Psychological assessment of sexually abused children for legal evaluation and expert witness testimony.

This article presents the theory and practice behind the psychological assessment of sexually abused children using the posttraumatic stress disorder subcategories for abused children. Measurement of cognitive disturbances including intrusive recollections of the trauma, affective disturbances by simultaneously experienced high arousal and high avoidance symptoms, and observable behavioral changes are described, and practical approaches including case examples are presented. Included in this article is a discussion about the different standards of legal proof that psychologists must meet in the various kinds of child sexual abuse cases that they might be called upon to consult. Psychologists need to know basic child development and have the assessment skills to measure it as well as specialized training in the field of child abuse to avoid the perils of becoming overinvolved in these emotional cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School psychologists and Public Law 94-142: A clarification of implications.

Discusses the article by J. B. Franzoni and W. Jones (1981) in which they emphasized the need for special training of school psychologists in the administration and interpretation of projective techniques for diagnosing severe emotional disturbance. It is pointed out here that the current trend in school-based assessment is toward use of a behavioral assessment model to evaluate not only emotional disturbance but also other handicapping conditions. Using this model the child is evaluated in his or her environment. It is also noted that school psychologists can move away from a role that is restricted to testing by taking advantage of laws that allow them to provide psychological services to staff members, parents, and children. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional and cognitive adjustment in abused children

Research on the impact of maltreatment on children has increased in the last years, as there is a need to design appropriate treatment strategies. Social, cognitive, and emotional areas may be affected in these children. This research is aimed to study the psychological functioning of child victims, particularly in their emotional and cognitive adjustment. Nineteen children (10.3 years old) with case histories of at least 2 years of physical and emotional parental abuse and a group of 26 nonmaltreated children (9.4 years old) matched in socio-economic characteristics and coming from the same community area were compared in depressive symptomatology and attributional style by using the standardized measures from Kovacs' Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and Kaslow's Children Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ). General and detailed statistical analyses on the emotional and cognitive areas assessed showed significant differences between groups. Child victims showed greater feelings of sadness, lower self-esteem and self-worth, and they perceived the aversive events in their lives as unpredictable which generated helplessness. This is a result of their lack of control of those aversive events. Results are contrasted with those obtained by other researchers who used similar methodology and are discussed in terms of the learned helplessness' model proposed and developed by Seligman, Kaslow, Alloy, Peterson, Tanenbaum, and Abramson (1984). Implications for the child abuse victims' emotional and cognitive rehabilitation are also analyzed and discussed.     

The socioemotional development of orphans in orphanages and traditional foster care in Iraqi Kurdistan

In order to investigate orphans' situation and development in Iraqi Kurdistan, samples from the two available orphan care systems, the traditional foster care and the modern orphanages, are examined at an index test and at 1-year follow-up regarding competency scores and behavioral problems at both test occasions, and post-traumatic stress reactions at a 1-year follow-up. Achenbach Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) and two instruments regarding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were used. While competency scores showed an improvement in both samples at the follow-up test, the problem scores increased in the orphanage sample and decreased among the foster care subjects. Moreover, the orphanage sample reported higher frequency of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the foster care children. The results are discussed with regard to the value of the Kurdish society's own traditions in taking care of orphans.     

The psychologist as a consultant in a nursing home: Effect on staff morale and turnover.

Many elderly patients have been transferred from long-term psychiatric hospitals to nursing homes, where knowledge of psychological aspects of patient care is generally poor and where emotional and behavioral disorders are poorly tolerated by staff. One solution to this problem is for psychologists to provide in-service training to nursing-home staff in the psychological aspects of patient care, but this approach ignores such problems as poor staff morale and high staff turnover. A 188-bed skilled nursing home was selected for a 12-wk consultation program based on a mental health and organizational development approach. Turnover rates fell from 73.4%, during the quarter prior to consultation, to 27.8%, during the period of consultation, and averaged 33.6% for the next 3 quarters. Staff morale also improved. Results indicate that before training nursing-home staff in the psychological aspects of geriatric care, problems such as high staff turnover and poor morale should be resolved. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effectiveness of three clinical interventions for different socioeconomic groupings.

Randomly assigned 91 children referred for emotional and behavioral problems from elementary schools representing a wide socioeconomic range to 1 of 3 forms of psychological intervention (child therapy, parent counseling, and an experimental method called "information feedback"). Outcomes were measured in terms of changes in school grades and Os' ratings of school behavior. All interventions resulted in slightly improved peer relations (as measured by Os). On school grades, there was an Intervention Method * Socioeconomic Level interaction: Information feedback resulted in improved grades for children in upper socioeconomic levels, parent counseling led to improved grades for lower levels, and child therapy (the only intervention in which clinical contacts centered on the child) resulted in lower grades for all levels. (39 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental issues in child health psychology.

