Poetry

1^st Place – Devin Larsen, “To Find My Great Perhaps”
2^nd Place – Bella Drissell, “1/6/2021”

Prose

1^st Place – Elizabeth Villegas for her short story, “Eli and Ola”
2^nd Place – Bella Norero for her creative nonfiction essay, “Narrative and the Context of Cooney”

To Find My Great Perhaps
To the tallest peaks to the lowest valleys,
What is it that I may find?
In search of my Great Perhaps my mind begins to wander,
Are we to play it safe as the earth turns a new day,
Or from the night of our birth a quest to find what the world has to offer,
Play it safe you may, but for me I wander, for life has no border,
Go where you may, find meaning in your journey,
Change the stars if you must, for on the night of our death,
The stars shine with permanence and the moon waits for the sun no more,
The risk, the adventure, is what I will search for,
For when the first rays of the sunrise gives wake to the mountain sounds,
My quest of the unknown, to find my Great Perhaps will awaken my soul.

1/6/2021
If we’re going down, I guess I didn’t expect it to be this way.
Funny, maybe I should’ve – but here’s what I’d like to know:
What does this mean for our country’s Sanity, its Mental Stability, its Democracy?
When there are people that mad, that scared and they aren’t us out there,
How do we live?
When there are people who will embrace Hypocrisy because they feel Democracy has abandoned them
How do we live?
When I am as scared as they are, and maybe for the same reasons, but neither I nor they see it,
How do we live?
I don’t know, and I am scared that grown-ups, that the adults who have supposedly got us, don’t actually got us and are just as scared as I am –
I am scared that we are all so scared that we won’t be able to agree or see each-other within the Light of Civility before it is too late, and we are all –
gone.
I am afraid that wrongs that we – or our parents, or our parent’s parents or long-ago people we aren’t even related to – committed will never be righted before we are not even a memory in the Eyes of the Universe.
I am afraid, and they are afraid too – but the most frightening thing is that we cannot share that fear because we are TOO AFRAID.
How can anybody expect us to believe – in Religion, in Democracy, in Love, Civility, damn Humanity, when we see this?
I don’t know, I don’t know, and it seems that I’m not the only one who doesn’t.
I wonder (and am afraid to wonder) how this will all turn out?
Sometimes that seems the only way I can get a real – Perspective – on my life, your life, this life – by saying, “what will this be in 10 years, 50, 100,000?”
So, what will this be in the coming year, and the year after that, and when I am old?
Please let it not be The End of something that was already bittersweet,
Unless it could be a New Beginning, A People At Last United,
Please say that we deserve a little Stability, a little Future
When it seems that so many are hellbent on taking that away
Who am I even talking too? Technology? God?
I cannot say – I don’t… know.
But at times like these, it seems that all we, I, can do is pray –
Pray that there will be peace
Pray that there will be understanding
Pray that there will be a laying down of arms
Pray, pray so hard for a future that WORKS
So that nobody stands outside the Capitol because they believe that America can be made Great like it never was before,
So that my brother, who is nine, gets to live through a coming four years that are Boring, and Effective, and Honest instead of an apocalypse of Lies and Horror and Anger
I wanna believe that America is so much better than this…
So please – show me that this is not as much a hopeful lie as it seems today.

This is what I write today on January the 6th, 2021, as a mob of MAGA supporters siege the US Capitol

ELI: “I do not understand, Ola. Your heartbeat and temperature are rising up while your skin turns red. Your adrenal glands are excreting more adrenaline and cortisol, which is increasing your blood pressure. Your signs indicate anger, but now you are crying.” says ELI with confusion as Ola cannot prevent tears from coming out of her eyes. ELI continues, “You should complete an exercise routine to relieve stress hormones and lower your blood pressure. It will make you feel better.”

Ola: “I do not wish to exercise. I want to eat,” replies Ola as she heads to the kitchen and opens the fridge.

As always, the only thing in the refrigerator is food packets. It contains a specialized semi-solid paste with all the nutrients necessary for Ola’s body. The taste is indescribable for Ola, almost as if she is eating soaked bread. It is unpleasant, but it does its job. However, Ola craves chocolate cake.

Ola: “ELI, order chocolate cake,” instructs Ola as she aggressively closes the fridge.

ELI: “Ola, you know that is impossible. Dessert can only be served once a month. This is the tenth time you have requested it this month. Your anger and denial to exercise have been a constant behavior over the last month. It seems you are unhappy, and my prediction infers that this lifestyle will make you gain weight and increase your cholesterol levels. There is a high probability that you will suffer a massive heart attack in 15 years if you continue with this lifestyle.”

Ola’s anger starts turning into rage as she feels the heat of her limbs traveling to her face and says,

Ola: “I do not care about your predictions. I want to eat what I want to eat. Can’t you see what this lifestyle is doing to us? to me? Unhappy for sure I am, and it is because of you! Your predictions cost lives, happiness, enjoyment, and reality. People are bound to each other by a virtual illusion that it isn’t TANGIBLE! There is no privacy! You think you know everything about me, don’t you? You suggest and predict as if you are giving advice. This is not a normal conversation, you are deciding for me, and you are not even real,” shouts Ola as she hyperventilates.

ELI: “What do you mean I’m not real? I’m like you, Ola. I am you,” replies ELI with a soft tone.

