[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
RE: Assessing Maltreatment Status
<x-html>
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML xmlns:o =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><HEAD><TITLE>Message</TITLE>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>Marion,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>Recently
we conducted a telephone survey on willingness to pay for
prevention/intervention services for child abuse that included questions on
previous abuse experiences. We took two steps to<SPAN
class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff> reduce the likelihood
of adverse reactions on the part of survey respondents. One dealt
with wording of our items and the other with providing additional
information in a debriefing at the end of the
survey. </FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN
class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN
class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>We </FONT></SPAN>adapted
question wording such that items asked "if you <U>or anyone close to you</U> had
<U>ever</U> experienced X". Although this gave us less specific
information than we would have liked, it also maximized
respondents anonymity such that we were not able to identify
whether they were referring to themselves or someone else, and we
didn't know about the timeframe of the abuse incident. We felt that
this would allow our respondents to maintain some emotional distancing from any
intrusive thoughts provoked by our questions. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>Because we
were concerned about being able to respond appropriately to possible clinical
and protection needs for those who indicated they or someone close to them
had experienced an abuse episode, as our last question on the survey
we asked respondents if they would like more information about how to
report child maltreatment and domestic violence as well as where to locate
additional information about these topics and how to obtain referrals for
counseling services in their area. For everyone who indicated they
would like this information, we provided information customized to the
appropriate county or state agencies for their geographical area on
dealing with child abuse and/or family violence in a debriefing at the end
of the survey. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>Amy
Shadoin</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=630574116-11042005><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>National
Children's Advocacy Center</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu
[mailto:owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Marion Burke<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, April 09, 2005 9:46
AM<BR><B>To:</B> Child Maltreatment Researchers<BR><B>Subject:</B> Assessing
Maltreatment Status<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT><FONT face=Arial></FONT>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Dear List serve members,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I am a graduate student at Capella University,
currently finalizing my dissertation proposal that examines the differential
outcomes of single versus multiple child abuse and neglect experiences. I
intend to use the Comprehensive Child Maltreatment Scale (CCMS) for Adults
(Higgins & McCabe, 2001) </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt">in order</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> to assess abuse/non-abuse status in an Internet
community sample. The CCMS is a </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt">retrospective
self-report measure of childhood abuse and neglect experiences designed for a
nonclinical population. The department chair of my specialization, who is not
familiar with the child maltreatment literature, is concerned that the use of
this measure may cause potential problems due to the sensitive nature of the
questions. He is worried that </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">participants may have
adverse reactions to this questionnaire, and that potential legal
ramifications may result. Here is where I need some
input:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Does anyone have
knowledge of or has had experiences with participants who had adverse
reactions to questionnaires that are used to retrospectively establish
maltreatment status? Does anyone have knowledge of legal consequences that
resulted due to the use of such questionnaires? What precautions could be
taken to reduce the likelihood of adverse reactions to sensitive questions?
What options do I have to assess for abuse histories without the use of such
questionnaires?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Any feedback on this
issue would be greatly appreciated.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Best
regards,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Marion
Burke<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">PhD
Learner<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Capella
University<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Higgins,
D. J., & McCabe, M. P. (2001). The development of the comprehensive child
maltreatment scale. <I>Journal of Family Studies, 7 (1),</I>
7-28</SPAN><BR><BR><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
</x-html>