Saskia Euser

The prevalence of child sexual abuse in out-of-home care: a comparison between abuse in residential and in foster care

We investigated the 2010 year prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in residential and foster care and compared it with prevalence rates in the general population. We used two approaches to estimate the prevalence of CSA. First, 264 professionals working in residential or foster care (sentinels) reported CSA for the children they worked with (N = 6,281). Second, 329 adolescents staying in residential or foster care reported on their own experiences with CSA. Sentinels and adolescents were randomly selected from 82 Dutch out-of-home care facilities. We found that 3.5 per 1,000 children had been victims of CSA based on sentinel reports. In addition, 248 per 1,000 adolescents reported having experienced CSA. Results based on both sentinel report and self-report revealed higher prevalence rates in out-of-home care than in the general population, with the highest prevalence in residential care. Prevalence rates in foster care did not differ from the general population. According to our findings, children and adolescents in residential care are at increased risk of CSA compared to children in foster care. Unfortunately, foster care does not fully protect children against sexual abuse either, and thus its quality needs to be further improved.

Kindermishandeling in Nederland Anno 2010. De Tweede Nationale Prevalentiestudie Mishandeling van Kinderen en Jeugdigen (NPM-2010)

In deze studie (noot a) is onderzocht wat de jaarprevalentie was van kindermishandeling in 2010, hoe dit getal zich verhoudt tot de prevalentie in 2005 en wat de belangrijkste risicofactoren waren. Ruim 1100 beroepskrachten die in verschillende sectoren met kinderen te maken hebben, is gevraagd alle gevallen van kindermishandeling te rapporteren. Ook zijn alle kinderen geteld die gemeld waren bij de Advies- en Meldpunten Kindermishandeling in 2010. Verder hebben bijna 2000 middelbare scholieren gerapporteerd over mishandeling. De prevalentieschatting op basis van informantenrapportages en AMK-meldingen kwam neer op 34 per 1000 (bijna 119.000) kinderen. De toename (68%) in het aantal AMK-meldingen van 2005-2010 was opvallend. De prevalentieschatting op basis van zelfrapportage was 99 per 1000, hetzelfde aantal als in 2005. Gezinnen met (zeer) laag opgeleide ouders, werkloze ouders, eenoudergezinnen, gezinnen met drie of meer kinderen en stiefgezinnen hadden een groter risico op kindermishandeling. Ook allochtone achtergrond betekende een verhoogd risico. Voor gezinnen van Marokkaanse, Turkse, Surinaamse, of Antilliaanse herkomst viel dat extra risico weg als rekening werd gehouden met het gemiddeld lagere opleidingsniveau. De toegenomen aandacht voor kindermishandeling in de afgelopen jaren heeft geleid tot een toename in het aantal (AMK-)meldingen, maar niet tot een merkbare daling in het aantal slachtoffers.AbstractChild maltreatment in the Netherlands in 2010: The second Netherlands’ Prevalence study on Maltreatment of children and youth (NPM-2010)The current study assesses the year prevalence of child maltreatment in the Netherlands. We estimated the prevalence of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and physical and emotional neglect using different methods: informant-, CPS-, and self-reports. We also tested which family and demographic factors increased the risk for child maltreatment. Results showed that the prevalence, based on both informant-reports and self-reports has not decreased from 2005 to 2010 and that risk factors remained similar. The number of reports to CPS did increase from 2005 to 2010. It is likely that this is the result of increased awareness of the problem. Based on our results, recommendations for policy makers are formulated.

A gloomy picture: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials reveals disappointing effectiveness of programs aiming at preventing child maltreatment.

BackgroundConsistent findings about the effectiveness of parent programs to prevent or reduce child maltreatment are lacking.MethodsIn the present meta-analysis we synthesized findings from 27 independent samples from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of 20 different intervention programs aimed at (i) preventing the occurrence of child maltreatment in the general population or with at-risk but non-maltreating families, or (ii) reducing the incidence of child maltreatment in maltreating families.ResultsA significant combined effect on maltreatment (d = 0.13; N = 4883) disappeared after the trim-and-fill approach that takes into account publication bias against smaller studies without significant outcomes. However, moderator analyses showed that larger effect sizes were found for more recent studies, studies with smaller samples, programs that provide parent training instead of only support, programs that target maltreating instead of at-risk families, and programs with a moderate length (6–12 months) or a moderate number of sessions (16–30).ConclusionsMore RCTs are needed to further unravel which factors are associated with program effectiveness. Because currently existing programs appeared to only reduce and not prevent child maltreatment, efforts in the field of preventive intervention should also focus on the development and testing of preventive programs for families at risk for child maltreatment.

