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15 Child L. Prac. 1 (1996-1997)

handle is hein.journals/chilawpt15 and id is 1 raw text is: AA-
Child Law Pract

Vol. 15 No. 1

March 1996

Helping Lawyers Help Kids

INTERDISCIPLINARY EXCHANGE
Children and Violence-
A Conversation with Dr. James Garbarino
by Claire Sandt

James Garbarino, Ph. D., a
child psychologist at the
Family Development Center
at Cornell University in
Ithaca, New York, has
extensively researched child
victims of violence, and has
served as an expert scientific
witness in criminal and civil
cases involving issues of
violence and children. He is
codirecting a Training
Institute at Cornell in June
1996 on What Kids Can Tell
Us (for information, call
608/255-7794). In the
following interview,
Garbarino gives tips on:
 recognizing the effects
of violence;
* how to talk with and
interview children;
 how to make good
decisions for removal,
placement, and reunifi-
cation of the child; and
• kinds of services to
seek for children and
parents.
Qy    What are some effects
of violent trauma?
Two categories exist:

psyrhological and
philosophical. Psychological
effects include depression,
hyperactivity, disruption of
normal development, and
post-traumatic stress
disorder. Behavioral
reinforcement of aggressive
behavior is another common
result of violence. This
reinforcement increases the
chance the child will act
aggressively in the future. By
the time a child reaches eight
years, patterns of aggressive
behavior can be observed.
Unless addressed early on, it
is more likely the child will
act aggressively as an adult.
Research consistently shows
that school-aged children
who kick, punch, and hit are
aggressive later in life, unless
there is intervention.
The second category,
philosophical effects, refers to
how a child views the mean-
ing of life. These children
often lose confidence in the
future. They have little sense
of what life will bring them.
They also come to view
violence as normal and be-

lieve the right response to
ambiguous situations is anger
and aggression. Older chil-
dren, in particular, tend to
give up on the future and
school or careers mean very
little.
Q      How could the effects
of violence influence
an attorney's ability to work
with the child? What can
they expect?
The child may be easily
distracted, show excessive
aggression, be depressed, or
(continued on p. 13)
What's inside:
CASE LAW UPDATE ........ 2
BETTER LAWYERING
New ABA Standards for
the Child's Attorney ....... 6
CAREER PATHS
Finding a Public Interest
Law  Job  ........................  11

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