Illustrates a developmental perspective in child health psychology by discussing research relating motor, cognitive, and psychosocial development to exposure to health hazards, to an understanding of behavior–health relationships, to the assumption of personal responsibility for health, and to behavioral and emotional responses to illness and injury. It is suggested that changes in motor skills and abilities affect the child's ability to interact with his/her physical environment and influence the likelihood of falling victim to health hazards. Cognitive and intellectual development is crucial to the child's ability to understand the relationships between behavior and health and illness and to make decisions about his/her health behavior. Psychosocial development is critical to the issue of individual responsibility in health behavior. It is proposed that a developmental perspective be added as a 4th dimension to the commonly employed 3-dimensional conceptualization of health psychology. (100 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Human crowding and personal control: An integration of the research.

Empirical and theoretical discussions have suggested that crowding is experienced when situational density forces the blocking of goals, the interruption of behaviors, or cognitive overload to occur. However, no psychological principles have been employed to unify these explanations. The present article attempts to link the literature on human crowding with the experimental research on personal control. J. R. Averill's (1973) distinctions among behavioral, cognitive, and decisional control are discussed in the context of human crowding. A conceptual model is offered that suggests that crowding is an attributional label applied to a setting when situational density results in a loss or lack of personal control. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interbacterial binding among strains of pathogenic and commensal oral bacterial species

OBJECTIVE: Family resources and coping skills are important to adaptation to pediatric chronic illness. Psychological and educational interventions have been found to enhance the coping skills of children with juvenile rheumatic disease (JRD) and their families. We examined the efficacy of a 3-day family retreat as a multidisciplinary, comprehensive treatment. METHODS: Children with JRD and their caregivers completed questionnaires assessing the children's behavioral and emotional functioning, pain, strain on caregivers' work and leisure activities, and caregivers' psychological distress before and 6 months after the family retreat. Principal caregivers were both parents for 16 children, mothers only for 10 children, and an aunt for 1 child. RESULTS: Improvements were found in children's emotional functioning, strain on caregivers' work, and strain on caregivers' leisure activities. Reductions in reported pain were not consistently revealed. CONCLUSIONS: Family retreats are an efficacious, multidisciplinary approach to helping families of children with JRD cope with the disease and its manifestations. Importantly, retreats offer a comprehensive intervention package that might not be available to families on an individual basis.     

Toward a more complete science of development.

The present special issue is devoted to the problems in children's development--sensory, perceptual, cognitive, behavioural, social, and emotional. The scientific study of applied issues or practical problems in the everyday lives of children has only recently become an integral part of mainstream psychological science. In organization, the present volume progresses from sensory or motor-based problems to behavioural and cognitive disorders through to social/emotional difficulties. We could not cover all childhood problems in the available space. Our central goal was to present a representative selection of important, interesting work on major problems in child development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child extrafamilial sexual abuse: predicting parent and child functioning

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the emotional and behavioral adjustment of parents and children within 3 months and 1 year after the discovery of child extrafamilial sexual abuse. METHOD: Ninety-two case parents (63 mothers, 29 fathers) and 56 children were compared to a nonclinical comparison group of 136 parents (74 mothers, 62 fathers) and 75 children. Parent adjustment was assessed using self-report measures while child functioning was assessed using a combination of child-, parent- and teacher-report measures. RESULTS: Mothers, fathers and sexually abused children experienced clinically significant effects both initially and at 12 months post-disclosure. Children's perceptions of self-blame and guilt for the abuse and the extent of traumatization predicted their self-reported symtomatology at 3 months and 1 year post-disclosure. Child age and gender also significantly contributed to the prediction of many of the child outcome measures. No abuse-related variable was related to any child self-report measure. Mothers' satisfaction in the parenting role, perceived support and intrusive symptoms predicted their initial emotional functioning. Avoidant symptoms, child's internalizing behavior and mothers' initial emotional functioning were significant predictors of longer-term emotional functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Results emphasize the need to address children's abuse-related attributions and underscore the need to expand our focus beyond the child victims to the traumatized families.     

In vitro fertilization and the family: Quality of parenting, family functioning, and child psychosocial adjustment.

This study examined associations between homologous in vitro fertilization (IVF) and quality of parenting, family functioning, and emotional and behavioral adjustment of 3–7-year-old children. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Taiwan with 54 IVF mother–child pairs and 59 mother–child pairs with children conceived naturally. IVF mothers reported a greater level of protectiveness toward their children than control mothers. Teachers, blind to condition, rated IVF mothers as displaying greater warmth but not overprotective or intrusive parenting behaviors toward their children. Teachers scored children of IVF as having fewer behavioral problems than control children. In contrast, IVF mothers reported less satisfaction with aspects of family functioning. Family composition moderated parenting stress: IVF mothers with only 1 child perceived less parenting stress than did those in the control group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mediating role of parenting stress in the relation between intimate partner violence and child adjustment.

