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This article reports on a retrospective study of cases of child sexual abuse complaints made against clergy, other employed pastoral staff, and volunteers in the Anglican Church of Australia between 1990 and 2008. There were 191 allegations of sexual abuse made by 180 complainants against 135 individuals. Twenty-seven of those 135 had more than one complaint made against them. Three-quarters of all complainants were male. The most likely explanation for the large proportion of abused males is that the church gives many more opportunities for abusers to be alone with boys than with girls. Prevention strategies need to focus on reducing the opportunities for abuse to occur as well strategies concerning the recruitment of professional staff and volunteers. (Contains 5 tables.)

A follow-up study of 103 Australian individuals (Ages 14-25) who were sexually abused, found they performed more poorly than controls on measures of depression, self-esteem, anxiety, behavior, and despair. They were also more likely to have a history of bingeing, smoking, and using amphetamines. Potential risk factors are discussed. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Comparison of mothers whose children had been sexually abused by others and 65 control mothers concerning sexual abuse in their own childhood found that 34% of mothers of sexually abused children gave a history of sexual abuse in their own childhood, compared with 12% of control mothers. (Author/DB)

Analysis of 38 children under 2 with subdural hematomas found the most common causes were nonaccidental injury (55%), accidents (39%), and nontraumatic causes (6%). Also, the frequent presence of retinal hemorrhages, bone and rib fractures, delay in presentation, and young age suggests child abuse as the most common cause of these injuries. (Author/DB)

Twenty-four abused children, judged unable to participate in a public school setting due to developmental delays and abnormal behaviors, attended a therapeutic preschool for physically and sexually abused children from 1985-88. Most children made developmental gains at a faster-than-expected rate, and over 79 percent were staffed into the public school system after 12 months in the program. (DB)

A literature review on treatment of physically abused children and physically abusive parents is presented. A variety of treatments is documented, with the most popular for children being therapeutic daycare emphasizing improving developmental skills. Although most programs demonstrated some improvement with treatment, many included no or very short follow-up to determine sustained improvement. (Author/PB)

Objective: To determine the incidence of re-abuse in children known to have been sexually abused and to find factors that increase the risk of re-abuse. Method: The study group consisted of 183 children with substantiated sexual abuse who presented to two children's hospitals' Child Protection Units in Sydney, Australia during 1988 through 1990. At intake, when the children were aged between 5 years and 15 years, data about the child, the family, and the nature of the index sexual abuse were collected. Six years after presentation for the abuse, records of the Department of Community Services were checked to see if any of the young people had been the subject of substantiated notifications for abuse/neglect before and after intake to the study. Predictors of notifications for abuse/neglect after presentation for the index sexual abuse were identified. Results: Of the sexually abused young people, nearly one in three were the subject of subsequent substantiated notifications to the Department of Community Services for some form of child abuse and neglect or behavior which placed them at risk of harm. Later notifications for abuse/neglect were predicted by notifications for emotional abuse before the index sexual abuse (adjusted RR = 4.88, CI: 1.43 to 16.65), severity of the index sexual abuse (p = .03), and the number of changes in the child's primary caregivers before intake (p = .03). Approximately one in six of the sexually abused young people were notified for sexual abuse after intake to the study. One in 10 also had prior notifications for sexual abuse. Sexual abuse notifications after study intake were predicted by caregiver changes before intake (p = .01) and whether or not there were notifications for emotional abuse before the index sexual abuse (adjusted RR = 3.40, CI: 1.05 to 11.02). Conclusions: Revictimization of children appears to be a marker of ongoing family dysfunction. Intervention in child sexual abuse needs to consider a range of risk factors associated with re-abuse and, in particular, should focus on family functioning if further abuse is to be prevented. Keywords: Child sexual abuse; Revictimization; Physical abuse; Neglect; Emotional abuse; Predictors

