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It is widely accepted that parents have a fundamental moral obligation to consider and treat their children as each other's equals. Yet the question of what grounds the equality of status among children in the eyes of their parents has so far been largely neglected in the literature on the philosophy of childhood and the ethics of parenthood. This paper fills this gap by developing a novel theory of the basis of filial equality: it argues that parents ought to consider and treat their children as equals by virtue of loving them. Parental love is the basis of filial equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maltreatment adversely impacts the development of children across a host of domains. One way in which maltreatment may exert its deleterious effects is by becoming embedded in the activity of neurophysiological systems that regulate metabolic function. This paper reviews the literature regarding the association between childhood maltreatment and the activity of three systems: the parasympathetic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. A particular emphasis is placed on the extent to which the literature supports a common account of activity across these systems under conditions of homeostasis and stress. The paper concludes with an outline of directions for future research and the implications of the literature for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a randomized control trial involving children less than 3 years old and their mothers who were regarded at risk of maltreating their children by referral agencies. Mothers' risk status derived from a heavy trauma burden (average exposure over the first 18 years of their lives to 10 possible adverse childhood experiences [ACEs] was >5), mental health challenges (15%–28% had experienced a prior psychiatric hospitalization), and prior removal of a child to foster care (20%). Mothers were randomly assigned to either a widely used parenting class known as Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) or the Group Attachment-Based Intervention (GABI), a multifamily 26-week treatment. The resulting mother–child pairs available for consideration in this baseline versus end-of-treatment report were 35 families in the STEP arm and 43 families in the GABI arm. The focus of this paper is the outcome measure of observed parent–child relationship assessed with the Coding of Interactive Behavior (Feldman, 1998) collected at baseline and end of treatment. In comparison to STEP, results indicated that GABI was linked to significant improvements in maternal supportive presence and dyadic reciprocity, and significant declines in maternal hostility and dyadic constriction (proxies for risk of child maltreatment). These medium-to large-sized effects remained significant even after controlling for mothers' prior ACEs in analysis of covariance procedures. In addition, two small interaction effects of ACEs by treatment type were found, underlining the need for, and value of, treatments that are sensitive to parents' traumatic histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Building Healthy Children (BHC) home-visiting preventive intervention was designed to provide concrete support and evidence-based intervention to young mothers and their infants who were at heightened risk for child maltreatment and poor developmental outcomes. This paper presents two studies examining the short- and long-term effectiveness of this program at promoting positive parenting and maternal mental health, while preventing child maltreatment and harsh parenting. It also examines the intervention's sustained effect on child symptomatology and self-regulation. At baseline, young mothers and their infants were randomly assigned to receive BHC or Enhanced Community Standard. Families were assessed longitudinally across four time points. Data were also collected from the child's teacher at follow-up. Mothers who received BHC evidenced significant reductions in depressive symptoms at mid-intervention, which was associated with improvements in parenting self-efficacy and stress as well as decreased child internalizing and externalizing symptoms at postintervention. The follow-up study found that BHC mothers exhibited less harsh and inconsistent parenting, and marginally less psychological aggression. BHC children also exhibited less externalizing behavior and self-regulatory difficulties across parent and teacher report. Following the impactful legacy of Dr. Edward Zigler, these findings underline the importance of early, evidence-based prevention to promote well-being in high-risk children and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As championed by the work of Ed Zigler, investing in nurturing environments for all children is a chief tenet of primary prevention that will have far-reaching benefits to the health and welfare of all members of society. Children who endure child maltreatment (CM) are among society's most vulnerable. Prospective longitudinal research aimed at a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms linking CM to subsequent adverse health consequences is needed to improve outcomes and to strengthen causal inference. This paper outlines the methods of the Child Health Study (CHS), a large, state-wide longitudinal cohort of recently maltreated and nonmaltreated youth aged 8–13 who will be assessed every 2 years. The CHS is designed to include in-depth assessments of multiple environmental, behavioral, neural, physiological, and molecular mechanisms