Kindermishandeling in Nederland Anno 2010

In deze studie (noot a) is onderzocht wat de jaarprevalentie was van kindermishandeling in 2010, hoe dit getal zich verhoudt tot de prevalentie in 2005 en wat de belangrijkste risicofactoren waren. Ruim 1100 beroepskrachten die in verschillende sectoren met kinderen te maken hebben, is gevraagd alle gevallen van kindermishandeling te rapporteren. Ook zijn alle kinderen geteld die gemeld waren bij de Advies- en Meldpunten Kindermishandeling in 2010. Verder hebben bijna 2000 middelbare scholieren gerapporteerd over mishandeling. De prevalentieschatting op basis van informantenrapportages en AMK-meldingen kwam neer op 34 per 1000 (bijna 119.000) kinderen. De toename (68%) in het aantal AMK-meldingen van 2005-2010 was opvallend. De prevalentieschatting op basis van zelfrapportage was 99 per 1000, hetzelfde aantal als in 2005. Gezinnen met (zeer) laag opgeleide ouders, werkloze ouders, eenoudergezinnen, gezinnen met drie of meer kinderen en stiefgezinnen hadden een groter risico op kindermishandeling. Ook allochtone achtergrond betekende een verhoogd risico. Voor gezinnen van Marokkaanse, Turkse, Surinaamse, of Antilliaanse herkomst viel dat extra risico weg als rekening werd gehouden met het gemiddeld lagere opleidingsniveau. De toegenomen aandacht voor kindermishandeling in de afgelopen jaren heeft geleid tot een toename in het aantal (AMK-)meldingen, maar niet tot een merkbare daling in het aantal slachtoffers.AbstractChild maltreatment in the Netherlands in 2010: The second Netherlands’ Prevalence study on Maltreatment of children and youth (NPM-2010)The current study assesses the year prevalence of child maltreatment in the Netherlands. We estimated the prevalence of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and physical and emotional neglect using different methods: informant-, CPS-, and self-reports. We also tested which family and demographic factors increased the risk for child maltreatment. Results showed that the prevalence, based on both informant-reports and self-reports has not decreased from 2005 to 2010 and that risk factors remained similar. The number of reports to CPS did increase from 2005 to 2010. It is likely that this is the result of increased awareness of the problem. Based on our results, recommendations for policy makers are formulated.

The neural and behavioral correlates of social evaluation in childhood

Highlights • Validation of a social evaluation paradigm with a meta-analytical approach.• The SNAT paradigm provoked reliable behavioral results with large effect sizes.• Negative social feedback resulted in more behavioral aggression.• Exploratory analyses over combined samples showed more mPFC activity after negative feedback.• ROI analyses showed more amygdala, anterior insula and mPFC activity after negative feedback.

Social judgments, frontal asymmetry, and aggressive behavior in young children: A replication study using EEG

ABSTRACT Early in their lives young children are confronted with social judgments by peers. Previous studies have shown that in adults negative social judgments are associated with more aggressive behavior. However, little is known about the relation between social judgments and aggressive behavior, or the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms, in early childhood. We developed the Social Network Aggression Task ‐ Early Childhood (SNAT‐EC) to examine the mediating role of frontal EEG asymmetry in the relation between social judgment and aggressive behavior in 4–6 year old children. To replicate our findings, we included three samples: a pilot sample, test sample 1 and test sample 2 (total N = 78). In the SNAT‐EC, children receive positive, negative and neutral social judgments about their chosen cuddly animal by same‐aged unfamiliar peers. EEG was acquired to measure frontal asymmetry during the processing of social judgments. Aggressive behavior was measured as the duration of a button press with which children could destroy balloons of the judging peer, thus reducing the number of remaining balloons for that peer. We used a within‐subject mediation model to test whether frontal asymmetry mediated the effect of social judgment (negative vs. positive) on aggressive behavior. Results show that the SNAT‐EC robustly elicits more aggressive behavior in response to negative social judgments about the cuddly animal compared to positive judgments. Meta‐analysis revealed a large combined effect size (r = .42) for the relation between negative (vs. positive) social judgments and aggressive behavior. However, frontal asymmetry in response to the social judgments did not mediate the relation between social judgment and aggressive behavior. Future studies should search for other neural mediators to bridge the brain‐behavior gap between social judgments and aggressive behavior, in particular in early childhood. HighlightsWe present a new paradigm: the Social Network Aggression Task ‐ Early Childhood.The SNAT‐EC robustly elicits aggressive behavior in response to negative judgments.Frontal asymmetry did not mediate the relation between social judgment and aggression.