Aim: To assess the incidence and nature of concerns about sexual abuse, with particular reference to erroneous concerns of sexual abuse made by children. Methods: A review of case notes of all child sexual abuse reports to the Denver Department of Social Services over 12 months. Cases were put into four groups: substantiated, not sexual abuse, inconclusive and erroneous accounts by children. Results: 551 cases were reviewed. Forty-three percent were substantiated, 21% were inconclusive and 34% were not considered to be abuse cases. There were 14 (2.5%) erroneous concerns emanating from children. They comprised three cases of allegations made in collusion with a parent, three cases where an innocent event was misinterpreted as sexual abuse and eight cases (1.5%) of false allegations of sexual abuse. Conclusion: Erroneous concern of sexual abuse from children are uncommon. The four categories of concern in this study, in contrast to the simple classification of substantiated and unsubstantiated, provide a means of encouraging open minded assessments of the typical concerns which a child protection agency receives. Key Words--Child sexual abuse, False allegations, Erroneous accounts.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relative frequency of child abuse, accidents and disease as a cause of subdural hematomas in children under 2 years of age, and to determine the main clinical features at presentation, that may help to distinguish these groups of patients. Method: A retrospective review was undertaken of the medical records of all children under 2 years of age admitted to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children with the diagnosis of subdural hematoma in the 10-year period January 1987 to December 1996. Results: Thirty eight children were identified with subdural hematomas during the study period. The commonest cause was nonaccidental injury in 55% of cases, accidents in 39% and nontraumatic causes (6%) made up the remainder. The nonaccidental injury cases were significantly younger than the accidentally injured children. The most important clinical features were the significantly higher incidence of retinal hemorrhages and associated long bone and rib fractures in the abuse group. Delay in presentation for medical evaluation was also more commonly seen in the abused children. Conclusion: Nonaccidental injury is the commonest cause of subdural hematomas in children under 2 years of age. The presence of retinal hemorrhages, bone and rib fractures, delay in presentation and the young age of the infants, suggests child abuse is the most likely cause of these injuries. Key Words - Subdural hematoma, Children, Abuse, Accident.

Teaching children in Australia about skin cancer prevention is discussed: In all age groups no difference was sen in results between formal and interactive teaching sessions, except for 8-yr-olds. For them, the formal presentation was more effective. Much solar skin damage occurs before adolescence, so the children younger than adolescents are an important group to be targeted by prevention programs.

Children who have been sexually abused may continue to have significantly more problems with depression, low self-esteem, and problem behaviors than their non abused peers. Sixty-eight children who had been sexually abused were evaluated five years after the original investigation. These children were compared to a similar group of 75 who were not known to have suffered abuse. The previously abused children showed much higher levels of depression and had significantly more behavioral problems than non abused children. These results indicate a need for long term care for these children., Objective. A total of 68 sexually abused children and their nonoffending parents were reassessed 5 years after presentation and were compared with a cohort of children of similar age and sex who were not known to have been abused. Method. Outcome measures were behavior, depression, self-esteem, anxiety, eating problems, drug use, suicide attempts, self-injury, running away, criminal activity, and attributional style. Recent life events, demographics, family functional and mothers' mental health were taken into account when examining outcome. Results. Although the abused children had experienced more negative life events, were from lower socioeconomic groups, had more changes in parent figures, and had mothers who were more psychologically distressed, multiple regression analysis showed that after allowing for these and other demographic factors, there were still significant differences between the groups after the 5 years. The abused children displayed more disturbed behavior, had lower self-esteem, were more depressed or unhappy, and were more anxious than controls. Sexually abused children had significantly higher levels of bingeing self-injury, and suicide attempts. Conclusions. It is clear that many children who are sexually abused have ongoing problems. Their ongoing problems may be indicative of false beliefs about themselves and the sexual abuse experience. Pediatrics 1997; 100:600-608; sexual abuse, control, behavior, psychological., Sexual abuse of children is a common problem. When restricting cases to those involving physical contact between an abuser and a child [less than] 16 years of age, estimated international [...]

Observation of the effects of sexual abuse on children and their families once they grew to adulthood revealed that the abused group had more marital breakdown, job loss, intrafamilial communication problems and maternal mental illness. Especially the mothers had more depression, low self-esteem and behavior disorders. The child's relationship with the abuser may be of less concern in treatment than issues of self-esteem, family functioning and depression.