through which CM may impact a broad spectrum of youth development, including behavioral and physical health outcomes. In addition to describing the conceptual framework and methods underlying the CHS, we provide information on valuable "lessons learned" in the hopes of supporting future research efforts facing similar challenges. The ultimate goal of this research is demonstrating how policies regarding CM impact the well-being, resilience and recovery of survivors and that they are worthy of large public investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with policy related to child abuse, older adult protection policy developed later and made slower progress in the United States of America. Few studies have addressed older adult protection policy. This paper compares the two policies and provides implications about how to improve older adult protection policy by emulating child protection policy. The Dimensions of Choice Framework was utilised to illuminate the differences between child protection and older adult protection policies (i.e. allocation, provisions, delivery and finance), while Advocacy Coalition Framework theory was used to explain why these differences exist (i.e. the contentions between ally and opposite coalitions). The Dimensions of Choice Framework refined the descriptive comparison of the two policies while the Advocacy Coalition Framework unfolded the efforts and struggles between advocacy coalitions that result in policy changes; and the conceptual combination further provides a cross-disciplinary link between social work and public policy studies. Findings indicated that, compared to child protection policy, older adult protection policy lacked federal legislative and administrative direction, well-developed diagnosis and evaluation tools, a national data system, sufficient federal funds and a comprehensive response mechanism. This was the case because older adult protection advocates presented a more controversial argument regarding the role of government intervention in protecting victims while respecting individual autonomy, lower public and government awareness, and weaker efforts from ally coalitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood adversities have been reported to be more common among individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. This paper systematically reviewed and meta-analysed (i) the severity and prevalence of childhood adversities (childhood trauma exposure, bullying victimisation and parental separation or loss) among the UHR, and (ii) the association between adversities and transition to psychosis (TTP). PsycINFO, PubMed and Embase databases were searched for studies reporting childhood adversities among UHR individuals. Only published articles were included. Risk of bias was assessed using Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guideline (von Elm et al., 2007) and the tool developed by Hoy et al. (2012). Seventeen case–control, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were included. UHR individuals experienced significantly more severe trauma than controls, regardless of trauma subtype. UHR were 5.5, 2.5 and 3.1 times as likely to report emotional abuse, physical abuse and bullying victimisation, respectively. There was no association with parental separation. However, childhood trauma was not significantly associated with TTP (follow-up periods: 6 months to 15 years), suggesting that trauma alone may not be a sufficient risk factor. Sexual abuse was associated with TTP but this may have been driven by a single large study. Potential confounders and low rates of TTP among UHR are limitations of this review. This is the first meta-analysis that quantitatively summarises the associations between childhood adversities and TTP among UHR, and between specific abuse subtypes and TTP. Specific recommendations have been made to increase the quality of future research. PROSPERO registration no. CRD42017054884. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost everyone accepts that parents must provide a good enough upbringing in order to retain custodial rights over children, but little has been said about how that level should be set. In this paper, I examine ways of specifying a good enough upbringing. I argue that the two dominant ways of setting this level, the Best Interests and Abuse and Neglect Views, are mistaken. I defend the Dual Comparative View, which holds that an upbringing is good enough when shortfalls from the best alternative upbringing in terms of the child's interests are no more significant than the parents' interest. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BackgroundLiterature supports a strong relationship between childhood maltreatment and mental illness but most studies reviewed are cross-sectional and/or use recall to assess maltreatment and are thus prone to temporality and recall bias. Research on the potential prospective impact of maltreatment reduction on the incidence of psychiatric disorders is scarce.MethodElectronic databases and grey literature from 1990 to 2014 were searched for English-language cohort studies with criteria for depression and/or anxiety and non-recall measurement of childhood maltreatment. Systematic review with meta-analysis synthesized the results. Study quality, heterogeneity, and publication bias were examined. Initial screening of titles and abstracts resulted in 199 papers being reviewed. Eight high-quality articles met eligibility criteria. