This document summarizes key points from a presentation on dynamics of offenders in cases of severe child abuse and neglect. It discusses differences between abuse and neglect, issues with minimizing or justifying harmful behaviors, and the ability of professionals and the public to recognize true malevolence and intent to harm. The presentation includes case examples of extreme physical and emotional abuse and neglect, and the psychological impact on victims who internalize blame versus externalize it to the perpetrator.
This document summarizes key points from a presentation on dynamics of offenders in cases of severe child abuse and neglect. It discusses differences between abuse and neglect, issues with minimizing or justifying harmful behaviors, and the ability of professionals and the public to recognize true malevolence and intent to harm. The presentation includes case examples of extreme physical and emotional abuse and neglect, and the psychological impact on victims who internalize blame versus externalize it to the perpetrator.
This document summarizes key points from a presentation on dynamics of offenders in cases of severe child abuse and neglect. It discusses differences between abuse and neglect, issues with minimizing or justifying harmful behaviors, and the ability of professionals and the public to recognize true malevolence and intent to harm. The presentation includes case examples of extreme physical and emotional abuse and neglect, and the psychological impact on victims who internalize blame versus externalize it to the perpetrator.
This document summarizes key points from a presentation on dynamics of offenders in cases of severe child abuse and neglect. It discusses differences between abuse and neglect, issues with minimizing or justifying harmful behaviors, and the ability of professionals and the public to recognize true malevolence and intent to harm. The presentation includes case examples of extreme physical and emotional abuse and neglect, and the psychological impact on victims who internalize blame versus externalize it to the perpetrator.
Anna C. Salter, Ph.D. Agenda Dynamics of offenders
Difference in neglect and abuse
Ability of workers to recognize malevolence Whether you can observe a thing or not depends on the theory which you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed. Einstein Effects of Sexual Abuse Diminishes the subjects chance of psychosis and allows better adjustment to the external world.
(Rascovsky & Rascovsky, 1950, p. 45) Effects of Sexual Abuse Relatively minor effect on adult adjustment.
(Gagnon, 1965, p. 177) Effects of Sexual Abuse May be either a positive, healthy experience of, at worse, neutral and dull.
(DeMott, 1980)
Children Not Severely Damaged by Incest with a Parent ! Setting Fires ! Vandalism ! Disrupting Other Children ! Stealing ! Aggression Against Girls ! Sexually Abusing Boys ! Exhibitionism ! Fearing Calamity ! Suicidal Ideation ! Manipulative and Smooth
(Yorukoglu & Kemph, 1966) Malevolence
Intending to Do Harm Malevolent Transformation Harry Stack Sullivan
The realization that one lives with people who mean to do them harm Offenders ! Justify and rationalize behavior ! Behavioral attacks on child We had to put locks on the freezer because she stole food
! Characterological Attacks Spawn of Satan Benevolent Transformation ! Child My fault Did something to deserve it
Am a bad person
He didnt really mean to hurt me
Benevolent Transformation Professionals
In the Face of Malevolence ! Minimize ! Excuse & justify ! Project their own motivations ! Protecting their own world view Good Parents Do Bad Things ! 14 month-old ! Adopted from Russia Video from Orphanage Well-appearing child in crib No obvious injury No self-injurious behaviors Able to crawl Pull up, cruise Could babble, hums himself to sleep, mimics noises & actions, waves/claps Takes bottle, baby food, & table food; has good appetite. ! After 4 5 days in hotel, ! Started to develop bruises: ! Upper & lower parts of both feet, face, and arms Foot bruises, soles & dorsum, bilateral The shoes Findings at hospital ! Bruises on mid & right side of forehead ! Pinch mark bruises on both ears ! Petechiae on both eyelids ! Bruises encompassing entire left side of face, extending to temple ! 1.5 cm round bruise on abdomen ! Bruises and swelling of both feet (R > L) from the toes to mid arch, with visible linear pattern across the top and blue hematomas on center of sole of each foot ! Abdominal CT: free fluid around SMA and prominent pancreas, c/w trauma ! Acute oblique fracture of R mid femur Dx: Abuse ! Fractured femur ! Characteristic abusive bruises on face, ears ! Suspicious bruises on feet ! Abdominal trauma: CT evidence of injury with overlying abdominal bruise ! Liver injury: elevated liver enzymes that normalized w/in several days
Reported to CPS
Parents state injuries due to extreme self- injurious behavior ,tantrums
Removed from home
Placed w/ adoptive grandparents. Finding
! Parents appealed ! Dozens of community supporters at hearing ! Agency decision overturned ! Child returned to home ! Record expunged. Judge states: Sometimes good people do bad things 14 Month Old ! Broken femur ! Returned to parents ! No CPS follow-up Abuse Dynamics Didnt Do It
Abuse Dynamics Didnt Accidental Do It
Abuse Dynamics Didnt Accidental Justified Do It ?
Abuse Dynamics Didnt Accidental Justified Impulsive Do It ?
Abuse Dynamics Didnt Accidental Justified Impulsive Malevolent Do It ?
