Awareness of consumer-to-consumer violence and prevalence of false accusations

s may be taken directly from the article or book. Dr. Cheung 2/2008, p.1 University of Houston False Allegations on Child Sexual Abuse: Annotated Bibliography Compiled by Monit Cheung, Ph.D., LCSW, Professor Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston Send Comments to [email protected] Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., & Dudley, J.R. (2001). Confirmed, unconfirmed, and false allegations of abuse made by adults with mental retardation who are members of a class action lawsuit. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25(8), 1121-1132. The purpose is to explore differences in confirmed, unconfirmed, and false allegations of abuse made by consumers with mental retardation in regards to type of abuse and perpetrator. Interviews were conducted with 1,220 people with mental retardation who were part of a class action lawsuit in North Carolina. A content analysis of abuse allegations was performed. Frequencies of responses and subgroup differences are reported for type of abuse allegation and perpetrator. Unconfirmed claims are the most frequent. Females made more allegations of abuse than males in general, and more allegations of rape. There are no significant differences among the subgroups (confirmed, unconfirmed, and false allegations) by type of abuse allegation. There are significant differences among the subgroups in regard to the alleged perpetrator. Other consumers with mental retardation are most frequently accused of confirmed assaults. Staff members are most frequently accused in false allegations. Ability of the alleged victim to report information and timing of the investigation are important factors in substantiating abuse. Awareness of consumer-to-consumer violence and prevalence of false accusations against staff necessitates increased safeguards for both consumers and staff. Anderson, E.M., & Levine, M. (1999). Concerns about allegations of child sexual abuse against teachers and the teaching environment. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23(8), 833-843. The major objective was to determine teachers’ awareness of the potential for child abuse allegations against themselves and the effects on the teaching environment. A large percent of the respondents were aware of false allegations made against a teacher in their school district. About a third expressed concern that a child abuse allegation could be made against them. In response to a vignette, forty two advised a new teacher against being alone in a room with a student; 62% advised against casual touching; 70% advised against hugging or putting an arm around a student. Male more than female teachers, especially those teaching upper grades, advised against such contact. The more teachers expressed concern about abuse allegations against themselves, the more teachers advised against contact. Fear of abuse allegations is salient for teachers. Fears may cause teachers to limit contact with students with potentially adverse consequences for students and the teaching environment. Bala, N. M. C., Mitnick, M., Trocmé, N., & Houston, C. (2007) Sexual abuse allegations and parental separation: Smokescreen or fire? Journal of Family Studies, 13(1), 26-56. If allegations of sexual abuse of a child are made after parents separate, the challenges of resolving custody and visitation issues are greatly increased, with the abuse allegations overshadowing other considerations. These are high conflict cases, and settlement may be very difficult (or inappropriate) to arrange. The involvement of a number of agencies and