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) estimated potential preventive impact.ResultsThe pooled odds ratio (OR) between any type of maltreatment and depression was 2.03 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37–3.01] and 2.70 (95% CI 2.10–3.47) for anxiety. For specific types of maltreatment and depression or anxiety disorders, the ORs were: physical abuse (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.25–3.19), sexual abuse (OR 2.66, 95% CI 1.88–3.75), and neglect (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.35–2.23). PAFs suggest that over one-half of global depression and anxiety cases are potentially attributable to self-reported childhood maltreatment. A 10–25% reduction in maltreatment could potentially prevent 31.4–80.3 million depression and anxiety cases worldwide.ConclusionThis review provides robust evidence of childhood maltreatment increasing the risk for depression and anxiety, and reinforces the need for effective programs and policies to reduce its occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents multilevel findings on adolescents' victimization exposure from a large longitudinal cohort of twins. Data were obtained from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, an epidemiological study of 2,232 children (1,116 twin pairs) followed to 18 years of age (with 93% retention). To assess adolescent victimization, we combined best practices in survey research on victimization with optimal approaches to measuring life stress and traumatic experiences, and introduce a reliable system for coding severity of victimization. One in three children experienced at least one type of severe victimization during adolescence (crime victimization, peer/sibling victimization, Internet/mobile phone victimization, sexual victimization, family violence, maltreatment, or neglect), and most types of victimization were more prevalent among children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Exposure to multiple victimization types was common, as was revictimization; over half of those physically maltreated in childhood were also exposed to severe physical violence in adolescence. Biometric twin analyses revealed that environmental factors had the greatest influence on most types of victimization, while severe physical maltreatment from caregivers during adolescence was predominantly influenced by heritable factors. The findings from this study showcase how distinct levels of victimization measurement can be harmonized in large-scale studies of health and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundChronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are both highly prevalent conditions associated with extreme disability and with the development of co-morbid psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Childhood stressors have been shown to induce persistent changes in the function of biological systems potentially relevant to the pathogenesis of both CFS and FM, such as the inflammatory system and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. In this review, we examined whether multiple forms of childhood stressors are contributing factors to the development of these disorders, and of the associated psychiatric symptoms.MethodUsing PubMed, we identified 31 papers relevant to this narrative review. We included cohort studies and case-control studies, without any exclusion in terms of age and gender. No study characteristics or publication date restrictions were imposed.ResultsMost studies across the literature consistently show that there is a strong association between experiences of childhood stressors and the presence of CFS and FM, with rates of CFS/FM being two- to three-fold higher in exposed than in unexposed subjects. We also found evidence for an increased risk for the development of additional symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and pain, in individuals with CFS and FM with a previous history of childhood stressors, compared with individuals with CFS/FM and no such history.ConclusionsOur review confirms that exposure to childhood stressors is associated with the subsequent development of fatigue syndromes such as CFS and FM, and related symptoms. Further studies are needed to identify the mechanisms underlying these associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined whether childhood maltreatment increases the risk of living in neighborhoods with less desirable characteristics (i.e., more disorder and disadvantage, less social cohesion, social control and advantage, and fewer resources) in middle adulthood and whether these neighborhood characteristics influence subsequent illicit drug use. Using a prospective cohort design study, court documented cases of childhood abuse and neglect and matched controls (n = 833) were first interviewed as young adults (mean age = 29 years) from 1989 to 1995 and again in middle adulthood from 2000 to 2002 (mean age = 40 years) and 2003 to 2005 (mean age = 41 years). In middle adulthood, individuals with histories of childhood abuse and neglect were more likely to live in neighborhoods with more disorder and disadvantage and less social cohesion and advantage compared to controls and to engage in illicit drug use during the past year. Path analyses showed an indirect effect on illicit drug use via neighborhood disorder among maltreated children, even after accounting for drug abuse symptoms in young adulthood, although this was sex specific and race specific, affecting women and Whites. Overall, child abuse and neglect places children on a negative trajectory that dynamically influences negative outcomes at multiple levels into middle adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Baes CVW, Tofoli SMC, Martins CMS, Juruena MF. Assessment of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity: glucocorticoid receptor and mineralocorticoid receptor function in depression with early life stress - a systematic review. Objective: The mechanisms involved in the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, especially in the functioning of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in depressed patients, are not well elucidated. