In the U.S., there are at least 1.2 million immigrants from Middle Eastern and North African countries, and close to 4 million descendants from prior waves of immigration. Yet there’s very little research on the experiences of those families with the U.S. child welfare system. What do we need to know to deliver relevant and culturally appropriate services? Are we affected by assumptions or stereotypes? Do we understand these families’ unique challenges and strengths? Dr. Marina Bassili joined us to help us explore the topic.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:53)
• What are MENA families? (4:25)
• Families’ trauma history (9:15)
• Myths, stereotypes, biases (12:31)
• Cultural specifics to pay attention to (18:20)
• Corporal punishment (20:42)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (23:14)
• A cup of tea (31:42)
• Three takeaways (33:38)
• Good intentions don’t stop racism (39:05)
• For more information (40:46)

Links:

Marina Bassili, PsyD, licensed psychologist and adjunct faculty, Pepperdine University

Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody

Gimel Rogers, PsyD, ABPP

“Cultural Considerations for Families Involved in the Child Welfare System: A Focus on Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Families,” Marina Bassili, PsyD; Gimel Rogers, PsyD, ABPP; APSAC Advisor, 2023 Number 2

International Organization for Migration

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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To truly address child physical abuse, we have to understand the scope of the problem and how the use of corporal punishment can escalate to the point in which children are harmed. What Dr. Amy Slep and her team did was to set up their research in such a way that it was truly anonymous, and parents could feel very safe to be completely honest about their use of corporal punishment and even their own self-identified physical abuse of their own children. As you will hear, parents admit—and to a shocking degree—physically disciplining infants, an unsafe practice that warrants help and support immediately. They admit a range of behaviors far beyond the spanking with an open hand that some of us might remember from childhood. And a heartbreaking number admit to physically disciplining—to the point of physical abuse—their own children, whether because of corporal punishment taken too far or out of frustration or anger. 

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (02:49)
• What are corporal punishment and physical abuse? (05:31)
• How the study encouraged honesty (11:28)
• Studying military families (15:51)
• Family size and physical abuse (21:39)
• Physically disciplining infants (24:18)
• Public policy implications (31:57)
• What’s next in research? (35:34)
• For more information (39:53)

 Links:

Amy M. Smith Slep, Ph.D., professor, Family Translational Research Group, New York University

DSM – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

ICD – International Classification of Diseases

“Glimpsing the Iceberg: Parent-Child Physical Aggression and Abuse,” Amy M. Smith Slep, Kimberly A. Rhoades, Michael F. Lorber, Richard E. Heyman (2022). Child Maltreatment, 0(0). DOI: 10.1177/10775595221112921

Child Maltreatment report series from the Administration for Children and Families has the most recent official statistics

National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire

Family Advocacy Program

“Know the Signs: Physical Abuse,” Alaska Department of Family and Community Services, Office of Children’s Services

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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If you listened to the last episode, you learned a lot about effective, evidence-based treatment—specifically, TF-CBT. But what do you do if, as a clinician and researcher, you see that a population of kids is not, perhaps, receiving the full benefit of that treatment? What Dr. Isha Metzger did in recognizing that TF-CBT could be shaped into an even more effective treatment for Black children and youth is groundbreaking work.

This work in identifying racial stressors and racial traumas as compounding other forms of trauma has led to more tailored treatment. And her work identifying the inherent strength of Black families has been life-affirming and led to better engagement with treatment. Intrigued? Take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:29)
• Racial stressors (5:06)
• The potential impact on kids (9:05)
• Racial socialization (12:05)
• A new application of TF-CBT (15:49)
• What clinicians worry about (22:51)
• Building clients’ trust (27:05)
• Examples (34:51)
• Hope for the future (43:25)
• For more information (48:36)

Links:

Isha W. Metzger, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist, founder and director of The EMPOWER Lab, and assistant professor at Georgia State University

Dr. Metzger previously appeared in “The Meaning of Healing for Black Kids and Families,” (Season 2, Episode 16; August 20, 2020)

TF-CBT, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

TF-CBT and Racial Socialization implementation manual

More resources

National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center

Michael A. de Arellano, Ph.D.

