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Dimitropoulos G, Lindenbach D, Devoe DJ, Gunn E, Cullen O, Bhattarai A, Kuntz J, Binford W, Patten SB, Arnold PD. Experiences of Canadian mental health providers in identifying and responding to online and in-person sexual abuse and exploitation of their child and adolescent clients. Child Abuse Negl 2022; 124:105448. [PMID: 34952461 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex offenders often use the internet to communicate with children to facilitate in-person sexual abuse or to create and distribute sexual images of children. Mental healthcare providers are a major source of referrals to child welfare authorities and are well-positioned to identify sexual exploitation. OBJECTIVE This study investigated the perceived ability of mental healthcare workers to recognize and respond to concerns about online and in-person sexual exploitation of their pediatric clients. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING The authors administered a cross-sectional survey to 209 mental healthcare providers within the public health system of Alberta, Canada. METHODS The survey contained four sections related to sexual exploitation: two of which can take place online or in-person (grooming and sexual abuse) and two of which require the internet or a digital device (luring and sexual image distribution). Each section asked whether the mental healthcare provider had experience working with clients affected by these concerns, what barriers they encounter, how confident they are in their abilities and whether they have formal training in a topic. RESULTS The vast majority of participants (83%) worked with a client impacted by grooming, luring, sexual abuse or sexual image distribution in the last year. Participants reported more training, more confidence and fewer barriers when identifying and responding to sexual abuse as compared to grooming, luring or sexual image distribution. CONCLUSIONS There is a need to improve mental health providers understanding of how technology is being utilized to exploit children, so that they can respond effectively to protect their clients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina Dimitropoulos
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4th floor, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, MLT 301, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - David Lindenbach
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4th floor, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Daniel J Devoe
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4th floor, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3D11, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Emily Gunn
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4th floor, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, MLT 301, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Olivia Cullen
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4th floor, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, MLT 301, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Asmita Bhattarai
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4th floor, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3D11, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Jennifer Kuntz
- Alberta Health Services, Child and Adolescent Addiction Mental Health & Psychiatry Program, Calgary Zone, 10301 Southport Rd SW, Calgary, AB T2W 1S7, Canada
| | - Warren Binford
- School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13123 East 16th Avenue, Mail Stop B065, Aurora, CO 80045, United States
| | - Scott B Patten
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4th floor, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada; Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3D11, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Paul D Arnold
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 4th floor, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada
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