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of articles that assess the HPA axis activity from GR and MR in depressed patients and healthy controls with or without early life stress. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of articles in PubMed, SCOPUS and SciELO published between 2000 and 2011, using the following search terms: child abuse, depression, HPA axis, dexamethasone, prednisolone, fludrocortisone and spironolactone. Thirty-four papers were selected for this review. Results: Most studies identified in this review used the dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone test and dexamethasone suppression test. In these studies, hypercortisolaemia was associated with depression. We identified three studies with the Prednisolone suppression test, only one study with the use of fludrocortisone and one with spironolactone. This review found nine studies that evaluated the HPA axis in individuals with early life stress. Conclusions: The majority of the studies assessed in this review show that early life stress leads to permanent changes in the HPA axis and may lead to development of depression in adults. The most consistent findings in the literature show increased activity of the HPA axis in depression associated with hypercortisolaemia and reduced inhibitory feedback. These findings suggest that this dysregulation of the HPA axis is partially attributable to an imbalance between GR and MR. Evidences have consistently showed that GR function is impaired in major depression, but few studies have assessed the activity of MR in depression and early life stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundPrevious research reported that childhood adversity predicts juvenile- onset but not adult-onset depression, but studies confounded potentially genuine differences in adversity with differences in the recency with which adversity was experienced. The current study paper took into account the recency of risk when testing for differences among child-, adolescent- and young adult-onset depressions.MethodUp to nine waves of data were used per subject from two cohorts of the Great Smoky Mountains Study (GSMS; n=1004), covering children in the community aged 9–16, 19 and 21 years. Youth and one of their parents were interviewed using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA) between ages 9 and 16; these same youth were interviewed using the Young Adult Psychiatric Assessment (YAPA) at ages 19 and 21. The most common psychosocial risk factors for depression were assessed: poverty, life events, parental psychopathology, maltreatment, and family dysfunction.ResultsConsistent with previous research, most childhood psychosocial risk factors were more strongly associated with child-onset than with adolescent-/adult-onset depression. When potentially genuine risk differences among the depression-onset groups were disentangled from differences due to the recency of risk, child- and young adult-onset depression were no longer different from one another. Adolescent-onset depression was associated with few psychosocial risk factors.ConclusionsThere were no differences in putative risk factors between child- and young adult-onset depression when the recency of risk was taken into account. Adolescent-onset depression was associated with few psychosocial risk factors. It is possible that some adolescent-onset depression cases differ in terms of risk from child- and young adult-onset depression. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the United States, the implementation of a successful system of mandated reporting of suspected child abuse continues to be plagued by the absence of a clear standard for when one must report. All 50 states of the U.S. have laws requiring certain individuals to report suspected child abuse. However, at present, there are variable thresholds for mandated reporting and no clear consensus on how existing thresholds should be interpreted. Because 'child abuse' is often present as a possible etiology for injuries and non-infectious conditions that beset children, it is problematic to suggest that 'the mere possibility of child abuse' qualifies as cause to report. In an effort to move toward a more effective system of mandated reporting of child maltreatment, this paper discusses how the absence of a clear threshold affects mandated reporters, examines the relevant legal and conceptual issues, and suggests future directions for policy, practice, and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: I comment on two papers by Koenig and colleagues that advocate the integration of religion into routine psychiatric practice. In my opinion, their selective overview of research, although useful, lacks balance. It omits any mention of the literature on worldwide scandals over child sex abuse (and other abuses of power) perpetrated and facilitated by religious authority within several faith groups. There is no mention of damaging 'religiously informed' treatments such as sexual