Stressful Family Environments and Children’s Behavioral Control: A Multimethod Test and Replication Study With Twins.

Young children’s behavioral control predicts a broad range of developmental outcomes in child- and adulthood. It is therefore important to study how individual differences in behavioral control arise. Previous studies suggest that there are both genetic and environmental influences, which were estimated in the current study using a sample of mono- and dizygotic same-sex twins. Furthermore, we examined the associations between indicators of a stressful family environment like household chaos, parenting daily hassles, and parental depressive symptoms and children’s behavioral control in 2 samples. Children of the same twin pair were randomly divided over 2 samples; a test (N = 201, 48.3% boys, M age 46.53 months) and replication sample (N = 201, 49.8% boys, M age 46.06 months). Both parents reported on their children’s effortful control via the Child Behavior Questionnaire and children’s cheating behavior was observed during a throwing game. We found that AE models fitted the data for effortful control (A = 31%, E = 69%) and cheating (A = 16%, E = 84%) best. Path analyses revealed that children of parents experiencing more parenting daily hassles and depressive symptoms had lower levels of effortful control in the test sample. Furthermore, we found that children growing up in more chaotic households (parent report) had an increased risk of being in the cheating group versus the possible intention to cheat group in the test sample. These results were partially replicated. We suggest that the role of stressful family environments in the development of behavioral control should be considered when setting up prevention and intervention programs targeting children’s behavioral control.

Kindermishandeling in Nederland Anno 2010 (Child maltreatment in the Netherlands in 2010: The second Netherlands’ Prevalence study on Maltreatment of children and youth (NPM-2010)

In deze studie (noot a) is onderzocht wat de jaarprevalentie was van kindermishandeling in 2010, hoe dit getal zich verhoudt tot de prevalentie in 2005 en wat de belangrijkste risicofactoren waren. Ruim 1100 beroepskrachten die in verschillende sectoren met kinderen te maken hebben, is gevraagd alle gevallen van kindermishandeling te rapporteren. Ook zijn alle kinderen geteld die gemeld waren bij de Advies- en Meldpunten Kindermishandeling in 2010. Verder hebben bijna 2000 middelbare scholieren gerapporteerd over mishandeling. De prevalentieschatting op basis van informantenrapportages en AMK-meldingen kwam neer op 34 per 1000 (bijna 119.000) kinderen. De toename (68%) in het aantal AMK-meldingen van 2005-2010 was opvallend. De prevalentieschatting op basis van zelfrapportage was 99 per 1000, hetzelfde aantal als in 2005. Gezinnen met (zeer) laag opgeleide ouders, werkloze ouders, eenoudergezinnen, gezinnen met drie of meer kinderen en stiefgezinnen hadden een groter risico op kindermishandeling. Ook allochtone achtergrond betekende een verhoogd risico. Voor gezinnen van Marokkaanse, Turkse, Surinaamse, of Antilliaanse herkomst viel dat extra risico weg als rekening werd gehouden met het gemiddeld lagere opleidingsniveau. De toegenomen aandacht voor kindermishandeling in de afgelopen jaren heeft geleid tot een toename in het aantal (AMK-)meldingen, maar niet tot een merkbare daling in het aantal slachtoffers.AbstractChild maltreatment in the Netherlands in 2010: The second Netherlands’ Prevalence study on Maltreatment of children and youth (NPM-2010)The current study assesses the year prevalence of child maltreatment in the Netherlands. We estimated the prevalence of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and physical and emotional neglect using different methods: informant-, CPS-, and self-reports. We also tested which family and demographic factors increased the risk for child maltreatment. Results showed that the prevalence, based on both informant-reports and self-reports has not decreased from 2005 to 2010 and that risk factors remained similar. The number of reports to CPS did increase from 2005 to 2010. It is likely that this is the result of increased awareness of the problem. Based on our results, recommendations for policy makers are formulated.