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    An exploratory study of how developmental issues may impinge on the implementation of the 'Keeping ourselves safe' programme : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Gabriels, Toos Catharina Maria
    Child sexual abuse has increasingly been recognised as a multi-faceted social problem. So far efforts to deal with this problem have mainly focussed on helping children recognise sexual abuse and teaching them skills to avert or stop sexual misbehaviour. Child sexual abuse prevention programmes are most frequently presented through schools because this approach provides easy access to children over an extended period of time. The Keeping Ourselves Safe Programme (KOS) is a prevention programme that has been specifically designed for use with New Zealand children. Empirical studies have shown that the degree to which children are able to benefit from participation in prevention programmes such as KOS, is influenced by the manner in which prevention concepts are presented and by children's cognitive and affective levels of development. So far it is not clear how children of different ages integrate prevention concepts. The aim of the present study was to explore children's perceptions and interpretations of the safety concepts presented to them through the KOS programme by combining both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Ninety-six children completed the Child Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire - Revised II (CKAQ-RII). In addition twelve of them were recruited to take part in an in depth follow-up interview. Results support previous findings indicating that children's knowledge of factors surrounding sexual abuse increase with age. Furthermore, children have more difficulty incorporating an understanding of concepts surrounding sexual abuse than developing preventive skills. Formulations that posed problems included the ability to recognise inappropriate behaviour in adults, the concept of 'strangers' and the notion that a person known to the child might try to abuse them. The majority of students were able to use preventive strategies such as 'saying no' and 'telling a person you trust' appropriately in 'what if' problem solving exercises. Results suggest that it is important to use a clearly defined concrete approach involving role-plays and other behavioural techniques with six and seven year old children, without simultaneously introducing abstract concepts. Older children were able to deal with more abstract material. Limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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    Contrasting approaches to mandatory reporting in New Zealand and the Northern Territory of Australia : a comparative study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy, the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2005) Munro, Alistair Colin Knox
    Responding to increasing societal concern about child abuse by implementing a system for mandatory reporting of suspected abuse occurred in a number of countries since the 1960s. By 1967 in the United States, all states had adopted some form of mandatory reporting and in Australia five states had mandatory reporting by 1982. Other nations, such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand, never legislated in this way and have retained voluntary reporting systems. This study asks why one jurisdiction adopted mandatory reporting and another decided not to, by comparing the history of mandatory reporting policy in the Northern Territory of Australia, which adopted mandatory reporting in 1982. and New Zealand, which rejected that option in 1994. By examining events leading up to the mandatory reporting debates in each jurisdiction, the policy advice provided to each Government beforehand, and the parliamentary fate of the respective proposals, an understanding of what shaped the policy outcome in each is obtained. Particular attention is given to processes of policy formation and the use made of research in developing the advice tendered to each Government. A distinction is drawn between policy-formation and policy-making, the latter being seen as the province of legislators since they finally determine which, from a range of policy options, shall prevail. The study asks what advice did the policy-makers seek and how far they were guided by that advice. The range of standard arguments for and against mandatory reporting is assembled, to determine which, if any, were decisive in the final outcomes. It is concluded that in each jurisdiction, the niceties of policy analysis gave way at the parliamentary level to more determinative political considerations. However, in the case of New Zealand, research-based policy advice was more influential, possibly because of the existence of stronger consultative processes, greater awareness on the part of legislators of alternatives to mandatory reporting, a more critical approach to the assumptions of mandatory reporting, and a determination on the part of the Government that the issue be openly debated.
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    Anomalous children : orphans and interlineage marriages in Malawi : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Donovan, Elaine
    Although lineage studies have largely been forgotten by contemporary anthropology, tracing descent through either the maternal or paternal line remains a meaningful feature of everyday relatedness for people in Malawi. Following Harré’s discursive approach, this thesis reconceptualises matriliny and patriliny as clusters of relatedness practices avoiding a tendency to reify lineages as social structures, ascribing them erroneously with agency. This ethnographic study explores what it is to be an orphan in Malawi today and why orphans of interlineage marriages, that is, marriages between patrilineal women and matrilineal men, seem to be rendered the most vulnerable to mistreatment. The term orphanhood suggests a fixed state, defined by the death(s) of parent(s), from which children cannot escape until they reach adulthood. However, I found that in Malawi, being an orphan is more of a process, as people can be positioned as no longer an orphan when their living conditions improve. Being an orphan in Malawi is to be in need both materially and emotionally, having lost family support through death, illness or abandonment. It is a position often characterised by feelings of loneliness and isolation due being excluded from family sharing practices. Orphans of interlineage marriages seem to be the most vulnerable, due to falling between two contrasting discursive constructions of children's belongingness. In matrilineal groups, children belong to their mother’s family. Conversely, in patrilineal communities, children are affiliated to their father’s family providing the bridewealth requirements have been fulfilled. Thus, children of interlineage marriages are anomalously positioned as belonging nowhere. Matters become more complex if the matrilineal family pay the patrilineal custom of bridewealth as they (mis)interpret it as providing indisputable rights to the children. This (mis)interpretation originates from the colonial period when bridewealth became an official and enforceable means of determining to whom children belonged, particularly in cases of interlineage marriages. Thus, matrilineal families claim the children based on a (mis)perceived transaction-based entitlement, only to then mistreat them. They claim the children belong to them not as kin, characterised by bi-directional belonging (belonging to each other) but in terms of unidirectional (transactional) belonging, as in property.