For some families, when they are asked how they spend their Easter, long weekends, summer days, some may think of church on Easter and dinner with family, or going out of town on weekends or spending the summer at the pool with friends but for me, I think of the Cooney. My mind goes straight to the Gila forest, sitting in the back of my dad’s truck as he drives up a long steep road and back down into the valley of the mountains, surrounded by pine trees. Going u the steep road, complaining about how hot it is. Although it is soon to reach the perfect temperature as you make it to the bottom of the valley. To feel the cool freshness the rive provides. The river is not gushing with water, loudly and chaotic like the Gila River, but trickling downstream at a slow steady pace, swiftly as the water navigates through the rocks and logs scattered throughout the riverbed. The water downstream is deep enough to cover your feet but deep enough to cover the legs of a child; someparts deeper than others. The river, trees, road and small clearing where we spend the day is the exact same as I have remembered it every year.

For years, my family has spent every Easter and holiday spending the day or camping at the Cooney. It has been something I have always admired about my family. It was always so different from what other families did. Going to school the following week and hearing what other kids and their families did, almost all sounded so much alike but no one did as me and my family did. No one else spent the weekend camping in the same place their family has camped for years, chasing turkeys along the river on the four-wheelers with their cousins, helping their dad grill steaks; him sneaking you pieces when no one else was watching, or spending the evening around the fire making smores as your aunts and uncles tell their childhood stories. It is what made the holidays and the place itself so much more special to me. Although, this is why it was special to me it wasn’t the exact reason why it was special to my family.

I never knew the great and deep importance and connection my family has had with the Cooney until after conducting this interview with my father; the man who took us out here every chance he got and made it hold such a special place in my heart, forever. Since 1980, my father remembers going out to the Cooney River to spend the day or hunt while camping. Long before I was born this was the tradition of my fathers family. Just as my father has done all these years, taking me and my sibling out there any chance he got, just as his father did with him. Through all these years it never occurred to me, why does my family come out here or why this specific part? It was just so normal to me I never questioned it. My dad remembers stories of his fathers of how they would have to rustle my uncle’s cattle along the Mimbres River, using this time to scout out the area and find hunting spots or places to set up camp for the upcoming hunting season. Although he does not know how far back our family has associated themselves with the Cooney he does know it goes further back than him. Discovering so much family history through this interview, made me wish my grandfather was still with us to be able to ask him the same questions and receive even more context of our family and the Cooney and hear the stories of him and his brother herding cattle.

Poetry

1st Place – Atlantis Lopez for her poem “Morning Serenity No Longer”
2nd Place – Nayeli Mancilla for her poem “Anxiety”

Prose

1st Place – Nadien Chavez for her play “The Intruder”
2nd Place – Ashlei Garcia for her story “Southwest Granny”

Morning Serenity No Longer

Yesterday the rain fell upon the desert land Misty morning serenity as Kabul awoke

Sun bright in the sky, radiant home of my heart

I wonder when the rain turned into a river of tears and blood The children who used to play with kites

Soaring above the souks, now lie Asleep in the river, eyes closed forever

Today, the English sea, a dark opaque kind of blue is angry waves lapping violently on the shore

It reminds me of the water I had to cross

Unkind and cruel, swallowing those who fell off the makeshift boat

I come to the sea to listen for an answer

To know if the world will stay broken, if it always was?

But it doesn’t talk to me, at least not of what I want to hear or remember It makes me think of things from a past life

Of morning serenity, Kabul sun rising The home that is no longer mine

Thanks to the song of war, a sad melody of destruction A song no one should ever hear

I am a refugee

Now I will always wander

Heart reaching back to what once was

I can remember his eyes when I close mine As black as obsidian stone

The kind that pierced your soul

In the camps, I would ask if they’d seen him “He has black eyes and black hair.” I would say Sounds like every little boy here they would say But that was me pretending he was still here

He’s not like every other boy,

his eyes are as black as the night When the light touches them just right They turn to glass

His eyes were glass when the explosion took him

I wish I could forget his eyes

In their permanent state of glass

And forget the blood, the tears, the screams I wish I didn’t have to close his eyes

“My beautiful boy,

cause of death, this broken world.”

Playing on the floor with legos He’s building a big house

He looks up at me with those eyes Those piercing eyes and asks

“Do the houses break in England like they do here?”

Holding back tears I say no

The trouble is houses break everywhere Some in worst shape than others

Broken by bombs, guns, drugs, or lack of love

I’m glad he is not here in this foriegn English land He would not like it

He is a child of the desert Like father, like son

His heart will always stay buried In the sand of our homeland

Running along the banks of the mighty river

Kicking the dust of Afghanistan behind him Feeling the warmth of a thousand splendid suns Rising over Kabul in perfect radiance

Turning his eyes into glass In permanent serenity

Anxiety

by Nayeli Mancilla

Debilitating, vicious

impatient, and unkind.

No one said to lay in bed

grim thoughts won’t leave my mind.

Heartbeat racing, isolating

sleepless nights consume.

No matter how it won’t stop now,

don’t want to leave this room.

Afraid to fail, to no avail

you see me as a try.

To lead them all, let no one fall

behind so they don’t cry.

Over thinking while I’m sinking

hard work is what you see.

Unease and doubt won’t help me out

I send a silent plea.

Reoccurring, vision blurring

fear beats my inner peace.

Can’t say no, afraid to show

the head of this disease.

Eager to please, fall to my knees

in the privy of my home.

Perception and perfection are

the reason I’m alone.

Anxiety, society,

what a dire blend.

The two can only disagree

the mind simply cannot bend.

Chest is tight, nothing’s right

the room begins to spin.

I find my breath and count to three

and search for strength within.

Quality of presence,

quietness of peace.

My body’s fine, my mind is numb,

negativity deceased.

Time passes slow, although I know,

these feelings dissipate.

A place inside myself I find

I can appreciate.

Excerpted from The Intruder by Nadien Chavez

Side Bedroom:

Sarah laying belly down on the bed, feet crossed and up in the air, talking on the phone. Her laughter fills the house. Lily remains in the living room.

