminal material.…

Objective: To document the adult adjustment of survivors of childhood institutional abuse. Method: Two hundred and forty-seven adult survivors of institutional abuse with a mean age of 60 were interviewed with a protocol that included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, modules from the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I Disorders of DSM IV…

Objective: To determine the rate and risk of clinical and personality disorders diagnosed in childhood and adulthood in those known to have been sexually abused during childhood. Methods: Forensic medical records of 2,759 sexually abused children assessed between 1964 and 1995 were linked with a public psychiatric database between 12 and 43 years…

Objective: The goal was to examine, in an all female sample, possible mechanisms for the relationship between a history of childhood sexual abuse and the likelihood of perpetrating sexual abuse as an adult. It was hypothesized that Borderline and Antisocial Personality Disorder tendencies would mediate the relationship between these two forms of…

A study involving 1,000 parents examined factors that place parents at risk of abusing their children. Results found that examining parental attitudes, history, and personality characteristics, as well as religion and ideology, were important in predicting abuse proneness. Child age was also an important predictor. (Author/CR)

Objective: The aim of this study was to test whether alexithymia mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-injurious behaviors (SIB) in college women. Method: The sample was comprised of 100 female undergraduate students. Measures were the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire [D. Bernstein, L. Fink, Manual for the Childhood…

Variables associated with sexual abuse were examined among youth, ages 5 through 18, with severe mental illness. Review of 499 patient records revealed abuse as an isolated event in 62 cases, intermittent abuse in 61 cases, and chronic abuse in 150. Sexual abuse was associated with inappropriate sexual behaviors, substance abuse, and posttraumatic…

Case histories of four women who developed symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder after learning of their daughters' sexual abuse are presented. The women also exhibited depression and personality disorders. Their children's abuse catalyzed a reliving of their own childhood victimization. Case psychodynamics and treatment strategies are…