UNH Receives Nearly $3 Million to Study Impact of Youth Bystanders on Self-Directed Violence SHARE email facebook linkedin twitter pinterest Monday, November 22, 2021 Robbin Ray Researchers at the University of New Hampshire will study the effect of adolescent bystanders who are exposed to other teens and young adults engaging in self-directed violence (SDV), such as attempted suicide, and how intervention or contact can influence both the teen and the bystander. The $2.95 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will help researchers learn more about how bystanders handle SDV-related situations, how often they happen and if attempts to intercede have been successful in providing positive change. Learn More
UNH Receives Federal Grants to Study Child Sex Trafficking and Technology-Facilitated Abuse SHARE email facebook linkedin twitter pinterest Thursday, October 01, 2020 Erika Mantz The Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire has been awarded three grants totaling more than $2 million from the National Institute of Justice to study child sex exploitation and related crimes. Two of the awards will provide new information on child sex trafficking victimization and a third will study how the technology is used in crimes like sextortion and cyberstalking. Learn More
What schools can do to reduce the risk that teachers and other educators will sexually abuse children SHARE email facebook linkedin twitter pinterest Wednesday, March 04, 2020 There’s no shortage of reports about American teachers and other school staff getting arrested for allegedly sexually abusing one or more children. Read Article
How universal childhood trauma screenings could backfire SHARE email facebook linkedin twitter pinterest Thursday, November 21, 2019 It is well established that child maltreatment and other childhood adversities are associated with poor outcomes later on in life. As a result, many child advocates have embraced the idea that we should screen all children for adverse childhood experiences. Read Article
Sexual assault among adolescents: 6 facts SHARE email facebook linkedin twitter pinterest Friday, September 21, 2018 Christine Blasey Ford’s account of allegedly being sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when they were teenagers is provoking both informed and uninformed comment from politicians. Still more private conversations about the subject are happening in homes and offices around the country. Read Article
UNH to Establish New Sibling Aggression and Abuse Initiative SHARE email facebook linkedin twitter pinterest Thursday, October 20, 2022 Corinna Tucker DURHAM, N.H.—According to national surveys, one-third of children have been physically assaulted by a brother or a sister in the past year. To help reduce its prevalence and impact, the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire is establishing a new Sibling Aggression and Abuse Research and Advocacy Initiative (SAARA) that will work to change the perception that sibling aggression and abuse is not serious as well as provide guidance on how to prevent its occurrence. “Sibling aggression is the most common form of family violence,” said Corinna Tucker, senior project director of SAARA. “While peer bullying is widely recognized, most people do not realize that more children are victimized by a brother or sister.” This first-of-its-kind initiative will be funded over five years by an award of more than $900,000 from the Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation. It will aim to reduce sibling aggression and abuse by creating user-friendly information and tools for the public and professionals on its website and at conferences and community educational forms. The intended audience includes educators, human service workers, physicians and mental health providers as well as parents. The initiative will also help to highlight the experiences of sibling abuse survivors and assist in their advocacy efforts. The researchers say that each year children of all ages—from toddlers to teenagers—experience sibling aggression in the form of hitting, biting, kicking, name calling, intimidation, harassment and destruction of personal items as well as sexual abuse. Roughly 4% are attacked with a weapon. While some of these incidences are minor, many are ongoing, injurious and terrifying. Studies show that all kinds of sibling abuse are linked to poorer mental and physical health and problematic interpersonal relationships with parents, peers and romantic partners. The initiative will also build a network of researchers, advocates and experts in relevant organizations in the fields of child and family welfare, parent education, pediatrics and mental health. “There are no other organizations or websites specifically focused on the topic of sibling abuse,” said David Finkelhor, professor of sociology and director of UNH’s Crimes Against Children Research Center. “One of the roles we have tried to serve over the years is to draw attention and research to many of the less visible threats to children, like day care abuse, internet crimes, exposure to domestic violence and now sibling abuse.” “We’re proud to support such a significant and much needed effort and look forward to seeing the difference the UNH initiative will make for many children, adult survivors and their families,” said Leslie Abrons, family representative for the Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation. “The program will shine a light on an overlooked problem and offer professionals and parents the much-needed tools to identify and treat those of all ages who are suffering in silence.” The University of New Hampshire inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. A Carnegie Classification R1 institution, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, and received $260 million in competitive external funding in FY21 to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space. Media Contact Robbin Ray ’82 | Communications and Public Affairs | robbin.ray@unh.edu | 603-862-4864