Esther Deblinger, Ph.D., Judith A. Cohen, MD, and Anthony P. Mannarino, Ph.D.

“TF-CBT: Helping Kids Get Better,” with Anthony Mannarino (Season 5, Episode 16; October 16; 2023)

SAMHSA

John Lewis

PMR—progressive muscle relaxation

The C.A.R.E. Package for Racial Healing

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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In the mid-90s, little was known about how to effectively treat trauma, especially that trauma that can arise from child sexual abuse. Victims often languished in treatment for years with symptoms that might—or might not—ever improve. Then more research emerged on evidence-based treatments. These effective treatments—with Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) at the fore—were brief, reducing symptoms for many clients swiftly, and therefore swiftly getting kids back to their job of being kids. This has meant reduced suffering and improved healing for kids.

The most exciting part of TF-CBT has been its ongoing evolution as applications have been developed for many different populations. What’s next for TF-CBT? Take a listen to our conversation with Dr. Tony Mannarino, renowned expert in child trauma and one of the co-developers of TF-CBT.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:41)
• The impact of TF-CBT (4:51)
• Evolving different applications of TF-CBT (9:38)
• The most used applications (12:16)
• Up next: Parental substance abuse (20:06)
• The development process (25:32)
• Kids fill in the blanks (31:43)
• See kids as resilient, not broken (36:47)
• Ukrainian therapists (42:25)
• For more information (45:04)

Links:

Anthony P. Mannarino, Ph.D., professor and chair; director, Center for Traumatic Stress In Children and Adolescents, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Institute, Allegheny Health Network, Drexel University College of Medicine 

TF-CBT.org

Esther Deblinger, Ph.D.

Judith A. Cohen, MD

TF-CBT implementation manuals

Center for Traumatic Stress in Children and Adolescents

Isha W. Metzger, Ph.D., has previously been a guest on One in Ten (“The Meaning of Healing for Black Kids and Families”) and will join us on our next episode to discuss the new TF-CBT adaptation    

Ashley Dandridge, PsyD.

TF-CBT and Racial Socialization Implementation Manual

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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One of the most compelling problems in child sexual abuse prevention has been how to describe to parents, caregivers, and the general public exactly what signs to look for to identify concerns. Frankly, much of the discussion has been so general because, what might, with hindsight, have been a sign of abuse, might well in another setting be of no concern at all. Describing what grooming behaviors are has up until now been fraught and difficult.

Now enter researcher Elizabeth Jeglic from John Jay College, whose research looks at which behaviors are most clearly linked to child sexual abuse. And even more importantly, it identifies red flag behaviors that any mandatory reporter, parent, or professional can recognize to sound the alarm. This research has the potential to revolutionize both mandatory reporter training and the prevention education we conduct with kids in schools. And wait until you hear the implications for investigators and prosecutors as well. This is a seminal piece of research, and one we are all going to be citing and referring back to for years to come. Please take a listen.

This interview was originally published on March 24, 2023.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:48)
• What is grooming? (4:12)
• The hindsight bias (7:20)
• High-risk grooming behaviors (8:56)
• The kids abusers target (12:05)
• Favoritism and trust development (17:34)
• Post-abuse maintenance (24:33)
• Implications for prevention (27:35)
• Implications for investigation (32:24)
• For more information (38:21)

Links:

Elizabeth Jeglic, Ph.D., is a researcher and professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is the co-director of the Sex Offender Research Lab at college. The co-author of two books, Sexual Violence: Evidence Based Policy and Prevention and Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse, she also blogs for Psychology Today

 Georgia Winters, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Fairleigh Dickinson University

The research paper we’re discussing today is “Identification of red flag child sexual grooming behaviors,” by Elizabeth L. Jeglic, Georgia M. Winters, and  Benjamin N. Johnson. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105998 This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC_ND license.

Sexual Grooming Model

Level of Concern Guide

Post-abuse maintenance chart

Megan’s Law

Jenna’s Law

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at

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Research shows that about 75% of physical abuse starts as physical discipline gone terribly awry. We have years of data showing spanking is ineffective—and, in fact, harmful to kids. But often the topic is treated as a third rail by many child abuse professionals: avoided and ignored.