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    Dancing around the families : a grounded theory of the role of neonatal nurses in child protection : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Nursing at Massey University (Albany), New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Saltmarsh, Tina Anne
    The Ministry of Health objectives aim to protect the health and safety of children by reducing death rates, injury and disability from abuse. Family Violence is a significant health issue that impacts on children. Health professionals are key in the screening for Family Violence and assessment for child abuse. The philosophies of Family Centered Care and Developmental Care underpinning neonatal nursing practice are especially relevant for child protection. Nurses are in an ideal position to intervene before abuse perpetration. Increased awareness of child maltreatment and requirements for screening and reporting led to my research question, “What is happening for Neonatal Nurses in Child Protection?” Glaserian Grounded theory guided this study and the analysis of data. A total of ten semi-structured interviews was undertaken with nurses working in the participating neonatal units. Data were analysed and constructed into a substantive grounded theory, Dancing Around the Families and a Basic Social Psychological Process of Knowing at Risk Families. Dancing Around the Families explains nurses’ coping and acting upon child protection issues. It is about the creative conversations and work required to help support or enhance the infant’s safety. Difficulty with communication and transparency of information sharing between services, and differing perspectives creates this dance. Knowing at Risk Families captures how neonatal nurses construct child protection by acting on their personal and professional levels of knowledge. Nurses act on gut instincts, intuition or Red Flags to put supports in place for the protection of the infant. Child protection presents a state of conflict for nurses, where a sense of social justice prevails in their care, and their ideals and reality are often not congruent. Implications for practice require nurses to consider the way we look at families, as well as family capacities, capabilities and health literacy, and the importance of facilitating attachment.
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    A different kind of family: Retrospective accounts of growing up at Centrepoint and implications for adulthood
    (Te Kura Hinengaro Tangata / School of Psychology, Massey University, 2010) Gibson K; Morgan M; Woolley C; Powis T
    This research project was commissioned by the New Zealand Community Growth Trust (NZCGT) the body that became legally responsible for the assets of an intentional community, known as Centrepoint, after it closed. One function of the NZCGT is to address the rehabilitation needs of former residents including the children who grew up there. The research is intended to help the NZCGT achieve a better understanding of the needs of the former children of Centrepoint and to enable it to provide more effective assistance to them.
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    Who are abusing our children? An exploratory study on reflections on child abuse by media commentators : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2010) Merchant, Raema
    This research explores what has been published in the print media on the topic of physical child abuse over an eight year period of time. The study encompasses news reports, feature articles, opinion columns and editorials written on the issue of physical child abuse in New Zealand from 2000 to 2007. Using inductive and exploratory research, qualitative data has been collected by capturing the voices from a range of media commentators and comparing these with data from newspaper articles and other sources of statistical data obtained from a statutory child protection agency, hospitals and police. The research looks at how physical child abuse is represented in the newspaper media and explores whether there are accuracies or deficiencies in this reporting that may impact on public perceptions of child abuse. In particular, the study explores whether what is being written in the newspaper is objective or whether there is an in-built ethnic or social bias in the reporting of child abuse. The findings of the three parts of the study are integrated and it is determined that there is a disproportionate reporting of child abuse based on a) the ethnicity of the child or perpetrator, b) the seriousness of the abuse, and c) the sensationalist nature of the incident of child abuse. Another significant finding is that media reflects and reinforces common views and perceptions of physical child abuse and that the public are exposed to only the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of accurate and balanced reporting. The report concludes with a discussion about whether the media affects or reflects the worldview of physical child abuse. A symbiotic model is proposed which uses voices from the writers themselves to support the argument that there is a bi-directional relationship between the media and the public.
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    Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy for abused children with posttraumatic stress disorder : development and evaluation of a manualised treatment programme : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2007) Feather, Jacqueline Susan
    A manualised trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) programme was developed for multiply-abused children diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Feather & Ronan, 2004) referred to the specialist clinic of the statutory child protection agency in New Zealand. The TF-CBT protocol was based on: (1) a review of the history of child abuse (CA) and child protection in New Zealand and internationally, with particular reference to professional developments and the role of psychologists in ameliorating CA; (2) a conceptualisation of the clinical presentation of CA in children; (3) a review of the field of psychotraumatology and theoretical models, including locally developed, relevant to the development of a treatment programme for traumatised abused children in a child protection setting in New Zealand; and (4) a review of evidence-based practice, treatment outcome models, and current empirical research related to developing an effective treatment model in this area. The locally developed TF-CBT programme built on efficacious treatments for child anxiety and PTSD as a result of sexual abuse. It encompasses psychosocial strengthening, coping skills training, gradual exposure using expressive modalities, and special issues relevant to trauma and abuse. A “scientist-practitioner” approach to local clinical research was used to evaluate the programme. A single-case multiple-baseline design demonstrated the controlling effects of the treatment across four studies; each comprising four typically-referred multiply-abused children aged 9-15 years who met diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Parent/caregivers were involved in treatment sessions. Study 1 was a pilot with four Pakeha/New Zealand European children; Study 2 trialled the protocol with two Maori and two Samoan children; Study 3 was an evaluation of the developed protocol with a multicultural group of typically-referred children; and Study 4 was an evaluation with other therapists delivering the manualised programme. Despite some methodological difficulties related to conducting research in a setting of this nature, the overall results indicate a good deal of promise. Across the four studies, for the majority of children treated, PTSD symptoms decreased and child coping increased. Where follow-up data was available, gains generally maintained or improved over 3-, 6-, and 12-month intervals. Recommendations are made about further applications of this TF-CBT programme, including the interweaving of cultural models with TF-CBT, and development and evaluation of the protocol in other settings. Implications of the current research are discussed in terms of recognition of the crucial importance of evidence-based practice in CA/child protection settings, and the contribution psychologists and therapists can make to ensure quality outcomes for this most vulnerable population of children and families.