annotated bibliography of new zealand research into family violence

contributes to internalising disorders in females. Data was obtained from a sample of 635males and 630 females who were involved in the longitudinal Christchurch Health andDevelopment Study. The data measured major depression, anxiety, childhood sexual abuseand adolescent sexual assault at the participants’ assessments at age 18 and 21 years. Theresults indicate that females were twice as likely as males to experience internalisingdisorders, and were exposed to higher levels of sexual assault and abuse than males.Furthermore, the findings reveal a statistically significant relationship between gender andboth anxiety and depression.Fergusson, D., & Woodward, L. (2000). Teenage pregnancy and female educational underachievement:A prospective study of a New Zealand birth cohort. Journal of Marriage andthe Family, (62), 147-161.See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/13083.pubTopic Areas: Children, Adolescents, Young persons, Children as witnesses, Pregnancy,EducationAbstract: This article examines the relationship between teenage pregnancy and educationalunder-achievement in a cohort of 520 young women studied from birth to 21 years. It wasfound that if a young woman became pregnant before 18 years of age, then they were morelikely to achieve lower results in School Certificate examinations, and leave high schoolduring their sixth-form year without any formal qualifications. Through further analyses, itwas shown that attending tertiary education was related to earlier academic ability, rather thanthere being any links with teenage pregnancy. However, links were made to the teenagers’family life, including whether domestic violence was present.Field, G. M. (2003). A study of Family Court report writers: Their practices relating to child care andprotection custody evaluations, and their views about the best interest of the child standardand mandatory reporting of child abuse. Unpublished master’s thesis, Massey University,Palmerston North, New Zealand.See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/13170.pubTopic Areas: Child abuse and neglect, Psychological/emotional abuse, Families, Children,Justice, Care and protection, Care and contact, Legislation, Mental health, Cultural practiceAbstract: This is the first known study of psychologists and their evaluations of childrenspecifically subject to care and protection Family Court custody proceedings, and replicatesand extends some overseas research. The Family Court refers to these psychologists as reportwriters. The evaluations are referred to as s178 of the Children, Young Persons, and TheirFamilies Act (1989) psychological reports. Overall, report writers in this study meet thecriteria to be considered as forensic experts. When compared to overseas studies (forexample, LaFortune & Carpenter, 1998), the most popular evaluation procedures used herewere similar, with the exception of the use of test instruments. This research extends the studyof Jameson, Ehrenberg, and Hunter (1997) that looked into factors relating to the bestinterests of the child standard. Participants were also surveyed concerning the mandatoryreporting of child abuse. The majority do not favour its introduction. If such a policy were tobe introduced, the majority of participants want professionals to interact with children,particularly medical doctors and school teachers, to report confirmed incidents of physicalabuse, sexual abuse, and the neglect of physical needs.Source: Author’s abstract64