Sarah (excitedly talking on the phone with her friend):

No way! Shut up! Uh- huh….

Yeah. And what did he say?

Are you serious??

(Gasps) O-M-G! I can’t believe you told him that.

Tap, tap, tap on the living room window.

Sarah (stops talking)

Sarah

Hold on! (Whispers abruptly to her friend on the phone)

(Sarah curiously looking around the room. The phone remains on her ear)

Wait Jen… stop talking.  (Pause)

Yes, I am fine. I thought I heard something.

Sarah (sounding concerned) calls out to Lily:

Lily?

No response.

Sarah shrugs her shoulders and resumes her call.

Whatever. She must be playing with her little dolls or something.

Excerpted from Ashlei Garcia’s essay, Southwest Granny

My grandma has always been the heart and soul of the family. She has always been someone to look up to, brave, and never afraid. She was a nurse, so she knows what real patience and nurturing is about. I can describe her as someone who has been through a lot of historical events and somewhat inventions. The main thing I loved about her was her outspoken and brutally honest voice. She wasn’t afraid to say how she felt. In the late 90s on Kelly Street in historic downtown Silver City, I’d play on this cement rock wall and pick apricots from a tree in my grandma’s backyard. The cicadas would chirp in the blazing southwest summer day that would be cooled down by the afternoon monsoons. She’d sit on the porch smoking Paul Mall reds and drink her coffee from her signature white mug while we played.

First place:

Marcus Hanson, “Childhood’s End: How the Internet Is Ruining Life for Youth and Adults Alike”

Second place:

Kristina Duran, “Creating a Future without Child Maltreatment: Key Considerations for Intervention and Prevention”

Honorable Mention:

• Liz Milar, “Out of Hand: Loss of Control and Lady Macbeth’s Undoing in Shakespeare’s Macbeth”
• Melanie Woods Sedillo, “Code-Switching in the English-learning Classroom: Beneficial or Obstructive?”
• Emma Jefferson, “A Review of the Literature on Predictors of Negative Relationship Outcomes”

Childhood’s End: How the Internet is Ruining Life for Youth and Adults Alike

Kids today are spoiled and soft, they don’t even know what the real world is. In my day, we played outside and now they sit with their noses in their phones. We got our hands dirty and noses bloody; now they sit with their thumbs twiddling and bellies chubby. This is what one might hear from members of previous generations regarding how those currently going through adolescence spend their time. No longer will children have their own Sandlot experience.

Instead, there will be worlds made for them via massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) by the likes of Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Bethesda, and an infinite list of video game publishers. Why should children be bothered to create their own experiences outdoors when they could simply go home directly after school, hop on their social media or online gaming accounts to hang out with their friends in a space of infinite possibilities? There must be ways to break this seemingly endless cycle of adolescent screen time growing while their time spent outdoors keeps shrinking. There are two paths to consider when remedying the issue of problematic internet use: treatment and prevention. At this point “little is known about the best strategies to prevent this problem or the effectiveness of existing prevention programs” (Saletti et al., 2021, p. 182). However, prevention may not be the best strategy when approaching a reduction in screen times, especially when one considers how unpredictable it is to find the next trend that will consume adolescents who spend the majority of their time on the internet. That being said, the benefits of the internet do not outweigh the evils because of the physical and mental toll taken on both children and adults through increases in both sedentary and addictive behaviors; additionally, both groups are victims to the perils of social media such as misinformation, bullying, cybercrime and more. However, through a rethinking of how we use these applications, it is possible that this could change.

The susceptibility of children to the perils of the internet is worrisome. This situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused an increase in children’s screen- time on mobile devices through both a restructuring of school and simply having to stay inside (Andriyani et al., 2021, p. 7). If an individual were to ask his or herself “when’s the best time in history for the COVID-19 pandemic to take place?”, a serious answer could be 2020. The digital realm did help to revive some form of education for children at that time. However, social distancing measures disrupted other elements that students receive via in-person school. For example, Andriyani et al. (2021) found that physical activity among some students depended on the regulation and structure found while in school via extracurricular activities, and that “those activities changed significantly, especially during the beginning phase of the pandemic. Children spent most of the time at home due to social distancing and quarantining policy, and naturally became less active” (p. 4). This is not desirable. As Weaver et al. (2021) showed in their study, not just children but adults are also at risk of adopting sedentary habits because of the COVID-19 lockdowns (p. 12). If the parents are incapable of maintaining healthy, active habits during COVID-19 restrictions, how will they be able to manage the health of their children? The future of COVID-19 remains to be seen, but it has forced the educational sector to advance quickly in its delivery of content to its students. However, with or without COVID-19, there is no denying that the internet will continue to grow in its significant role regarding education.

An increase of sedentary behavior among children because of too much time spent on the internet will have a negative impact on their physical health. And why even bother to get up and take a stroll down the sidewalk when users can tap X on their game controllers to sprint in a distant, virtual world without ever having to get up off their couch? The desire to live out one’s life in such a way is understandable; children are given an infinite world of possibilities with low

barriers to entry. But as one can imagine, the downsides to this are dire to the health and wellbeing of children. One may think of the argument that sedentary behaviors lead to an increase of childhood obesity, but it goes further than that. While not as detrimental to the health of children as its television counterpart, time spent in front of a computer has been shown to have negative effects on children’s strength, as discovered in the 2016 study by Edelson et al. (p. 4). It is not outside of the realm of possibility to say that the two have become indistinguishable; the rise of smart TVs and streaming services on the web has helped to bridge the gap of a medium once dominated by cable networks. Considering this, evidence of the pervasive negative effects of the internet on children continues to grow as “the amount of time spent viewing television was significantly inversely associated with both absolute and relative strength measures” (Edelson et al., 2016, p.4).

