Adolescent Adjustment Before and After HIV-Related Parental Death.

The impact of HIV-related parental death on 414 adolescents was examined over a period of 6 years. The adjustment of bereaved adolescents was compared over 4 time periods relative to parental death and was also compared with the adjustment of nonbereaved adolescents. Bereaved adolescents had significantly more emotional distress, negative life events, and contact with the criminal justice system than nonbereaved youths; these behaviors did not remain significantly higher after parental death. Depressive symptoms and passive problem solving increased soon after parental death, as compared with nonbereaved adolescents. One year subsequent to parental death, depression and passive problem solving were similar to the levels of nonbereaved peers. Only sexual risk behaviors increased following parental death. These results suggest the importance of early family intervention soon after parental HIV diagnosis, prior to parental death, and sustained over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive style and pleasant activities among female adolescent suicide attempters.

Cognitive style and pleasant activities of 77 suicide-attempting female minority adolescents were compared with those of 2 groups of non-suicide-attempting female minority adolescents, 39 who were psychiatrically disturbed and 23 who were nondisturbed. Suicide attempters differed from other groups, even when depression and IQ were statistically controlled. They reported significantly fewer alternatives for solving interpersonal problems, were significantly more focused on problems, and were more likely to report a wishful thinking style of coping in stressful situations than were members of the nondisturbed comparison group. Across groups, depression was associated with significantly more dysfunctional attributions. Interpersonal problem-solving ability and attributional style best distinguished the suicide attempters. Results suggest using different cognitive–behavioral interventions with depressed and nondepressed minority female adolescent suicide attempters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Home visits by neighborhood Mentor Mothers provide timely recovery from childhood malnutrition in South Africa: results from a randomized controlled trial

Background  

Child and infant malnourishment is a significant and growing problem in the developing world. Malnourished children are at high risk for negative health outcomes over their lifespans. Philani, a paraprofessional home visiting program, was developed to improve childhood nourishment. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether the Philani program can rehabilitate malnourished children in a timely manner.     

Prevalence, course, and predictors of multiple problem behaviors among gay and bisexual male adolescents.

Multiple problem behaviors, stress, and personal resources were assessed over 2 yrs among 136 mainly Black and Hispanic gay and bisexual male adolescents (aged 14–19 yrs). Whereas sexual risk acts, substance abuse, conduct problems, and emotional distress were common, the risk acts did not form a multiple problem behavior cluster, compared with previous findings with heterosexual youths. Problem behaviors were stable over time: Only 20–30% of the youths changed their pattern of problem behaviors over 2 yrs. For each individual, the pattern of change in one behavior problem was not related to patterns of change in other problem behaviors over 2 yrs. At baseline, personal resources were associated with less alcohol use and emotional distress, and stress was associated with delinquent behaviors. The pattern of results was similar whether youths labeled themselves as gay or bisexual, suggesting that problem behaviors among mainly Black and Hispanic gay and bisexual youths may follow different developmental pathways than among heterosexual youths. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational benefits of family-based HIV interventions.

The longitudinal impact of a family-based intervention on grandchildren of parents with HIV (PWH) is evaluated. Because PWH and their daughters demonstrated gains over 6 years when randomized to a coping skills intervention compared with a control condition, the adjustment of the PWH's grandchildren was also compared across conditions. Grandchildren in the intervention condition reported significantly fewer internalizing and externalizing behavioral symptoms compared with grandchildren in the control condition. There is weak evidence that grandchildren in the intervention condition had higher scores on measures of cognitive development and more positive home environments. These results suggest that there are possibly long-term, intergenerational benefits of an intervention for families coping with HIV. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescents' reference-group choices, self-esteem, and adjustment.

330 Black, Hispanic, Asian, and White high school students reported their reference-group label as mainstream, bicultural, or strongly ethnically identified. Compared with other groups, White students were significantly more likely to be mainstream. Across ethnic groups, students reporting a strong ethnic identification held attitudes that were significantly more separatist, reported more ethnic pride, engaged in less cross-ethnic contact out of school, reported more cross-ethnic conflict, and used English significantly less often than other reference groups. Reference-group label was not associated with significant ethnic differences in self-esteem, social competence, or grade point average (GPA). The generational status of minority students is discussed as a potential influence mediating the impact of reference group on adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of parent death and an intervention on the adjustment of adolescents whose parents have HIV/AIDS.

The impact of parental death and the efficacy of a coping-skills intervention were examined on the adjustment of 211 adolescent children of parents with HIV/AIDS (PWH) over a 2-year period. During the follow-up period, 35% of the PWH died. Using longitudinal structural equation model, controlling for prior measures of adjustment at baseline, the authors found that children of deceased PWH reported significantly more emotional distress and problem behaviors 2 years later. Youth randomized with their parent to a coping-skills intervention reported significantly fewer problem behaviors and sexual partners 2 years later. Also, adolescents were better-adjusted 2 years later when their parents had reported less emotional distress and less severe physical health symptoms at baseline. Female adolescents reported more emotional distress at baseline and at 2 years than males; male adolescents reported more problem behaviors at baseline than the females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The institutional review board as a mirror of scientific and ethical standards

Decisions by institutional review boards (IRBs) are presumed to reflect the norms and standards of the scientific community. Such criteria have shifted as changes have occurred in experimental interventions and protocols, codes of federal regulatory agencies, norms among investigators, and expectations of participants. The tension created by shifting norms and standards raises two questions: (a) Should IRBs evaluate the scientific (e.g., design) features of the proposed research, and (b) should consistent standards be expected even in areas that are in constant flux (e.g., AIDS research)? We discuss these questions and propose a mechanism to keep IRBs abreast of emergent issues and sensitized not only to the costs of doing research but also to the costs of not doing it.     

Demographic predictors of treatment attendance among adolescent suicide attempters.

Examined 143 adolescent emergency room attendees referred for outpatient therapy after a suicide attempt. Consistent with previous reports, nonadherence was high. Over 40% of Ss had their cases terminated because of nonattendance: on average, however, Ss received almost 6 sessions of treatment and 91% attended at least 1 therapy session. Adolescents terminated from treatment for nonadherence were significantly older than those completing treatment. Younger male Ss were scheduled for significantly more therapy sessions than older male Ss and kept significantly more scheduled sessions than did older male and female Ss. Vigorous case-tracking procedures may have a significant impact on treatment attendance. Nevertheless, therapists must design strategies to increase treatment adherence among older adolescent, especially male, Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)