UNH Receives $1.8 Million to Evaluate Prevention Program for Sexual Exploitation of Children SHARE email facebook linkedin twitter pinterest Wednesday, November 30, 2022 Lisa Jones, Ph.D. DURHAM, N.H.—The physical and emotional harm caused by commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and youth has been well documented but there is little research looking at preventative measures to help protect those at risk. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have received a five-year grant totaling $1.8 million from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to study the effectiveness of a child trafficking prevention program and its implementation through Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Initiative. UNH researchers will be working closely on the study with partners at the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). “These victims are children, and they are often struggling with other issues like homelessness which increases their likelihood of being taken advantage of,” said Lisa Jones, research associate professor of psychology at UNH and principal investigator. “The goal of this work is to evaluate and improve programs so communities can help prevent the sexual exploitation of these youth by educating them and giving them the tools to keep them safe.” The study will take a closer look at Not a Number, an education program developed by the nonprofit victim service agency Love 146 that helps youth identify and use support systems to reduce vulnerability to sexual exploitation. The research will focus on MDH’s Safe Harbor program which implements Not a Number in partnership with statewide grantees. The randomized controlled study will use rigorous methodologies to evaluate the impact of the program on preventing the sexual exploitation and victimization of children and youth. The researchers hope the findings will improve future iterations of the program and inform new initiatives and policies aimed at protecting children. “We need to hold ourselves accountable and ensure that we are having the impact we intend to,” said Aria Flood, director of U.S. prevention at Love 146. “This evaluation will allow us to assess our impact on preventing children from being exploited, make improvements in our programming and inform future anti-trafficking prevention efforts.” Lauren Martin, associate professor at the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing, will lead local research implementation in collaboration with UNH and MDH. Other researchers, all at UNH, include Kimberly Mitchell-Lema, research professor at the Crimes Against Children Research Center; Jennifer O’Brien, assistant professor of social work; and Suzanne Graham, associate professor of education. This award is part of the CDC’s effort to improve the research base on prevention of child and youth sexual victimization. The University of New Hampshire inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. A Carnegie Classification R1 institution, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, and received $260 million in competitive external funding in FY21 to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space. Media Contact Robbin Ray ’82 | Communications and Public Affairs | robbin.ray@unh.edu | 603-862-4864
New UNH-assisted WHO report showcases strategies to keep children safe online SHARE email facebook linkedin twitter pinterest Monday, December 05, 2022 David Finkelhor, Ph.D. A new UNH-assisted report published today by the World Health Organization (WHO), What works to prevent online violence against children, presents ways to address the growing worldwide concern of keeping children safe online. UNH staff connected to the Crimes against Children Research Center compiled the research and authored two versions of the report along with colleagues at WHO and the Queensland University of Technology. The report highlights the importance of implementing educational programmes directed at children and parents. Studies have shown the effectiveness of such programmes in reducing the levels of victimization and perpetration along with a wide variety of childhood risks such as delinquency, substance use, bullying and risky sexual behavior. The report recommends implementing school-based educational programmes that have multiple sessions, promote interaction among youth and engage parents. It also underscores the importance of training youth in specific life skills such as assertiveness, empathy, problem-solving, emotion management and help seeking, among others. Moreover, educational programmes are more successful when they use multiple and varied delivery formats such as videos, games, posters, infographics and guided discussions. The report cites evidence that comprehensive forms of sex education can reduce physical and sexual aggression, in particular dating and partner violence and homophobic bullying. The effectiveness of sex education has been confirmed in countries of all income levels. The report also highlights the need for improvements in several areas including: the need for more violence prevention programs that integrate content about online dangers with offline violence prevention, given the overlap of these problems and the common approaches to prevention less emphasis on stranger danger as strangers are not the sole or even the predominant offenders in online violence against children more emphasis on acquaintance and peer perpetrators, who are responsible for a majority of offenses more attention to healthy relationship skills, since romance and intimacy-seeking are major sources of vulnerability to online violence. Director of the Crimes against Children Research Center, David Finkelhor, one of the authors said, “There is a lot of valuable scientific information that hasn’t yet been fully incorporated into the design of prevention strategies for online safety. This report should make those insights more available to program developers.” RELATED LINK https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240062061