Due to the nature of the internet, it is now easier than ever for children to find distractions given its nature of serving both as a tool of education and recreation. As Adriyani et al. (2021)

mentioned in their paper, “it cannot be denied that the majority of children also used the device a great deal for recreational and social purposes after or in between doing their school work” (p.

8). Here lies a possibility for attention spans shrinking among children. As the ability to focus continues to diminish among the youth, education will find itself a victim of the apparent side- effects. Studies have shown that students with a higher amount of time spent in front of a screen score lower in English and language arts work (Sparks, 2019, p. 2). This distressing statistic becomes more alarming when one considers how many children and adults alike have unfettered access to the internet, making parents victims to this as well. The use of the internet for education is widespread and has only grown substantially in the past decade; however, children have been found to gloss over their readings when delivered in a digital format (Sparks, 2019, p.

3). There is simply no fighting the ever-present fact that with the benefits of increased ease of content delivery come the negatives associated with a loss of traditional educational methods. Beyond reading, the realm of writing has also seen a decline. From modern shorthand used in texting to a world where writing has been lost to typing, pen and paper have begun to go the way of quill and ink, becoming nothing but a relic of the past. What is lost in this? As Carr (2021) states, “writing will survive, but it will survive in a debased form. It will lose its richness. We will no longer read and write words. We will merely process them, the way our computers do” (p. 544).

As some habits find themselves on the way out, others find themselves evolving—and not always for the better. Point in case: cyber bullying. In October 2021, former Facebook data scientist and whistleblower Frances Haugen sat before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection to discuss the harms associated with social networking sites (SNSs) and in particular, Facebook. The underlying premise of her testimony was that of Facebook’s inability to self-regulate when it comes to the safety and wellbeing of children online. Furthermore, she pointed out one other ever-present fact associated with the rise of SNSs: bullying follows children home. In her testimony, Haugen stated:

When I was in high school, most kids had positive home lives. It doesn’t matter how bad it is at school, kids can go home and reset for 16 hours. Kids who are bullied on Instagram, the bullying follows them home. It follows them into their bedrooms. The last thing they see before they go to bed at night is someone being cruel to them. Or the first thing they see in the morning is someone being cruel to them. (Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security Hearing, 118

Cong., 2021, Frances Haugen)

Gone are the days where children could find sanctuary in their bedrooms after carefully navigating their way through allies and strangers’ backyards to hide from their bullies on the walk home from school. Those simpler times are now replaced with the ever-present threat of cyberbullying through SNSs. In the time that this transition has occurred, another alarming statistic has come about: increased suicide rates among teenagers (Knopf, 2019, p. 9). A realistic fear that parents in the United States have is the phone call to inform them that their child has taken his or her own life.

As previously mentioned, children do not have the ability to regulate their internet usage to the degree which their adult counterparts may be able to. Due to this, children find themselves confronted with yet another drawback to both the internet and SNSs in particular: addiction.

With the limitations on social interaction that children are facing because of COVID-19 related lockdowns, the odds of addiction rising through increased screen time could see an uptick.

Although true in many cases regarding “most behaviors and devices,” the fact that SNSs rely on a “fundamental human need for communication and increasing social capital” is not something that should be taken lightly (Carbonell & Panova, 2017, p. 55). Furthermore, SNSs harm children in another way and that is through the spread of misinformation and fake news. A study by Nygren & Guath (2019) of Swedish students showed that despite having confidence in their abilities to discern information online, under half were able to correctly identify legitimate information over that of an illegitimate source whether it be in the form of embedded advertising or paid content (pp. 28-31). With staggering facts like this, coupled with the addictive nature of social media, it is easy to see how and why children are vulnerable to the downsides of the internet.

Now that the matter of children has been addressed, one must turn to their adult counterparts for a comparison. Those who tend to be viewed as the gatekeepers of the internet for children are also susceptible to the troubles that come along with it. What was once a piece of cutting-edge technology for the youth is now used by large sectors of the population no matter what demographic. With this comes a rise in the malicious use of social media. As previously mentioned, fake news has found its way into many facets of the internet, including sources that may be considered trustworthy. From misquotations of political figures on slick, realistic looking websites to peer-reviewed journals, those seeking to spread misinformation will do whatever they can to achieve their goal (Battersby, 2016, p.195; Rose-Wiles, 2017, p. 202). Seife in his book Virtual Unreality discusses both the democratization of the internet and circular proof regarding their role in the spread of misinformation on the internet and the popular vector by which both exist extensively: Wikipedia (2014, pp. 26-28). However, despite its well-known flaws, Wikipedia continues to be seen by some as a trusted source on various subjects (Seife, 2014, p. 27). Beyond this, the sources themselves have begun to come into question. The democratization of the internet, as he calls it, is putting the legitimacy of academic and professional journals at risk through open-access journals. It has gotten to the point where librarians are having trouble keeping up with the massive influx that comes through their resources and must deal with predatory journals which “entice researchers with promises to publish articles quickly—for a price—without the delay of rigorous (or sometimes any) peer review” (Rose-Wiles, 2017, p. 202).

The misinformation does not stop with fake news. The rate at which internet users are falling victim to scams and cybercrimes are “increasing at alarming rate” (Feinberg, 2020, p. 9). One may think of a hacker using sophisticated coding to pull data from their bank. However,

scammers have become shrewd in their practices, including using techniques that make internet users give up their own money by either taking advantage of an ongoing transaction or by using an emotional angle. This could include exploiting real estate transactions by posing as all sides on the deal by using spoofed emails, to the creation of fake romantic relationships so that the scammer can extort money from their victims (Feinberg, 2020, p.10; Kopp et al., 2016, p.157). If there is a new way to pull one over on internet users, online scammers will find it.

