Filicide: a review of eight years of clinical experience.
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Filicide is a form of family violence in which a child is killed by his or her own parent. Most of the literature on filicide addresses the association of mental illness, motivation, and other risk factors with the perpetration of filicide. However, almost no research has addressed the intellectual functioning of perpetrators. We investigated intellectual functioning in a collection of forensic cases seen by the first author over an eight-year period. Nineteen patients who underwent forensic psychiatric evaluation for filicide from August of 1993 to April of 2001 were studied using retrospective case review methodology. Data were obtained from medical and forensic records, reports of family members, legal documents, and other collateral sources. We found that mental illness is common among perpetrators, supporting other findings in the literature. In addition, we found a high frequency of substance abuse among parents who killed their children. However, we also found a significant frequency of intellectual impairment and argue that this factor may have been overlooked in the history of filicide investigations. Familial psychodynamics of filicide will be reviewed and discussed. (+info)
Complementary use of radiological skeletal survey and bone scintigraphy in detection of bony injuries in suspected child abuse.
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AIM: To compare the effectiveness of radiological skeletal survey and bone scintigraphy for the detection of bony injuries in cases of suspected child abuse. METHODS: All cases with a discharge diagnosis of child abuse that presented to the Royal Children's Hospital between 1989 and 1998 were retrieved, and those children that had undergone both skeletal survey and bone scintigraphy (radioisotope bone scan) within a 48 hour period were included in this study. Both examinations followed rigid departmental protocols and protocols remained identical throughout the timeframe of the study. The reports of the skeletal surveys and bone scans were retrospectively reviewed by a paediatric radiology fellow and consultant paediatric radiologist. RESULTS: The total number of bony injuries identified was 124 in 30 children. Of these, 64 were identified on bone scan and 77 on skeletal survey. Rib fractures represented 60/124 (48%) of the bony injuries and were present in 16/30 children (53%), of which 62.5% had multiple rib fractures. Excluding rib fractures, there were 64 (52%) bony injuries, of which 33% were seen on both imaging modalities, 44% were seen on skeletal survey only, and 25% were seen on bone scans alone. Metaphyseal lesions typical of child abuse were present in 20 cases (31%) on skeletal survey; only 35% of these were identified on bone scan. Six children (20%) had normal skeletal surveys, with abnormalities shown on bone scan. There were three children (10%) with normal bone scans who were shown to have injuries radiographically. CONCLUSIONS: Skeletal survey and bone scintigraphy are complementary studies in the evaluation of non-accidental injury, and should both be performed in cases of suspected child abuse. (+info)
National audit of emergency department child protection procedures.
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OBJECTIVE: To assess the compliance with national guidelines on child protection procedures and provision of paediatric services in major English emergency departments. BACKGROUND: Victims of child abuse may present to emergency departments, and successful detection and management depends on adequate child protection procedures being in place. Two official documents published in 1999 provide recommendations for child protection procedures and staffing arrangements in emergency departments, and these can be used as standards for audit. METHODS: Structured telephone questionnaire survey of English emergency departments receiving at least 18 000 child attenders per year. RESULTS: Many of the standards are being met. Areas for improvement include: better access to child protection registers with clearer indications for their use; improved communication with other professionals such as the school nurse; more formal training for medical and nursing staff in the identification of potential indicators of child abuse; and improved awareness of local named professionals with expertise in child protection. More consultants with training in paediatric emergency medicine and more registered children's nurses are needed. CONCLUSION: Many nationally agreed recommendations are being met, but there is a need for improved training, increased numbers of specialised staff, and improved communication between professionals. There is considerable variation in practice between departments. (+info)
Apnoea and brain swelling in non-accidental head injury.