We spoke to Stacie LeBlanc, CEO of The UP Institute and a champion of No Hit Zones. Why is it so difficult for child abuse professionals to discuss spanking with parents? How do we get past the culture wars on this topic? And how can we open a respectful conversation that moves beyond “Well, I turned out fine”? How can No Hit Zones help?

This episode was originally published on May 7, 2020.

• Topics in this episode:
• Concerns for kids during the pandemic (1:17)
• Connection between spanking and physical abuse (2:53)
• The research (4:15)
• Poly-victimization and adverse childhood experiences (6:03)
• A common problem that’s hard to talk about (8:05)
• Handling parents’ objections (13:17)
• A respectful approach (21:00)
• Banning spanking, changing social norms (23:48)
• How to start a no-hit zone (26:23)
• For more information (34:06)

Links:

Stacie Schrieffer LeBlanc, MEd, JD, CEO of The UP Institute

No Hit Zone Toolkit

The No Hit Zone concept was created in 2005 by Dr. Lolita McDavid at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio

Elizabeth Gershoff, Ph.D.

Painless Parenting

National No Hit Zone Committee

Stop Spanking

U.S. Alliance to End the Hitting of Children has a list of organizations with policy statements on this topic

American Academy of Pediatrics put out a policy statement in November 2018

Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children has a map of global progress on the issue

JHACO (“Jayco”) refers to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

 For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at nationalchildrensalliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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We struggle to understand and talk about the link between poverty and child abuse. On the one hand, we know that not every poor family abuses and neglects their children, and we don’t want to stigmatize families for their poverty. On the other hand, there is a growing body of literature on the cascading effects of poverty in the lives of families. Paul Bywaters, professor of social work at the University of Huddersfield, joins us today to discuss the relationship between poverty, inequality, and child abuse.

 How do we come alongside and stand with families in poverty who are struggling with child abuse and neglect? How do we examine our own policies and procedures to ensure that we’re being genuinely helpful and not just adding to families’ burdens? And how do we move beyond just talking about individual poverty to the growing disparity in means that is reinforcing structural inequality with implications for generations to come? Please take a listen.

 Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (00:09)
• The relationship between poverty and abuse and neglect (4:08)
• Poverty affects every aspect of your life (8:34)
• Impact on adult poverty (11:48)
• The effect of disparity (14:19)
• Standing alongside families (19:16)
• Policy solutions (25:08)
• What’s next in research (36:55)
• For more information (40:20)

Links:

Paul Bywaters, Ph.D., professor of social work, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield

 The Relationship Between Poverty and Child Abuse and Neglect: New Evidence, by Paul Bywaters and Guy Skinner with Aimee Cooper, Eilis Kennedy, and Afra Malik, University of Huddersfield, March 2022

 Michal Krumer-Nevo, Ph.D., YouTube video: FAQ on Poverty and Poverty Aware Practice

 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

 L. Anthony Loman, Ph.D.

 Gary Siegel, Ph.D.

 For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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In most countries around the world, girls are disproportionately at risk of, and harmed by, both sexual abuse and exploitation. But we also know that all genders experience sexual violence. And every trauma victim and survivor deserves tailored treatment and care. So what do we know about how boys experience sexual exploitation? What are the unique stigmas and burdens that they bear? How do we tailor interventions to address their specific needs? And how do we ensure that every victim of every gender gets the help that they need to heal? 