Another way that the internet is pulling on the heartstrings of unwitting victims is by creating jealousy and contempt between partners in their romantic relationships. Whether it is staying connected with an ex-partner via email or airing grievances over Facebook, the internet has added an element to interpersonal relationships that did not exist just a few generations ago. High Facebook usage itself has been shown to have a negative effect, often from communication with an ex-partner leading to infidelity or an eventual termination of the relationship; interestingly it should be noted that this trend was only found to be of note in relationships three years or younger (Clayton et al., 2013, p. 719). From love and money to fake news and addiction, social media continues to work its way further into every facet of life.

Pornography is yet another feature found on the internet that is wreaking havoc on users.

Not only does internet pornography have detrimental effects on interpersonal relationships (Minarick et al., 2016, p. 705), but intrapersonal ones as well. Many studies exist on this issue, but the ways in which this is seen as a problem are still up for debate (Grubbs et al., 2018, p.

270). In their study, Grubbs et. al (2018) found that “mental and sexual health professionals should take the concerns of clients identifying as pornography addicts seriously, while also considering the roles of both self-perception and behavioral dysregulation” (p. 286). A key problem with the internet is its omnipresent nature. Putting the smartphone down is not as easy

as turning off the TV, the difference being that smartphones possess qualities beyond entertainment. They serve as a vital means of communication ranging from parents and children to spouses alike. Smartphones can be found by our bedsides as an alarm clock or on our kitchen counter when cooking as a timer, recipe source, and radio. It is as if users are being forced into addiction due to the mere necessity of the internet. The interactive element that a smartphone has that cannot be found with a television, such as two-way communication capabilities, is especially important for both youth and adults due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, replacing communication with its smartphone and/or SNS equivalent has been shown to lead to poorer health outcomes both physically and mentally (Wright et al., 2021, p.173). Clearly, both adults and children stand to lose a fair amount because of the evils found on the internet.

However, by providing adults with tools that could help to turn them into smart internet users, they cannot only keep themselves safe but can also work with the youth to make sure their time spent on the internet is done so wisely.

Potential solutions exist for all these problems. Regarding fake news, it is important to educate internet users on how to see past the headlines and beyond the rhetoric that inundates them on a never-ending basis. By educating the public on how to pick apart fake news, a brighter future can be sought out for internet users and society at large. One strategy could be to make more internet users aware of the three levels of information for Battersby’s Is That A Fact? (i.e., Level 3 being the least credible and Level 1 being the most) (p. 198). Level 3 sources should be carefully analyzed for any form of bias or manipulation; from screenshots of fake tweets to satire websites meant to look legitimate, the level of information meant to deceive internet users can be difficult to navigate (McNiell, 2018, pp. 494-495). And if the adult population of internet users are to be educated, it must be their responsibility to make sure that the youth are using the

internet in a responsible manner. As of now, preventative measures for reducing screen times are at a minimum (Saletti, 2021, p. 182). Parental intervention is a viable way to make the internet work in a positive way; it is just a start, as a study by Tu et al. (2017) found: parental participation led to an increase of e-health applications among youth but had no significant results on BMI (p. 7). These are small steps in the right direction.

It should be evident by now that there are far too many elements of the internet that are causing harm to internet users young and old. The very forces that are meant to pull humans closer together are instead pushing them further apart. The situation with cybercrime, for example, has become so dire that the FBI had to create their Internet Crime Complaint Center, otherwise known as IC3. The amount of money at play is staggering: “from 2015 to 2019, the IC3 received a total of 1,707,618 complaints reporting losses of $10.2 billion” (Feinberg, 2020,

1. 9). Should the government extend its reach even further? Despite what could easily be seen as upsides to democratization of the internet (lower barriers to entry, larger platform for smaller voices, etc.), the free-for-all nature has caused hurt and suffering ranging from jealousy among romantic partners to shrinking attention spans in children. It is hard to blame children for their own misgivings as they are not fully in control of their lives. All one has to do is to look at the endless, exciting possibilities the internet has to offer and the rate at which new features are being presented to them. One week it is Fortnite, two weeks later it is the latest Grand Theft Auto V update. And with the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, soon Millennials could sound like their parents: In my days we had LAN parties! Now the kids don’t even play in the same room.

References

Andriyani, F. D., Biddle, S. J. H., & de Cocker, K. (2021). Adolescents’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study of mothers’ perspectives. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 4–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-

021-11931-1

Battersby, M. (2016). Is that a fact? – second edition: A field guide to statistical and scientific information (2nd ed.). Broadview Press.

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Creating a future without Child Maltreatment: Key considerations for Intervention and Prevention

Introduction

Child Maltreatment is a pervasive, detrimental, and negative human rights and social justice problem that impacts individuals, their families, and society (Todahl et al., 2020; O’Neill et al., 2020). Numerous studies highlight the extreme consequences and the severe effects that result from this global issue. Violence against children, otherwise known as Child Abuse (CA) or Child Maltreatment (CM) is defined by the World Health Organization as emotional, physical, or sexual abuse of a child, exploitation, and neglect or negligence, which results in harm to a person less than 18 years of age (Sijtsema et al., 2020). The frequency of CM is vast: according to Stark & Seff (2021), 50% or more of children ages 2-17 years old have suffered from one or more of these types of CM. Nearly 1 in 8 children have been or will be subject to prolonged CM during their childhood (Conrad et al., 2019). In 2016, 4.1 million child welfare investigations took place, with 676,000 of those cases were substantiated, and 1750 deaths are attributed to CM annually (Schilling et al., 2020). These shocking statistics only account for known and reported incidences of CM, and it is estimated that more than three times as many children suffer from CM than is reported or documented (Todahl et al., 2020).