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AIMS: (1) To identify whether infants and young children admitted to hospital with subdural haematomas (SDH) secondary to non-accidental head injury (NAHI), suffer from apnoea leading to radiological evidence of hypoxic ischaemic brain damage, and whether this is related to a poor prognosis; and (2) to determine what degree of trauma is associated with NAHI. METHODS: Retrospective case series (1992-98) with case control analysis of 65 children under 2 years old, with an SDH secondary to NAHI. Outcome measures were presenting symptoms, associated injuries and apnoea at presentation, brain swelling or hypoxic ischaemic changes on neuroimaging, and clinical outcome (KOSCHI). RESULTS: Twenty two children had a history of apnoea at presentation to hospital. Apnoea was significantly associated with hypoxic ischaemic brain damage. Severe symptoms at presentation, apnoea, and diffuse brain swelling/hypoxic ischaemic damage were significantly associated with a poor prognosis. Eighty five per cent of cases had associated injuries consistent with a diagnosis of non-accidental injury. CONCLUSIONS: Coma at presentation, apnoea, and diffuse brain swelling or hypoxic ischaemia all predict a poor outcome in an infant who has suffered from SDH after NAHI. There is evidence of associated violence in the majority of infants with NAHI. At this point in time we do not know the minimum forces necessary to cause NAHI. It is clear however that it is never acceptable to shake a baby. (+info)
Non-accidental injury in children: what we do in Derby.
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A scheme for dealing with cases of non-accidental injury in children in the Derby clinical area has been operating since 1971. A stable team of doctors, policemen, and social workers deal with each case. The parents are told at once that battering is suspected, and the police and social services department co-operate closely in establishing the facts, supporting the family, and protecting the child. A psychiatric assessment of the parents may help social workers decide on the long-term care of the child, and the forensic physician is invaluable if the case has to go to court. The team has made three recommendations about prevention and management of these cases: a specialist social service team should be set up to deal with these children and regain the skills and knowledge lost when children's departments were abolished in 1971; babies should be routinely weighed naked in infant welfare clinics; and juvenile courts should be able to order a psychiatric report on the parents in care proceedings. (+info)
A longitudinal perspective on dating violence among adolescent and college-age women.
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OBJECTIVES: We investigated physical assault in dating relationships and its co-occurrence with sexual assault from high school through college. METHODS: Two classes of university women (n = 1569) completed 5 surveys during their 4 years in college. RESULTS: Women who were physically assaulted as adolescents were at greater risk for revictimization during their freshman year (relative risk = 2.96); each subsequent year, women who have experienced violence remained at greater risk for revictimization than those who have not. Across all years, women who were physically assaulted in any year were significantly more likely to be sexually assaulted that same year. Adolescent victimization was a better predictor of college victimization than was childhood victimization. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for dating violence prevention/intervention programs in high school and college and for research on factors that reduce revictimization. (+info)
Violence against women in Mexico: a study of abuse before and during pregnancy.
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OBJECTIVE: We identified the prevalence and types of violence experienced by pregnant women, the ways victimization changed during pregnancy from the year prior to pregnancy, and factors associated with violence during pregnancy. METHODS: We interviewed 914 pregnant women treated in health clinics in Mexico about violence during and prior to pregnancy, violence during childhood and against their own children, and other socioeconomic indicators. RESULTS: Approximately one quarter of the women experienced violence during pregnancy. The severity of emotional violence increased during pregnancy, whereas physical and sexual violence decreased. The strongest predictors of abuse were violence prior to pregnancy, low socioeconomic status, parental violence witnessed by women in childhood, and violence in the abusive partner's childhood. The probability of violence during pregnancy for women experiencing all of these factors was 61%. CONCLUSIONS: Violence is common among pregnant women, but pregnancy does not appear to be an initiating factor. Intergenerational violence is highly predictive of violence during pregnancy. (+info)
Higher cortisol levels following exposure to traumatic reminders in abuse-related PTSD.
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Animal studies have found that prior stressful events can result in increased reactivity in the HPA-axis. However, baseline function of the HPA-axis has typically been normal or decreased in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The first purpose of this study was to assess cortisol responsivity to traumatic reminders in women with PTSD related to childhood abuse. The second aim was to assess the relationship between stress-induced cortisol levels and neutral and emotional memory. Salivary cortisol levels were measured before, during and after exposure to personalized trauma scripts in abused women with (N=12) and without current PTSD (N=12). Memory for neutral and emotional material was assessed immediately after trauma scripts exposure and 3 days later. PTSD patients had 122% higher cortisol levels during script exposure, 69% higher cortisol levels during recovery, and 60% higher levels in the period leading up to the script exposure compared to controls. PTSD symptoms were highly predictive of cortisol levels during trauma script exposure (r=0.70), but not during periods of rest. Both in PTSD patients and controls, memory consolidation after the trauma scripts was impaired relative to baseline (P<0.001), with no differences between the two groups on memory performance. There was no association between memory performance and cortisol levels. These results are consistent with higher cortisol levels following exposure to traumatic stressors in PTSD. (+info)