CHILD ABUSE IS probably the widest known type of abuse and involves many complex factors relating to legal issues. Dealing with this difficult situation sensitively, whilst attempting to provide legal evidence is the role of the child psychologist.
Psychologists may complete child abuse investigations for government or private agencies, for a parent making allegations against another adult or parent, for a parent being accused of child abuse, for the court as part of a custody or visiting rights risk assessment, or as part of the treatment of a child or adult.
Working Together to Safeguard Children – A guide to interagency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children 2006 defines child abuse thus. Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting, by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger. They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children.
With child abuse, the abuser can be a member of the same family, a relative, friend or stranger. The abuse usually starts with the grooming process and then escalates to emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. Child abuse however can be any form of cruelty towards a child, who is any person under the age of 18. Abuse can take place in many different locations from the home to a residential care home, or whilst the child is in the care of any public body or institution.
Once an allegation of child abuse has been made, it must be investigated to determine whether there is a basis for the allegation. Psychologists are frequently asked to evaluate children and adults to assess whether a pattern of abuse is evident, to identify personal, family and outside stressors that are contributing to the abuse pattern, or creating a high risk situation for abuse to occur, and to develop recommendations to eliminate the abuse that is identified.
Recommendations may include removing a child from parental or residential care, removing a parent or other adult from the household, implementing supervised visits or discontinuation of visits, changing parental custody and treatment/rehabilitation for the child or the abuser or both.
Child abuse investigations usually involve clinical interviews with all involved parties, and collecting information from all appropriate sources. Psychological tests may be employed to assess
mental functioning, identify possible psychological disorders or problems, or identify abuse risk factors. Frequently, the findings are presented in court, and the court determines whether there is sufficient data to determine if abuse took place, and who did it.