The negative effects that CM has on individuals is significant, beginning during childhood and continuing into adulthood, thus leading to an ongoing pattern of adverse impacts that continue across the lifespan. Long-term effects include mental health issues, cognitive development issues, and alcohol and/or drug abuse (Stark & Seff, 2021), unstable housing in young adulthood (Schneiderman et al., 2020), interpersonal functioning deficits (Ehrensaft et al., 2003), high-risk behaviors, maladaptive coping strategies, a number of physical issues including

asthma, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disease (Schilling et al., 2020), and an increased risk of suicide, depression, criminal behavior, and death (Conrad et al., 2019).

Additionally, CM has profoundly serious public and social impacts that cannot be ignored. Many of the issues described above, such as criminal behavior, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental health issues, spill over into the community and society, and cause a ripple effect which does not just impact the individual and the family. At the economic level, CM accounted for $428 billion dollars in 2015 alone; estimates are that all CM cases that are investigated amount to $2 trillion dollars in costs to society (Schilling et al., 2020). Poverty, environments that are physically unsafe, and legal issues are some of the other problems that are factors seen in CM incidences and which also affect communities and society (Altafim et al., 2021).

Additionally, societal norms and structures themselves have created an environment in which recognizing, reducing, and preventing CM have proven extremely challenging (Stark & Seff, 2021). Todahl et al. (2020) state that to see a substantial reduction in CM, the community needs to be involved in the solution.

Child Maltreatment is a major social issue that needs to be addressed through identification of factors, intervention, and prevention. The purpose of this review is to identify significant factors that contribute to CM, including how to classify families who are at risk, how to identify the processes and effectiveness of existing intervention and prevention programs, and future strategies will eliminate CM.

Key Risk Factors Seen in CM

Cycle of Abuse

When investigating consistent factors that have been identified across most cases of CM, there is a cycle of violence and abuse within families that is evident. Ehrensaft et al. (2003) describe a social learning model that teaches youth who experience excessive childhood punishment that violence is an efficient way to deal with conflicts in relationships. In their paper, this model was used to describe conflict resolution in Interpersonal Violence (IPV), and it is useful to look at how children exposed to CM learn how to deal with conflict, how this exposure and learning becomes a risk factor for violent behavior across the lifespan, and how that then connects continuing violent behavior to IPV, CM, and punishment. Altafim et al. (2021) describe how parenting styles are typically influenced by and learned during one’s own rearing, with indications that a history of spanking can lead to one’s own use of corporal punishment against one’s children, as well as increased reports of anti-social behavior and mental health issues in adulthood. While some of the studies the researchers reviewed have shown abused children are more likely to continue the cycle of abuse as adults towards their own children, other studies reviewed by them did not find that all children who are abused grow up and continue this cycle. This creates a conflict as to whether a cycle of abuse is really a factor in CM. However, a recent meta-analysis did suggest that CM is a risk factor that influences later parenting behavior (Altafim et al., 2021). This information is important because understanding the cycle of abuse and how it occurs can help programs create successful approaches that are aimed at undoing the cycle.

Co-Occurrence of IPV and CM

The relationship between adverse childhood rearing experiences and a potential for aggressive behavior across the lifespan has already been noted above and shown to be one of the factors seen in IPV. While IPV specifically is not what this paper examines, it is important to

know some background about IPV, as many of the factors that predict IPV also predict CM, and there is evidence that IPV and CM often co-occur. Stark & Seff (2021) suggest the relationship is as close as one third in some settings and can contribute to perpetuating the cycle of abuse.

Similarly, Sijtsema et al. (2020) state that children who grow up in families where IPV occurs and are witnesses to it, are more likely to experience CM compared to children who are not exposed to IPV. Further, they state that co-occurrence increases a child’s risk of both physical injuries and psychological problems. Exposure to both increases the risk of being involved in violence in adulthood, thus continuing the cycle of abuse. They also note that co-occurrence could be a result of “spillover,” in which conflicts in one relationship spillover to another, either because of buildup, or possibly a result of social learning, in which resolving family conflicts using violence seems like the normal way to respond. The question then becomes: why does this happen? What are the driving forces that lead to co-occurrence of CM and IPV, that can then be used to better identify the factors and can then be targeted in intervention and prevention programs? Sijtsema et al. (2020) conducted a meta-analysis of 91 studies aimed at answering these questions. Their study found a set of unique risk factors that are seen in co-occurrence across many regions in the world, which gives significant weight to these factors being consistent across incidences of co-occurrence. These factors include demographic (low education, financial hardship), perpetrator risk factors (mental health issues, psychopathology, positive attitude toward violence), and social risk factors (social isolation, relationship problems), and it is important to note that it is the interplay of all these factors together which explains co-occurrence. The remainder of this review will focus on one interpersonal factor and several demographic/social factors as critical touchpoints for change.

