Re: Ray attempts Biblical justification: was Re: U.N. rules Canada should ban spanking

National Council on Family Relations, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 2003.

Harms to Children and Parents Inherent to Abuse Investigations
Sandra Mira and Gordon E. Finley  ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) 
Department of Psychology, Florida International University
Abstract
        Beginning in the 1960's, national concern arose regarding a perceived
crisis of child abuse and neglect.  Beginning in the 1980's, a
counter-concern also arose regarding a perceived crisis of large
numbers of unfounded and false abuse allegations along with the
inherently negative consequences of these investigations for children
and parents.  This poster briefly lists the existing practice and
policy based literature on these negative impacts, calls for a
research based literature focusing on the harms caused by unfounded or
false abuse investigations for children and parents, and suggests
policy changes based on what we currently know.
Introduction
Beginning in the 1960's, national concern arose which regarded child
abuse to be a crisis of great magnitude.  Public policy was
reevaluated, new laws were passed, and Child Protective Service units
were formed to investigate the rising flood of abuse allegations.  The
implicit, and sometimes explicit, assumption was that these were
"victimless" investigations and were necessary to ferret out abuse, 
"save" children, and punish wrongdoers - all in the name of the "best
interest of the child" (Finley, 2002a).  Beginning in the 1980's,
however, a counter-trend emerged which argued that such investigations
were far from harmless, far from victimless, and that they had grave
consequences for the children under investigation as well as their
parents.
If the number of investigations closed with the designation of
unfounded or false were small, the issues raised here would be of
minor consequence.  Unfortunately, and although the percentages vary
by state, the percentage of abuse cases investigated and closed with
the designation of unfounded or false usually substantially exceeds
50%.  Thus, when (a) there are substantial harms and negative
consequences inherent to the investigations of unfounded and false
abuse allegations for children and parents and (b) the number of
unfounded or false outcomes is high, we have a new crisis - a crisis
of unfounded and false abuse reports and investigations (Finley,
2002b).
Most of the articles cited below argue: (a) that the abuse field long
has been in denial regarding the harms and consequences of these
investigations, (b) that it is long past time to balance the crisis to
save children and the crisis to protect the due process rights of the
accused, and (c) that the well-being of both children and parents is
not being well served by the present system (Finley, 2002a, 2002b). 
There also is the implicit argument that this denial may be in the
service of political agendas as well as the substantial financial
profits for those who toil in the domestic violence, divorce, and
forensic mental health industries.
Indeed, the suppression of the literature reporting the harms and
consequences of abuse investigations has been so effective that an
exhaustive computerized literature search yielded only about two dozen
professional articles directly on the topic.  By contrast, the
writings and workshops focused on "saving" children from abuse and
neglect number in the tens of thousands.  Those motivated to "save"
children (Finley, 2002a), should consider first the harms and
consequences of abuse investigations for children.  The major harms
cited in the literature and the authors citing them are cryptically
grouped and listed below.
Harms and Consequences for Children
1.  The most potent consequence is the marginalization or severing of
the parent-child relationship.  A previously healthy parent child
relationship may be disrupted, become defensive or distant, or even
terminated  (Besharov, 1985; Dillon, 1987; Finley, 2003; Green &
Schetky, 1988; Patterson, 1991; Robin, 1992; Wakefield & Underwager,
1991).
2.  There may be a separation from a parent  (Besharov, 1985, 1988;
Fincham, et. al., 1994; Finley, 2002b; Green, 1991; Hickman &
Reynolds, 1994; Rutter, 1971; Wong, 1989).
3.  There may be foster care with sometimes tragic consequences
including:  abuse, neglect, disappearance, and death (Besharov, 1985,
1988; Duquette, 1982; Fincham, et. al., 1994; Finley, 2002b; Robin,
1992).
4.  Investigative interviews with officials are inherently stressful,
repetitive, unsettling, and sometimes entail threats, harassment,
coercive techniques and often a large number of individuals  (Fincham,
et. al., 1994; Hickman & Reynolds, 1994; Lipovsky, 1994; Parker, 1982;
Wakefield and Underwager, 1991; and Weiss & Berg, 1982).
5.  The child who testifies in court may experience severe
psychological stress  (Lipovsky, 1994; Parker, 1982; Weiss & Berg,
1982).  Genital examinations are highly stressful often producing
anxiety, fear, or anger (Berson, et al, 1993; Fincham, et .al., 1994;
Robin, 1992).
6.  Children sometimes are placed in coercive psychotherapy to
overcome "denial" and required to remain in "treatment" until
molestation is described  (Green, 1991; Wakefield & Underwager, 1991).
 Likewise, the accusing parent can induce trauma in the child, which
leads to a confused sense of reality (Green, 1991).