Amber ! 4 pounds at birth ! Mother would not hold or cuddle ! Father working too many hours ! Age 4 parents split ! Mother moved in with registered sex offender ! Father moved to WI ! Father asked for custody given sex offender in house ! Mother surrendered rights Amber ! Began living with father and stepmother Melanie at age 9 ! Family told mental health she was violent ! Had threatened family ! Had a knife under pillow she said afraid an imaginary friend would kill her ! Disclosed sexual abuse by Texas sex offender ! Hospitalized for mental health evaluation ! Hospital saw none of behaviors family said but diagnosed her as RAD with autistic fantasy and PTSD on parent report ! Didnt want to leave the hospital ! Drew picture of family playing together and her outside the house ! Sent home with recommendation for after care ! School saw none of the behaviors ! Crying when had to go home ! Wouldnt get off the bus ! Parents pulled her out of school ! Said school bribed her with food ! Sent request for forwarding transcripts Disappeared from Public View 2007 2012
2012 ! Cold winter night ! Car riding by saw a child on the street barefoot with no coat ! Stopped, picked her up and called police Pillow Basement ! No heat ! No hot water ! No bathroom ! Forced to eat feces Stepmom ! Condition of marriage father had to give Amber to her ! Call her Majesty or Master
! Threatened Amber with being killed ! Beaten, strangled Starvation Had to ask for food Usually denied Take trash out neighbors saw her tearing garbage bags open and wolfing down food Neighbors called CPS multiple times Cameras on pantries to make sure she didnt open them Had to clean the house nude Disappeared from Public View 2007 2012
! No homeschooling ! No socialization with peers ! No out of home activities ! No sports ! No church Weight from Age 10 to Age 15 ! Age 10 80 pounds ! Age 15 68 pounds Sadism? ! DSM-5 Only sexual sadism DSM 5 Definition of Sadism ! Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent and intense sexual arousal from the physical or psychological suffering of another person, as manifested by fantasies, urges or behaviors. ! The individual as acted on these sexual urges with a nonconsenting person, or the sexual urges or fantasies cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. What is
Absolute control of childs food, elimination, air, access to socialization?
Insisting on being called master and majesty?
Starving a child?
Making a child eat feces? Diagnostic Issues Is a thirst for power and control a diagnosis?
Is cruelty a diagnosis?
Legally Is this neglect or abuse? ! Neglect Failure to bond Failure to provide Failure to take care Failure to notice
! Abuse Intentional harm Malevolence Defense ! Too violent to be upstairs ! Starved herself ! Anorexic ! Autistic ! Ate too much if allowed to eat ! Thought she was diabetic; needed to restrict sugar ! Parents doing the best they could Defense ! Door not locked ! Alarm just went off so they knew she was upstairs ! What happened if went upstairs? ! Child terrified of loud noises 1 st Trial of Dad
Hung Jury Childs Attributions Upon Release ! I am autistic ! I am anorexic ! I am not trust-worthy so I cant be upstairs ! I steal food Attributions ! Internal My fault ! External Perpetrator or familys fault Cost of Attributions CSA Internal Shame, guilt Withdraws from others
(Zinzow, 2010; Weiner & Graham, 1999; Feiring et al., 2002) Cost of Attributions CSA Perpetrator Blame
Generally better outcomes (Feiring et al., 2002; Hoagwood, 1990; Lev- Wiesel, 2000)
But Anger, outrage, unjust world Helplessness Malevolent transformation: Frightening What Causes Internal Versus External Attributions? CSA ! More severe abuse (Duration, type, frequency) internal
! More physical force or coercion external (Chaffin et al., 1997; Hunter, et al., 1992; Wyatt & Newcomb, 1990; Zinzow et al., 2010) Recognizing Malevolence ! CPS: Why do you steal food? ! Amber: Because I am hungry World View and the Ability to Recognize Malevolence Neighbor I choose to believe there is good in everyone because of the unintended consequences to my life if I do not. I feel an openness to others that wouldnt be there if I didnt believe that theres good in everybody. Positive Illusions ! I have a guardian angel that looks after me. ! Everything happens for a reason. ! Things turn out for the best. Matlin & Stang. The Pollyanna Principle. 1978
Summarized over 1000 studies 1. When exposed to pleasant and unpleasant experiences for equal periods of time, people report the pleasant were more frequent. 2. People remember pleasant information better and more accurately than unpleasant. (Matlin and Stang, 1978)
3. Pleasant information is easier to learn than unpleasant. 4. People recognize pleasant words quicker than unpleasant. (Matlin and Stang, 1978) Exploring Dynamics of Malevolence
Man Who Beat 3-Year-Old to Death Johnny ! Age 30 ! Caucasian ! Profession: Drug Dealer ! Preferred Coping: Women & drugs ! Offense: Beat 3-year-old to death ! Boyfriend of mom ! In home for 3 weeks Injuries to Three-Year-Old Blunt force injuries to liver, lacerations, multiple hematomas of the head, pancreas, intestine, interior vena cava to heart connection, diaphragm and right testis, colitis and pancreas damage Head injuries consistent with shaking or having head impact a fixed object or hitting with an object. Even brain stem damaged. Liver transected and divided in half Child terrified of Johnny Told aunt he hated Johnny Showed her his swollen and bruised penis and testicles Said Johnny beat them Aunt confronted mom kept leaving him with Johnny
Mothers Reaction ! In hospital after childs death, told sister she still loved Johnny and didnt want him to go to jail ! Sister slapped her Assaulted Mother as a Juvenile She tried to put me on 5150 cause she knew I was spiraling down. She picked up a phone and I smacked it out of her hand. . . When they came I kicked the headlights and taillights out with my bare feet. I smashed a windshield out with my hand. They knew I didnt care. They asked me what I was doing. I didnt really have a good answer.