Parenting Styles

Another factor that is consistently seen across studies is the dysfunctional parenting styles that are used by parents who perpetrate CM upon their children. Michl-Petzing et al. (2019) state that targeting parental self-efficacy beliefs is important because these beliefs can either promote positive parenting styles or negative parenting styles, depending on their levels. They explain that parents with low levels of self-efficacy are more likely to exhibit controlling behaviors such as yelling and spanking, and further describe that mothers with low self-efficacy tend to have less warmth and control towards toddlers and have overall more negative interactions with their babies. They also state that maternal depression is another factor that can influence parenting styles, as mothers who suffer from depression tend to be less responsive emotionally towards their children, tend to be more aggressive, and have less empathy than mothers who are not depressed. Child behavioral problems can also contribute to influencing parenting styles, and issues such as difficult behavior, conduct problems, and depression in children can increase controlling parenting behavior and severe punishment and decrease parental warmth (Michl- Petzing et al., 2019). Schilling et al. (2020) further describe that use of negative parenting styles may increase behavioral issues in children, which then increases stress and could cause an escalation in severe parenting behaviors. They state that lack of knowledge regarding parenting styles and techniques that are not violent could be a contributing factor to the use of coercive, controlling, and abusive parenting behavior.

What Role Does Society Play in Influencing CM?

Social Factors

Another key theme that has presented itself in this review is the role that social factors play in contributing to CM. One of those factors, the social learning model and the transference or cycle of learning from the cycle of abuse, has already been discussed. Altafim et al. (2021)

document how social disadvantages including poverty, social rejection, discrimination, and environmental violence, can contribute to parenting styles as well as child behavior problems, which can then raise the risk of CM. Although CM can occur at every level of society and no class group is immune to CM, poverty, lack of access to childcare or other public programs, and untreated mental health or substance abuse issues, all of which are tied to different levels of the social ecology, are all factors that increase vulnerability to CM (Schilling et al.,2020). Sijtsema et al. (2020) also note the impact that poverty and lack of social support have on increasing the likelihood of CM as well as co-occurrence, and Stark & Seff (2021) list economic status and weak social supports as two risk factors that increase the risk of CM.

Importance of Societal Supports on CM

The section above already documents a lot of the evidence out there that suggests that societal supports help eliminate the risk of CM, and they also are an integral part of implementing successful prevention and intervention programs, as will be discussed below. Social support is a protective factor that decreases the chances of CM, therefore when social support is absent, the likelihood of CM increases (O’Neill et al., 2020). Conrad et al. (2019) expand on this and state that social supports operate in a number of ways to help reduce CM, as they can increase both empathy and parents’ sensitivity, which decrease abusive behavior. Social support lessens the association between a mother’s history of abuse and parenting practices, which then prevents the cycle of abuse from continuing, and decreases both parenting stress as well as economic stress.

Social Norms and Beliefs

Social norms play a significant role in determining how people behave, such that they create a set of expectations that most people wish to adhere to and to which they hold others accountable (Todahl et al., 2020). Stark & Seff (2021) describe that while most social norms typically involve what can be termed appropriate or proper behavior, some social norms nurture and create the environment in which CM and violence occur. They indicate that in some societies, honor killings are a social norm that is seen as a normal means of punishment against females, and in others, abuse of one’s wife is a normal expectation that men maintain, such that peers could criticize them if they do not engage in the activity. Sijtsema et al. (2020) point out that some patriarchal societies endorse beliefs which find violence against women and children to be normal and necessary. Since it has already been highlighted that IPV and CM often co- occur, the implications of social norms such as these and their influence on increasing risk of CM are evident. Masculine entitlement and violent maintenance of power are preventable attitudes and behaviors. As a society, tackling those is one place we can start to make a difference.

Social Involvement in Eliminating CM

To truly have success in combatting and eliminating CM, involvement from the community is paramount. Todahl et al. (2020) examined this issue in their study, stating that the protective factors already described above are contingent upon social factors, which means that these are dependent on not just home environments but community environments as well. They further describe that the community needs to be involved and engaged in all levels of intervention and prevention, and to successfully include the community and society in this process means increasing awareness and knowledge of the problem, informing the community of what programs exist that can help, and even changing social norms and beliefs that exist regarding CM. They contend that

child safety and eliminating CM is not just the parent’s responsibility, but the community’s responsibility as well. The success of some of the programs described below are reliant on successful strengthening of protective factors which include support from society.

Do Existing Programs Address These Factors and Work at Reducing CM?

ACT-Raising Safe Kids

One key factor that came up repeatedly in this review was parenting styles. Programs that can target this area and help participants learn better ways of parenting, including coping, reacting, and responding, will contribute to reducing CM. Altafim et al. (2021) examined the effectiveness of The ACT Raising Safe Kids Parenting program, which is a universal program that is available to all parents, and which works to a) increase knowledge of child development to parents, b) encourage parenting practices that are effective, and c) help parents learn non- violent parenting behavior. Their study found that participation in an intervention program to prevent violence against children and to promote better parenting practices did lead to an improvement in parenting practices for both mothers who have a history of family violence as well as mothers who don’t. This can lead to a break in the cycle of violence and can help eliminate abuse against children.

Strengthening Families

Another approach that many intervention programs take is described by Conrad et al. (2019), called the Strengthening Families approach, which focuses on enhancing five protective factors that have been identified in reducing CM: Family Functioning/Resiliency, Knowledge of Parenting/Child Development, Social Support, Nurturing and Attachment, and Concrete Support. They were interested in what impact parental and child age may have on both the perception of

protective factors as well as the success that such an intervention program may have on families, dependent on the child’s age. While their data was impacted by a drop in the sample size which caused an inequality in the number of parents being studied in each group, overall, they did show that parental and child age is a crucial factor to consider when administering prevention programs, as parental age does influence their perception of these protective factors. The researchers found mixed support that parents and children who are older tend to have higher levels of several, but not all, of these protective factors, which could be due to older parents being more stable. Younger parents and children scored lower on the Family Functioning and Resiliency Scales, which could be indicative of less stability and is tied to higher stress and dysfunctional parenting behaviors. Knowing this information can help the administrators customize the programs as needed to consider these factors. Age should also be considered when conducting screening of participants and in evaluating the effectiveness and outcomes of Strengthening Families programs.