Topics in this episode: 

• Origin story (1:25) 
• Not much research about boys (3:10) 
• The survey (8:55) 
• Positive examples (16:18) 
• Three specific findings (23:58) 
• Policy implications (31:15) 
• What’s next in research (36:04) 
• For more information (38:51) 

Links: 

Mark Kavenagh, Ph.D., founder and director of Evident Consulting (LinkedIn) 

“Sexual exploitation of children: Barriers for boys in accessing social supports for victimization,” Mark Kavenagh, Nicholas Hua, Christine Wekerle, part of a special issue of Child Abuse & Neglect: Global Insights on the Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Vol. 142, Part 2, August 2023 

ECPAT International 

Global Boys Initiative  

“A global systematic scoping review of literature on the sexual exploitation of boys,” Corrine Moss, Savanah Jordan Smith, Katherine Kim, Nicholas Hua, Noella Noronha, Mark Kavenagh, Christine Wekerle 

“Frontline support services for boys who have experienced child sexual exploitation: A thematic review of survey data from seven countries,” Marie Nodzenski, Jarrett Davis 

Sunflower Centers in South Korea

Jordan Greenbaum, MD, previously appeared on One in Ten: “The Trauma They Carried,” Season 3, Episode 10 (July 15, 2021) 

Thorn study, Self-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material: Youth Attitudes and Experiences in 2021 

“Growing Up Online: Addressing Child Sextortion,” with Katie Connell, MSW, (FBI); Season 5, Episode 5, of One in Ten (April 7, 2023) 

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Child sexual abuse is never a child’s fault. Absolutely never. And it’s unrealistic to expect children to somehow fend off the predations of adult offenders. But do jurors believe that? Dr. Jonathan Golding, professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, asked: What do potential jurors believe about children and resisting abuse? How do these beliefs shape their understanding of who is responsible for that abuse? And how does this influence the outcome at trial? The results of his study are concerning and have implications not only for juror education but also education of the general public at large.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:31)
• CSI effect and other extralegal factors (3:18)
• Hypotheses (9:44)
• Research results (12:02)
• Not their fault (15:48)
• College students and community members (18:09)
• A lack of progress on this issue (21:41)
• Implications for juror education (32:36)
• What’s next in research (42:53)
• For more information (46:54)

Links:

Jonathan Golding, Ph.D., is a professor of developmental, social, and health psychology at the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences

“Impacts of Victim Resistance and Type of Assault on Legal Decision-Making in Child Sexual Assault,” Kyle P. Rawn, Mary M. Levi, Andrea M. Pals, Holly Huber, Jonathan M. Golding, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2023.2180468

Gail S. Goodman, Ph.D., director of the Center for Public Policy Research at the University of California, Davis, previously appeared on One in Ten to discuss “How Accurate Is Memory After 20 Years?”

Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.

Kyle P. Rawn

Steven Ceci, Ph.D.

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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For professionals, one of the saddest aspects of child sexual abuse is the way in which many victims struggle with blaming themselves for the terrible actions of others. This self-blame and feelings of guilt can cause suffering throughout a lifespan if it’s left untreated. Many evidence-based interventions specifically target these negative feelings and erroneous thoughts. But how do children come to believe this in the first place? What makes children mistakenly believe that they’re somehow responsible for the actions of adults? 

Dr. Jouriles’ research set out to examine the relationship between whether and in what way caregivers’ and peers’ blame of victims influenced victims’ self-blame. And, while the results may not be surprising, the implications certainly are for child abuse professionals. How do we talk to parents and caregivers at the very earliest points of disclosure about the importance of supporting their child? How do we provide caregivers support in a way that ensures that they themselves have the emotional resources and resiliency needed to provide support to their children? And most importantly, how do we ensure that children know and believe that abuse is never, ever their fault?

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:58)
• What are non-supportive responses? (3:42)
• Findings: the effect of non-supportive responses (10:46)
• Do the poor responses outweigh the good? (16:47)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (20:08)
• Future research needed (27:50)
• Engaging families in treatment (31:17)
• Rewarding work (38:46)
• For more information (40:47)

Links:

Ernest Jouriles, Ph.D., professor and co-director of the Family Research Center at SMU

“Non-supportive responses to adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse: Relations with self-blame and trauma symptoms,” Ernest N. Jouriles, Melissa J. Sitton, Adrianna Adams, Mindy Jackson, Renee McDonald. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2022, Vol. 134. doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105885

Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, Dallas, Texas

We discussed the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) with Dr. Carrie Epstein in “PTSD Interrupted?” (Season 5, Episode 2; February 17, 2023)

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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