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In the developed countries, numerous investigations over the past forty years have demonstrated that young children who are deprived of the love, attention, and continuous care of a mother or mother substitute figure can suffer adverse effects which may manifest themselves in retarded physical, mental, and social development. In Nigeria, however, little is known about the extent and problems of deprived children. The present study, a pioneer one in that country, attempts to examine the problems involved in the care of motherless babies in the Western State of Nigeria, to evaluate critically in terms of their physical, mental and social development, the efficacy of existing methods of care and, finally, to formulate recommendations for their improvement and development. The samples in the study were drawn from urban and rural communities and comprised 227 motherless babies - 110 in institutions, 30 in foster homes and 87 living with their families; in addition, in children in two control groups were examined. All were under five years old and from the some socio-economic background. The study comprised three parts, retrospective, transverse and prospective, and was preceded by a detailed survey of the institutions and foster homes with special reference to physical environment, standards of care, and quality of staff. In the retrospective study, examination of any available medical records of motherless babies in the various groups was carried out with special reference to morbidity experience. In the prospective study, the motherless babies were followed up for twelve to eighteen months and weight gain or loss and morbidity experience recorded. In the transverse study, general physical examination and certain laboratory investigations were performed on each child using standard procedures. For the psychological assessment, those under two years were given the Griffiths Baby Test, and for the two to five year olds the revised Stanford-Binet Achievement tests were administered. General information about the children and their families was collected by the use of self-devised questionnaires and by direct interviews with individuals. Community opinion surveys were also conducted in two areas, one representing an urban, the other a rural community. Married persons were interviewed in each locality and their opinion sought about the publicity of, and their own attitude to, the different methods of care. The findings indicate that motherless babies in institutions, although in a comparatively healthier environment, had the highest mortality and morbidity. It is also shown that motherless babies living with their families achieved better mental, social, and physical development than those in institutions or foster homes. However, in one institution where there were higher standards of care and supervision, the development of the motherless babies there compared favourably with those living with their families. The community opinion surveys revealed that the different methods of care were not publicised sufficiently and that the majority of those interviewed were unwilling to receive abandoned children into their own homes. Finally, the problems involved in the care of motherless babies wore analysed, and the reasons for them discussed. These included the high cost of institutional care, the shortage of suitably trained staff and the scarcity of foster homes and of suitable foster parents. Inadequacies in all three methods of care can be attributed to several causes. General and specific recommendations are suggested to improve the care of motherless babies and these will involve action central and local Government, the voluntary organisations and agencies concerned and, not least, an increased community responsibility.

This thesis provides a broad and diverse investigation into the field of intimate partner violence (IPV) within the LGBT community. A range of methods were used to explore issues in this field, these included a systematic review, a critical review of a psychometric measure used in this research, a primary quantitative investigation and a secondary mixed methods investigation. The chapters follow a 'golden thread' of the examination of psychological abuse, however they are diverse enough to remain independent studies in their own rights. Following an introduction to this thesis in Chapter One, Chapter Two reviews prevalence rates of IPV in non-heteronormative relationships. The results of this review indicate that IPV, be that physical, sexual or psychological, occurs in the relationships of those identifying as LGBT at similar, if not elevated, rates to those in heteronormative relationships, which will have potential implications for service provision and interventions. This review clearly finds that there is no unified definition of IPV and this will have impacts on the consistency and comparability of research in this area. Chapter Three evaluates the Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse (MMEA; Murphy and Hoover, 1999), which was a psychometric measure used in Chapter's Three and Four. This assessment indicates satisfactory support for the validity and reliability of the MMEA. Chapter Four utilises correlation and regression analysis to investigate the associations between personality traits, including Dark Triad (DT) traits, and the perpetration of IPV, specifically psychological abuse, for those in the LGBT community. Associations were found between both general and DT personality traits, and the perpetration of psychological abuse. Chapter Five explores the experiences of individuals seeking help for IPV (either the perpetration or victimisation thereof). The principals of Thematic Analysis were employed through this study; an approach chosen due to the exploratory nature of this research. Two areas were discussed: (1) the quality of the help received and (2) the barriers to seeking help. Recurrent themes reflected the disparity of experiences (from supportive to dismissive) and highlighted key LGBT specific issues with seeking help. Finally, Chapter Six provides a conclusion and close to this thesis, drawing together the implications of this research.