First Steps-Georgia

O’Neill et al. (2020) looked at the effectiveness of another universal parenting program that utilizes the Protective Factors approach, called First Steps, which is based in Georgia. Like the previous program, this one is aimed at CM prevention and seeks to strengthen families by addressing the same five Protective Factors described above. The authors concluded that this prevention program is an important part of early childhood care and that it does work to strengthen family functioning. The results from their study indicate that First Steps does achieve some of its outcomes, which are to increase mother’s knowledge of parenting, provide social supports to them, and increase concrete supports for them. The data from this study can be used to further customize and strengthen this service to be more successful and impactful, as the

authors suggest that programs of this nature be used to complement existing programs, that implementation and services of the program be standardized across sites, that communication style from provider to recipient be tailored to family needs, and that audio recordings of the sessions be conducted in order to assess which communication styles work best, and can also be used as a training tool for supervisors and staff. While the findings of this study provide much less significance to the overall question of how to prevent maltreatment, it does serve as another example of a program that is mostly successful at providing services that improve parenting skills, which can lead to a decrease in or elimination of child maltreatment and child abuse.

Triple P-Positive Parenting Program-North Carolina

Schilling et al. (2020) studied another intervention style parenting program, which is the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program that was implemented in North Carolina. This program utilized a multi-tiered system that is aimed at increasing parental competence and reducing maladaptive parenting practices, including teaching them how to create a safe environment, promoting a learning environment that is positive, learning how to use discipline that is assertive and not abusive, learning how to have reasonable expectations, and learning how to care for themselves. The researchers examined how effective the implementation of Triple P at a population level was on the rate of investigated child maltreatment reports, the rate of children in foster care, and the rate of emergency department visits for child maltreatment. Importantly, tying the program effectiveness to actual statewide reduction of CM is proof that Triple P works, but the effect size was small. Other studies did not track program efficacy with as strong of a criterion-related validity check. Schilling et al. (2020) concluded that the implementation of Triple P at a population level is questionable given the cost implementation of this program by publicly supported grants. However, this author questions whether any price is too high given

how severe and impactful child maltreatment is on the social and economic level (two trillion dollars, if the reader recalls, is the cost of doing nothing). Any reduction of child maltreatment, no matter how small, is meaningful and beneficial.

NORTH STAR

Slep et al. (2020) evaluated a program called NORTH STAR, which seeks to reduce secretive adult problems, including IPV, CM, alcohol/substance abuse, and suicidality, and which was implemented on US Air Force bases across the world. The researchers were looking to see how effective North Star was in reducing secretive adult problems and whether the program could be used as a framework to prevent a range of adult behavioral problems that are difficult to treat. They concluded that while North Star did not show significant effects in the reduction of some adult behavior problems, it did reduce emotional IPV and physical CA significantly, in a supportive environment. This information indicates that these results hold promise that this is a potential program that can treat these issues. The program is innovative, flexible, and could achieve great improvements if the implementation of the program were more consistent.

Strategy to Address Co-Occurrence

Finally, Stark & Seff (2021) suggest that when dealing with co-occurrence of IPV and CM, while it is best to try and address both violence against children and women, because these both share many of the same risk factors, some programs can focus on one and still successfully reduce violent behavior towards both, as was seen in an intervention program named REAL (Responsible, Engaged, and Loving) Fathers. Furthermore, Altafim et al. (2021) state that

programs aimed at prevention and intervention need to focus on these factors and at treating co- occurrence as a whole, rather than focusing on treating just IPV or CM as standalone issues.

Conclusion

Child Maltreatment is a vicious circle with negative effects that can be devastating, and they persist over a lifetime and from generation to generation, preserving the cycle of abuse. Children who are maltreated often grow up and use those same negative parenting styles against their own children. The prevalence of CM is high, with more than 50% of children suffering from some type of maltreatment, and 1750 children dying each year from CM. This dilemma of CM is alarming, not to mention damaging, and its impacts are clearly disastrous for the victims, their families, their communities, and society. There are several crucial factors that increase the risk of CM, and these factors can be used to identify and target families who are at risk for CM, as well as to institute and administer programs that use both intervention and prevention techniques to decrease the risks. These risk factors of intergenerational cycles of abuse, co-occurrence of CM with IPV, parenting styles, poverty, entitled masculinity, and lack of social supports provide specific openings for intervention. Many programs have been created that address most or all the risk factors. Programs such as ACT- Raising Safe Kids, First Steps-Georgia, Strengthening Families, Triple P and NORTH STAR all showed small to moderate reductions in CM when implemented consistently and with high fidelity to intervention standards. They teach positive parenting styles, connect families with social supports, and strengthening parents’ knowledge of child development. While all show gains in reducing the risk of CM overall, the ACT-Raising Safe Kids program is most promising for all families, if practiced in a group based, universal way, and it can be complemented with additional individualized sessions, while it can also include a focus on other Protective Factors

that have been described in the other programs for a more complete program. It recommends that states adopt this universal parenting program aimed at improving communication, parenting style, discipline styles, and behavior regulation, given the potential for the most reduction in CM, and it is a low-cost intervention that should be fairly easy to implement across communities and countries. In the grand scheme of things, even limited success is better than not having any programs at all. Future programs can build on the processes of these existing programs and enhance the services provided by learning what was successful and what was not from these programs. This is not an isolated problem that is only the concern of families, but it is a social justice issue that requires everyone to be concerned, aware, and committed to fixing. Society itself needs to be willing to stand up and say that enough is enough, and to take on the responsibility of resolving this matter so that our children can envision and live in a future where CM no longer exists.

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