The following is the list of reflective insights that I came to while getting myself familiarized with Juan’s case and analyzing this case’s discursive implications:
When addressing the issue of children being suspected to have fallen victims to a particular form of sexual abuse, therapists should pay very close attention to what accounts for the specifics of the concerned individuals’ ethnocultural affiliation. As Fontes (2005) noted, “Us (therapists) need to be aware of cultural issues, even when working with clients who are from our own ethnic culture” (p. 14). The validity of this suggestion can be illustrated in regards to the fact, as it was mentioned in the case-handout, one of the reasons why Mrs. Fernandez realized that there was something wrong with Juan, which is that she has repeatedly caught her son masturbating.
This, of course, implies that, despite being only three and a half years old, Juan did learn to derive a sensual pleasure out of touching its body. Even though the earlier suggestion may appear rather speculative, the available statistical data, concerned with the qualitative aspects of the Hispanic population’s fertility, does substantiate its discursive legitimacy. After all, many empirical studies show that physiologically speaking, Hispanic children do mature more rapidly than their White counterparts do (Scott, Johnso & Roosa, 1993). This, of course, creates objective preconditions for Hispanic children to be more likely to become sexually victimized.
The validity of the suggestion that the factor of one’s ethnocultural affiliation should not be overlooked by therapists when the issue of sexual abuse is at stake, can also be explored about the fact that the effectiveness of the proposed treatment-therapies largely depends on how well they are adjusted to the patients’ culturally predetermined ‘brain wiring’. For example, the representatives of racial minorities that profess the values of a communal living (such as Hispanics), would be more likely to benefit from being exposed to specifically those therapeutic interventions that presuppose the involvement of family members, as one of the most important prerequisites of the rehabilitation’s successfulness (Lavigne et al.,1998).
Given the description of the manner, in which Juan tended to behave, there can be a few doubts as to his affiliation with the psychological phenotype of an ‘extravert’. This phenotype is being closely associated with Hispanics, as people who tend to derive a particular emotional pleasure out of indulging in socialization with others. In its turn, this implies that for Juan to be able to benefit from being prescribed a particular CBT, the therapy in question must be concerned with emphasizing ‘behavior’ rather than on ‘cognition.
This suggests that Juan needs to be provided with an opportunity to indulge in activities that may immediately result in lessening the severity of sustained mental trauma. As Cohen et al. (2001) noted, “African American and Hispanic clients may respond particularly well to brief, goal-directed, problem-oriented treatment approaches as opposed to other types of treatment” (p. 150). It is needless to mention, of course, that this once again confirms the legitimacy of the reflective insight in question.
Therapists should consider the observable signs of an emotional self-deregulation in a child, as an indication that he or she may have suffered sexual abuse. According to Saxe, Ellis, and Kaplow (2007), “The child who is emotionally dysregulated has difficulty controlling his/her emotional states. Although this child may spend most of his/her time in a regulated emotional state… and has limited ability to self-soothe and reinstate calmness and engagement with the environment” (p. 113).
The information, contained in the case-handout, leaves very few doubts, as to the fact that Juan used to exhibit the psychological traits of an emotionally disturbed individual. He reacted with anger to Mrs. Fernandez’s attempts to straighten his behavior, while continuing to ‘act out’ its deep-seated frustration, related to the memories of sexual abuse. For example, while playing with toys, Juan would have the figurine of a child hitting the figurine of an adult – hence, exhibiting his unconscious strive to have Jorge (his father) punished. There are two discursive implications to it. First, while dealing with under-aged subjects of suspected sexual victimization, therapists should never cease remaining thoroughly of the fact that the young child’s behavioral pattern does contain clues, as to the type of emotional trauma that he or she might have sustained in the past.
The extent of the therapists’ professional adequacy reflects their varying ability to interpret these clues (Lovett, 2007). Second, by striving to make children experience the sensation of shame, due to the socially inappropriate aspects of their behavior, parents can only worsen the situation. This is because, while keeping their deep-seated anxieties behaviorally suppressed, children will grow ever more emotionally unstable, which may have several negative long-term effects on these children’s physical and emotional well-being.
