-
Physical abuse is what percentage of CPS cases?
~25%
-
Two definitional standards:
- Harm standard
- Endangerment Standard
-
Harm Standard
- More traditional
- Focus is on the injury of the child; a lasting mark.
- Example push kid down so hard that he breaks his arm.
-
Endangerment Standard
- Focuses not only on the injury of the child but also the possibility of injury (intent)
- Focus is on the perpetrator's behavior
- "threatened with harm"
- Example: push kid down but he doesnt break his arm.
-
Physical indicators of physical abuse
- location of injury (leg, arm back?)
- nature of injury (what does the bruise look like?)
- Extent/severity of injury
- Does the injury fit with the explanation given?
- Is the child's age/developmental stage consistent with injury (4 month yr old shouldnt have injuries, they cant walk/crawl)
-
Behavioral indicators of Physical Abuse
- Unusual wary of phyiscalcontact with adults (flinching)
- Frightened of parents/ scared to go home
- Regressed behavior
- Flat affect when theyve been hurt (either they are used to it or parents threatened them when they did cry at home)
- Implausible explanations for injury
- Habitually absent from school
- wearing inappropriate clothes
- Saying they are accident prone/walks awkwardly
- Delinquency among older ones
-
Consequences of abuse
- Medical
- Itellectual/academic (maybe just from missing school so frequently)
- Cognitive (language, thinking creatively
- Externalizing/Internalizing behaviors
- Psyciatric illness (depression PTSD)
- Social/interpersonal -lacking connections with others
- Long term outcomes
|
|
