annotated bibliography of new zealand research into family violence

See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/13104.pubTopic Areas: Sexual abuse, Suicide/self-harm, Families, Children, Adolescents, Mentalhealth, Social servicesAbstract: This study explored treatment issues faced by clinicians working with suicidalchildren, adolescents and their families. Two studies were conducted in an outpatient Childand Adolescent Mental Health Service. Study one involved a clinical file audit of 100children and adolescents who attended the service from 1998 to 2000. Study two was aprospective study of 66 adolescents who were referred to the service in 2002 with significantsuicidal ideation or deliberate self-harm (DSH). The relationship between suicidal ideationand DSH was explored by combining data from Study one and Study two. Study two alsoinvolved interviewing adolescents, parents and clinicians about key elements of successfultreatment.The results from study one indicate almost universally high loadings of biopsychosocial riskfactors for suicide behaviour among children, adolescents and their families presenting to theclinic. Suicidal children and adolescents have higher rates of childhood sexual abuse,previous episodes of DSH, maternal substances abuse and family offending.Study two demonstrated that treatment protocols can facilitate a shift in clinician behaviourtowards more aggressive outreach of non-participating families and can improve healthoutcomes for suicidal adolescents.This thesis found that suicidal children, adolescents and their families had higher levels ofbiopsychosocial risk factors than did non-suicidal participants, including history of childhoodsexual abuse.Source: Author’s abstractFortune, S., Seymour, F., & Lambie, I. (2005). Suicide behaviour in a clinical sample of children andadolescents in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 34(3), 164-170.See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/13338.pubTopic Areas: Suicide/self-harm, Families, Children, Adolescents, Mental health, Socialservices, Prevention/intervention/treatment, Demographics/statisticsAbstract: The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of suicide ideation andsuicidal behaviour in a child and adolescent mental health service. It also examined ifchildren and adolescents with deliberate self-harm (DSH) were different from those who hadnot engaged in DSH, in terms of individual family risk factors. The study was based on aretrospective audit of 100 clinical files at a public outpatient child and adolescent metal healthservice in South Auckland, New Zealand. Results indicate that 48% of the clients hadengaged in DSH at the time of initial assessment, and a further 16% had expressed suicideideation with DSH. Children and adolescents who had engaged in DSH and/or had suicideideation tended to be older, were more likely to have been sexually abused, used substances,and were more likely to have previous episodes of DSH. The results indicate that suicidebehaviours are not the result of an understandable response to a single life event, but rather,the outcome of multiple risk factors, often accumulated over a lifetime. The discussionmentions that no single treatment package will fit all. Rather, the successful reduction ofsuicide behaviours is likely to include individualised interventions that target both the youngperson themselves, as well as their family and caregivers, and community context of peersand school or employment.Freckelton, I. (2002). Evaluating parental alienation and child sexual abuse accommodation evidence.67