7.  A variety of negative psychosocial outcomes may occur including
PTSD, depression, loss of appetite, listlessness, loss of enjoyment of
play, sleep disturbances, school failure, disturbances in psychosexual
development, and developing a victim mentality (Hickman & Reynolds,
1994).  Children also can suffer a sense of notoriety for having a
parent who was accused of being a sex offender (Dillon 1987).
Harms and Consequences for the Accused Parent
1.  The presumption of guilt becomes a taken-for-granted reality often
based on nothing more than an anonymous report and before an
investigative decision is rendered.  There also is an absence of due
process for the accused  (Besharov, 1985, 1988; Green, 1991; Green &
Schetky, 1988; Robin, 1992).
2.  In divorce and custody conflicts, the mother often obtains sole
custody, terminates visitation, terminates paternal rights, and
harasses the noncustodial parent  (Benedek & Schetky, 1985; Besharov,
1985, 1988; Finley, 2003; Patterson, 1991; Wong, 1989).  Contact
between father and child can be abruptly terminated  (Besharov, 1985,
1988; Brooks & Milchman, 1991; Finley, 2002b, 2003; Green, 1991;
Patterson, 1991) or the father can be placed under long-term court
supervision (Besharov, 1985, 1988).  These events can induce stress,
loss of self-confidence, mistrust, fear of losing one's children, and
anger at those who are perceived as responsible for the report (Robin,
1992) as well as the marginalization or severing of the parent child
relationship (Finley, 2003).
3.  The parent is stigmatized and their reputation put into question
even if they later are found innocent  (Besharov, 1985, 1988; Brooks &
Milchman, 1991; Dillon, 1987; Green, 1991; Green & Schetky, 1988;
Patterson, 1991; Robin, 1992; Wong, 1989).
4.  A great deal of time and money is spent on legal defense 
(Besharov, 1985; Dillon, 1987; Green, 1991; Patterson, 1991; Robin,
1992; Wong, 1989).
5.  Employment may be terminated and a professional reputation
destroyed  (Fincham, et. al., 1994;  Green, 1991; Green & Schetky,
1988; Robin, 1992; Wong, 1989).
6.  The parent may be abandoned by friends and suffer social
isolation, court stresses, or wrongful incarceration (Besharov, 1985,
1988; Duquette, 1982; Green & Schetky, 1988; Robin, 1992).  The
falsely accused also may experience the same type of symptoms as the
truly abused including feelings of:  trauma, betrayal, powerlessness,
stigmatization, and additional symptoms such as anxiety, fear,
difficulty in resuming normal activities, obsessive thoughts about the
event, eating and sleeping difficulties, and depression (Robin, 1992).
 At the end of the road, there may be suicide  (Fincham et. al.,
1994).
7. Finally, Farrell (2001) summarizes many of these points when he
argues that a charge of child abuse creates twelve guarantees of child
abuse independent of the truth or falseness of the charge:  Image of
parent transformed from trusted-loved-one to
possibly-untrustworthy-criminal-and-abuser; loss of innocence;
suspicion and mistrust for all men (or women); repeated interrogations
by police, psychologists, and welfare agencies; attacked as being in
"denial" if the child denies abuse; parents are  seen as each other's
enemies; played off by one parent against the other; feeling
personally responsible for driving the family apart; father spends
approximately $75,000 for lawyers, psychological testing, and expert
witnesses leading to money conflicts or poverty and often dad is
fired; child feels powerless to prevent his own stability from being
undermined; the child is deprived of touching by the charged parent;
child feels that neighbors and schoolmates think of the accused parent
as a criminal; and the child is empowered to get the parent into legal
trouble any time the parent does something the child does not like
(Farrell, 2001, 204-205).
Implications for Research
        Unfortunately, due to the absence of empirical research, it is
necessary to re-issue the now decade old call to: "compare abused
children to children reported to CPS but whose cases turned out to be
unfounded.  This comparison is critical in separating the possible
impact of abuse from the potential impact of professionals' response
to the abuse" (Fincham et .al., 1994, 250).
Implications for Practice and Policy
        The four most critical implications for practice and policy stemming
from the literature reviewed above are that: (a) we must seek to
balance an overzealous search for abuse and neglect with the rights of
due process for the accused by replacing the family court standard of
the "best interest of the child" (Finley, 2002a) with the criminal
court standards of due process;  (b) we must carefully re-examine our
"presumptions" regarding guilt, innocence, and truthfulness;  (c) we
must forgo denial and recognize not only that more than half of the
abuse and neglect allegations are unfounded or false but also that
these investigations inherently cause harms to children and parents;
and (d) most  critically, we must recognize that, even if the
investigations turn out to be unfounded or false, the harms inherent
to these investigations remain with - and influence the lives of - 
children, fathers, and mothers for the balance of their lives.
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