As of today, there is no effective mechanism for preventing male-children in America to remain utterly vulnerable to the prospect of being sexually abused. As the case-handout implies, Mrs. Fernandez used to suspect Jorge of having molested Juan for a long time, yet, there was very little she could do about it because the CPS workers simply did not have enough evidence to become involved. This, of course, calls for the revision of the CPS’s operational paradigm – the agency must be provided with more executive powers in situations when the issue of sexually assaulted children is at stake.
Besides, the government should be investing more resources into educating people about the fact that there can be very little rationale in believing that the likelihood of young boys to be sexually exploited does not stand a comparison with that of young girls. This is because of the very fact that, as of today, the majority of Americans remain rather ignorant of the sheer acuteness of this problem makes it possible for boys to be continually victimized. As Cermak and Molidor (1996) noted, “With contemporary American culture failing to acknowledge the extent and magnitude of male sexual abuse, the victims themselves may have a difficult time recognizing their victimization” (p. 388). This situation, of course, can hardly be referred to as thoroughly tolerable.
To be qualified to raise children, parents must undergo a psychological evaluation. In the provided case-handout, there are numerous references to Jorge having been addicted to drugs. Yet, even though Jorge had a history of drug abuse, he nevertheless continued to enjoy the liberty of seeing Juan every week. Moreover, as it was revealed later in the case-handout, Jorge himself suffered sexual abuse when he was a small boy, which had a strong negative effect on Jorge’s sense of self-identity. Apparently, by peeing on Juan when there were no other people around, Jorge strived for nothing less than ‘taking revenge upon the world’.
Yet, had Jorge been required to undergo a psychological evaluation, before being allowed to come to the U.S. and to conceive children, the chances are he would have been early detected as a potential child-abuser, before having committed the actual crime.
The representatives of racial minorities in the U.S. (especially Hispanics) should be provided with incentives not to be settling in the ethnically secluded ‘ghettoes’. As it appears from the case-handout, while living in America, Rosa and Jorge Hernandez made a deliberate point in proceeding with a communally-intense lifestyle, which in turn made them less likely to rely on the help of state-institutions, while facing life challenges.
This is exactly the reason why Mrs. Fernandez was so reluctant to talk about her former husband’s ‘secret’. Due to her close affiliation with Puerto-Rican cultural traditions, she thought it would be morally inappropriate to even mention this to others, as it would not only negatively affect Jorge but the whole community of Puerto-Ricans, as well. What it means is that to reduce the rate of sexual abuse among children that grow in the families of ethnic immigrants, the government should apply an additional effort into helping these people to become fully integrated within the society.
I believe that the earlier provided reflective insights are discursively valuable, as they do tackle the commonly overlooked dimension to the issue of young children continuing to fall victims to different forms of sexual abuse. Specifically, the fact that this issue cannot be effectively discussed outside of what happened to be the affiliated socio-cultural environment.
References:
Cermak, P. & Molidor, C. (1996). Male victims of child sexual abuse. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 13 (5), 385-400.
Cohen, J. et al. (2001). The importance of culture in treating abused and neglected children: An empirical review. Child Maltreatment, 6, 148-157.
Fontes, L. (2005). Child abuse and culture. New York: Guildford Press.
Lavigne, J. et al. (1998). Mental health service use among young children receiving pediatric primary care. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(11), 1175-1183.
Lovett, B. (2007). Sexual abuse in the preschool years: Blending ideas from object relations theory, ego psychology, and biology. Child & Adolescent Social Work, 24, 579-589.
Saxe, G., Ellis, B. & Kaplow, J. (2007). Collaborative treatment of traumatized children and teens: The trauma systems therapy approach. New York: Guilford Press.
Scott, C., Johnso, D. & Roosa, M. (1993). Family, individual, and social correlates of early Hispanic adolescent sexual expression. The Journal of Sex Research, 30 (1), 54-6.