This study examined the role of maternal parenting stress in the relation between intimate partner violence (IPV) and children's emotional and behavioral problems among 139 African American children between the ages of 8 and 12 years. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate a mediational model examining maternal reports of IPV and parenting stress and both mother and child reports of child adjustment. Results suggest that parenting stress helps explain the link between IPV and child emotional and behavioral problems. Findings from this study highlight the importance of parenting stress in outcomes of children from low-income African American families who experience IPV. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unitas, Libertas, Caritas: the meaning of science for general practice

OBJECTIVE: Fear of surgery affects recovery in the emotional and behavioral state that leads the child to call the nurse more often or to ingest more sedatives after the operation. The present work evaluated the effects of psychological preparation for surgery during the pre-surgical period on the post-surgical recovery during the hospital stay in order to evaluate the effects that this preparation had on the recovery of the child. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The sample was composed of 60 pediatric patients of both sexes between 7 and 14 years of age admitted for minor scheduled surgery. Fear and five indicators of recovery were evaluated during the post-surgical period (call to the nurse, ingestion of sedatives and liquids, miction and sleep). The children were assigned randomly to one of the following four groups: filmed modeling, coping skills, filmed modeling plus coping skills, and control. RESULTS: The results indicated that the prepared children showed less fear, called the nurses less often, were administered fewer doses of sedatives and slept better after the operation. Analysis of the size of the effect showed that the programs that included coping skills training obtained the most benefits in the post-surgical recovery.     

Common problems seen by the plastic surgery emergency room service

This article covers many issues of particular interest to the care of the child who presents to the emergency department with a traumatic wound. General concepts regarding the staffing of an emergency department, staff qualifications, and their consultation patterns are reviewed. Issues pertaining to the management of children in the emergency setting, including an update on outpatient sedation and analgesia and some infectious disease considerations are also discussed.     

Parenting of adult children in an Israeli sample: Parents are always parents.

This qualitative study examines the role of parents with regard to their adult children, by exploring parents' experiences, meanings, and the underlying psychological processes of their parental role. In-depth interviews with healthy Israeli parents (N = 23) aged 56 to 69 explored their perceptions about their parental role. Narrative analysis techniques focused on the content and on the form of the narratives were applied. Five important internal dialectic dimensions emerged: emotional connection and separation; the child as narcissistic extension of the parent and the parent's desire to let the child individuate; growing importance of familial connections and the perceived generation gap; parents' balancing personal needs and the children's needs, and finally, maintaining a hierarchical stance and an equal stance. The results are integrated into the developing theory of intergenerational ambivalence, suggesting a dialectical configuration for the role of parent to adult children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

To grandmother's house we go ... and stay. Children raised in intergenerational families

An increased incidence in child abuse and neglect has resulted in a dramatic rise in the number of grandparents raising grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grandchildren raised by grandparents often suffer from emotional and behavioral problems due to prior abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Grandparent caregivers experience increased health problems, psychological distress, and social isolation related to their roles as primary caregivers of children. Grandparents who become caregivers of grandchildren face increased financial responsibilities at a time in their lives, close to or at retirement, when income is dramatically decreased.     

Patterns of emotion-specific appraisal, coping, and cardiovascular reactivity during an ongoing emotional episode.

The authors examined emotion-specific patterns of appraisal, coping, and cardiovascular reactivity during real ongoing emotional episodes. In this study, 109 participants performed a neutral opinion-expression task, where a confederate elicited anger, shame, or pride using verbal and nonverbal behavior. The authors assessed cognitive appraisals, emotional reactions, coping, outcomes (state self-esteem and outcome satisfaction), and cardiovascular reactivity. Results indicated substantial and theoretically consistent differences between the 3 emotions (and differences from a nonemotion condition) for cognitive appraisals, self-reported coping, behavioral coping, self-esteem, and cardiovascular reactivity. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for emotion theory and for psychological and physical health. Overall, the results suggest that researchers can study emotion-related issues using authentic emotional reactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Military youth and the deployment cycle: Emotional health consequences and recommendations for intervention.

The United States military force includes over 2.2 million volunteer service members. Three out of five service members who are deployed or are preparing for deployment have spouses and/or children. Stressors associated with the deployment cycle can lead to depression, anxiety, and behavior problems in children, as well as psychological distress in the military spouse. Further, the emotional and behavioral health of family members can affect the psychological functioning of the military service member during the deployment and reintegration periods. Despite widespread acknowledgment of the need for emotional and behavioral health services for youth from military families, many professionals in a position to serve them struggle with how to best respond and select appropriate interventions. The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirically based and theoretically informed review to guide service provision and the development of evidence based treatments for military youth in particular. This review includes an overview of stressors associated with the deployment cycle, emotional and behavioral health consequences of deployment on youth and their caretaking parent, and existing preventative and treatment services for youth from military families. It concludes with treatment recommendations for older children and adolescents experiencing emotional and behavioral health symptoms associated with the deployment cycle. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)