Domestic Violence The first time I remember hitting a girl, she had ran into an ex-boyfriend. Instead of telling me that, she tried to play it off like she was with a girlfriend. I found out. . . I felt like there was an ulterior motive. She was obviously working against me, and I would snap. I would feel bad afterwards, sometimes during it, but I would have to do it. Violence as Arousing It was also exciting, which sounds weird. There was one or two women that would understand that the confrontation, the yelling, the hitting, it was arousing as well. Thats hard to cope with. It wasnt hard for me to cope with. I understand it. But to find women who understand it, thats a different story. History of Violence
! On probation for false imprisonment. Beat a woman (hit over 50 times), pulled her hair, held a knife to her throat, and put out a cigarette on her chest Abuse to 3-Year-Old That last night, I didnt want to be there any more. I didnt really want to be there. I just didnt have any other place to stay. They told me to stay with my dad. He wouldnt stop the drugs. He wouldnt clean the place up. He said, go stay with this broad. All you have to do is date her. . . I just wanted a place to stay and a ride to work. She thought it was a relationship. To me it was just sex. . . I was very boisterous that I didnt want to be there. I didnt want the kids around me. On Violence It just makes sense. Thats the way Ive always. Its always been me. Violence is, I cant explain it. Its right. It makes sense. . . Ive been with some women who know that if they push me, they make me jealous, its exciting to me and its exciting to them. Q. What is violence to you?
A. I guess I dont understand the question. Its just there. Until the longest time I figured everybody lived the same way I lived. Everybody had the same thoughts I had. Q. Do you regret the violence? A. I had to. It wasnt like there was a day I decided I could go this way and have my life go this way or go that way. It was just what I had to do ever since I can remember. Q. Why did you have to do it? A. I dont know. The situation called for. I never did anything I didnt have to do. Ive been involved in courts my whole life. Obviously the people like that, they dont understand it. On Violence Q. If things go wrong for you, its an option?
A. Its the first option.
! Continuously assaultive ! Assaulted a guard in prison The way I lived and the way people want you to live it doesnt match. At the time as I said, that was my life. It was natural to me. I didnt really understand any other way. I got in trouble because thats just what happens, you get in trouble. Childs Death Q. How do you feel about his suffering?
A. I guess I dont feel anything. When Other People Suffer? There are various reactions. Theres not one reaction. Sometimes I feel for them, as much as I can. Sometimes its funny. Sometimes I feel nothing. Why is He Violent? ! Antisocial? ! Psychopathic? ! Sadistic? ! Impulsive? ! Just excessive corporal punishment? Q. Do you see yourself self as a child abuser? A. No Q. As a batterer? I mean I got convictions for it but I dont see myself as that. Q. As a criminal? A. I know thats what Im seen as but no, I dont.
Theories of Violence ! Loss of Control ! Product of Distorted Thinking
Loss of Control ! Impulse Control ! Stop and Think ! Exit Risky Situations Loss of Control ! Interviews 20 Violent Offenders ! Meaning Units = Phrases Loss of Control 12%
(Polaschek et a., 2010)
Violent Schemas ! Violence is Normal ! No Choice ! Hostile Attribution Bias ! Social Status ! Self Image ! Victim Deserved It (Widget Theory) Violence is Normal ! Normal for discipline ! Normal for achieving goals No Choice Domestic Violence
She wouldnt listen to me unless I hit her first. (Polaschek et a., 2010, p. 87)
No Choice: Discipline How else was I going to get through to him that schoolwork was important? (Polaschek et a., 2010, p. 87)
Violent prisoners spoke of violence as a routine occurrence between people that hardly needs explaining and that could be helpful in achieving some personal and social goals. (Polaschek et a., 2010, p. 86) Violence is Normal Meaning Units
46%
(Polaschek et al., 2010)
Evaluation Severe Abuse and Neglect ! Assess with an open mind ! Be aware of your own world view ! Understand the difference in neglect and intentional harm ! Entertain the possibility that people have motivations you cant empathize with ! Learn to recognize them Sadistic Women Offenders N = 36
14 sexually aroused by pain
(Saradjian, 1996) Female Sadists I just cant explain the feeling it gave me. . . You couldnt understand, nothing compares to the high, nothing, no drink, drugs nothing. Its power I think, I feel really strong, powerful and important nothing and no one can hurt me. The high is incredible. Theres nothing, there just arent words to describe it. (Female sadist; Saradjiam, 1996)