orientation conversion therapy, which is still practised in the UK despite widespread condemnation. Their recommendations for clinical practice conflate association with causation. They do not offer practice guidance on managing the impact of power imbalances associated with religion in multicultural societies. In summary, despite more than a decade of research and debate, there are still no generally accepted ways of avoiding boundary violations where psychiatrists introduce religion into their clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labor evokes deep emotions and is cause for growing international concern. Most recent global estimates show that 186 million children are engaged in full time economic activity. This paper discusses the possibilities and pitfalls of Western policies that seek to curb child labor abroad. Since such policies aim to combat practices in other societies, policy-makers should be aware of the many relevant differences between developing and developed countries. We discuss three issues that are central to this debate: different conceptions of childhood and the dominance of the Western conception in these debates; the distinction between child work and child labor; and socioeconomic causes of child labor. We then evaluate the implications of these investigations for direct and indirect policy options against child labor abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In our clinical practice we find patients with anxiety and mood instability that are resistant to different strategies of medical treatment and psychotherapy. It is relevant that many of them have recognized a history of abuses in their past that never before was detected neither solved. It is known that Affectiveinstability (AI), childhood trauma, and mental illness are linked, but evidence in mood disorders is limited. Objectives: The aim of this paper is to document resistant anxiety and AI cases with history of adverse childhood experiences, in order to determine refractory mood disorders as a marker of history of abuses in the past. Methods: A bibliographic search was performed from different databases (Pubmed, Ovid, ScienceDirect)about this topic, from a case series report, showing throw aspects related to mood dysregulation in adults with childhood maltreatment. Results: A remarkable percentage of the evaluated patients diagnosed with refractory anxiety or AI, had a history of childhood trauma, what might be an adaptive response to stressors and attenuate affective instability. Conclusions: Childhood-maltreatment has been shown in metaanalyses to be a major risk factor for mood and anxiety-disorders, also there is a strong link between childhood traumatic events and AI levels. For that reason, if we identify a refractive course of anxietymood disorder as amarker of vulnerability of history of trauma in the childhood, that could potentially optimize service delivery and therapy outcomes among that profile of patients. More studies are required to achieve an adequate evaluation, allowing a different inicial boarding that could modify the course, thanks to its early detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several conference papers presented in the Catholic Theological Association 2012 Conference held in September 2012 on the topic "Church, Credibility and Culture." It discusses several topics including religious credibility of Catholic Church, church and modern culture and a child abuse case in Ireland.

Introduction Seven UK police forces are currently investigating the alleged involvement of the late Edward Heath (Prime Minister 1970–1974) in a child abuse ring with Operation Midland investigating specifically the alleged murder of three boys. Objective The presentation raises international awareness of the investigation, sheds light on the suspected ‘Satanist’ ideology behind the cult and explores the implications for professional practice. Aims The paper highlights the corrosive impact on society of powerful pedophile rings that are protected by compromised authority representatives and professionals. Method Detailed accounts circulate on the Internet that name dozens of individuals allegedly active in the cult including high-ranking politicians, psychiatrists, psychologist, police officers as well as journalists and academics. Some of the alleged crimes can be corroborated with news reports or successful court prosecutions while the vast majority appear to be ‘known crimes’ that are successfully covered up. Results The widespread organisational structures parallel the Marc Dutroux case in Belgium. It appears to be the case that compromised mental health professionals and authority representatives shield the cult. It becomes an ethical obligation for the silent majority to speak out against such criminality and demand from their government effective investigation and prosecution. Conclusion Whilst an enquiry into historical allegations of institutional abuse is currently underway in the UK several cases emerged recently where satanic cults seemingly continue to be protected by the vested interests. Mental health professionals must stand up for victims and resist ill-conceived authority attempts to persecute abuse survivors and their supporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various papers published within the issue including a systematic review of studies on the link between HIV and mental disorder, an investigation on the association between schizotypal traits and childhood trauma, and a study on the cerebral correlates of neurological soft signs (NSS).