Predictors of treatment outcome in sexually abused children

PROBLEM: This study evaluated the impact of child and family characteristics on treatment outcome of sexually abused children. METHOD: Forty-nine recently sexually abused 7- to 14-year-old children were randomly assigned to either abuse-focused cognitive behavioral therapy or nondirective supportive therapy, and assessed pre- and post-treatment using several standardized instruments. These included five measures of psychological symptomatology and four measures of child and family characteristics hypothesized to mediate treatment response. Correlational and multiple regression analyses were utilized to evaluate the impact of the following mediating factors on treatment outcome: Children's abuse-related attributions and perceptions; family cohesion and adaptability; parental support of the child; and parental emotional reaction to the child's abuse. RESULTS: Children's abuse-related attributions and perceptions and parental support of the child were strong predictors of treatment outcome in this population. CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic attention to children's sexual abuse-related attributions and to enhancing parental support may be important factors in optimizing treatment outcome in 8- to 14-year-old sexually abused children.     

Children and mothers in war: an outcome study of a psychosocial intervention program

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects on children (age: M = 5.5 years) in war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina of a psychosocial intervention program consisting of weekly group meetings for mothers for 5 months. An additional aim was to investigate the children's psychosocial functioning and the mental health of their mothers. Internally displaced mother-child dyads were randomly assigned to an intervention group receiving psychosocial support and basic medical care (n = 42) or to a control group receiving medical care only (n = 45). Participants took part in interviews and tests to provide information about war exposure, mental health, psychosocial functioning, intellectual abilities, and physical health. Results showed that although all participants were exposed to severe trauma, their manifestations of distress varied considerably. The intervention program had a positive effect on mothers' mental health, children's weight gain, and several measures of children's psychosocial functioning and mental health, whereas there was no difference between the two groups on other measures. The findings have implications for policy.     

The development of children with ADHD in day treatment centres after school hours

The behavioural and emotional development of children with ADHD visiting day treatment centres after school hours is described and the childrearing factors that govern positive development explored. Test scores on the Child behaviour checklist (CBCL) and ADHD behavioural symptoms rating scale were obtained over a period of nine months, in a sample of 86 children with ADHD, and related to the activities of the professional care‐givers. Behavioural control mixed with affectionate and emotional support reduced the ADHD symptoms at the follow‐up. According to the CBCL measures, the overall emotional and behavioural problems of the children did not improve. This suggests that prolongation of the day treatment is still required after nine months.     

Effectiveness of a school-based multicomponent program for the treatment of children with ADHD

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a multicomponent program for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) carried out by teachers in a classroom context. Dependent measures included neuropsychological tasks, behavioral rating scales for parents and teachers, direct observation of behavior in the classroom, and academic records of children with ADHD. Fifty children with ADHD participated in the study. The teachers of 29 of the 50 students were trained in the use of behavior modification techniques, cognitive behavior strategies, and instructional management strategies. The other 21 students formed the control group. Parents' and teachers'ratings detected improvements in primary symptoms (inattention-disorganization, hyperactivity-impulsivity) and in behavioral difficulties usually associated with ADHD (e.g., antisocial behavior, psychopathological disorders, anxiety). Furthermore, the results showed increased academic scores, enhanced classroom behavioral observations, and improved teachers' knowledge about the strategies directed toward responding to the children's educational needs.     

Training day care program personnel in handling child abuse cases: intervention and prevention outcomes

Attempts have been made to provide day care services as part of a treatment plan and these services are also used as a preventive strategy. Day Care programs have the potential for providing growth experiences, supportive adult role models, and modeling parental skills in an atmosphere of understanding, respect and trust. There is a need, however, for day care professionals and paraprofessionals who come into contact with children to recognize problems of child abuse and neglect and to develop skills to deal with the range of inherent problems. A report on a training program for day care workers is presented in this article. A survey involving 84 day care programs in southeastern Pennsylvania was conducted and comparisons of intervention and prevention activities of two groups: those programs whose staff participated in the training and those whose staff did not, were made. Assessment of intervention activities shows that there is no difference between the groups. However, analysis of prevention activities shows that day care workers in the trained group were significantly more involved in prevention and high risk referral.     

Educational inequality in Tasmania: evidence and explanations

In this article, we map the extent of educational inequality within Tasmania, and between Tasmania and the rest of Australia, using National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and senior secondary attainment data. This analysis yields some surprising findings, showing the success of Tasmanian primary and high schools and that Tasmanian educational inequality is most strongly expressed at the senior secondary level. We conclude that using such publicly available data to identify differential achievement within and between jurisdictions would strengthen public policy and practitioner interventions aimed at achieving more equal educational outcomes for students in all schools. Our findings also have implications for research directions in this field, suggesting that by analysis of NAPLAN and My School data across individual schools and jurisdictions academic researchers could assist practitioners gain a deeper understanding of inequalities reproduced by the systems they are working within, while finding examples of schools and systems which show a greater level of success in ameliorating disadvantage.     

Experiences in day care and social competence among maltreated children

The experience of 39 preschool-age maltreated children from 13 child care facilities was examined to determine the extent to which the children's social development was related to the quality of day-care service. Maltreated children assigned by the Arkansas Department of Social Services to three different types of child care facilities were observed: specialized day-care programs, regular day-care centers and family day homes. The children scored below average in intelligence and were rated by their parents as displaying higher than normal rates of disturbed behavior. While no comparison group of non-maltreated children was included in the study, observations of the maltreated children in the child care setting revealed substantially more positive than negative social behavior. The children were reasonably effective in interacting with adult caregivers in day care. The maltreated children were also productive in most encounters with peers. Ratings of the quality of care received in day care were significantly correlated with the children's social competence in child care. Aspects of social behavior in maltreated children were related to the organization of the program, the physical facilities, traits of the caregiver, and caregiver expectations for the children.     

Effects of a specific numeracy educational program in kindergarten children: A pilot study

The present study compared the relative effects of 2 educational programs on kindergarten children. The experimental group took part in a numeracy-specific program, which focused on conceptual knowledge. Children were taught basic numerical skills such as understanding and handling numbers and their relations as well as counting principles. The control group participated in a more general program which involved training in procedural skills.

Results revealed significant learning effects in the children who participated in the numeracy program particularly for counting sequences and mental calculation. Since neither group was explicitly trained in mental calculation, our findings suggest that a learning transfer took place in the experimental group.     

Talking to children about science is harder than we think: characteristics and metacognitive judgments of explanations provided to children and adults

Adults modify the way they speak to children to support children’s learning across several domains. However, no previous research has studied whether adults change their language when explaining science to children. The current study examined if and how adults change the manner in which they talk about science when providing explanations to children vs. providing explanations to other adults. Participants (N = 81) were video recorded while explaining basic science concepts to children and adults. Recordings were later analyzed to determine if and how participants changed the quality and content of their explanations. The results confirmed that adults did change their explanations when talking to children about science by providing more potentially beneficial, but also disadvantageous, information. Participants perceived that they provided more accurate explanations to children, but appeared to be making metacognitive judgments largely based upon the changes made that could be beneficial to learning. Taken together, this work suggests that science may be a domain in which adults are not well equipped to modify and monitor their language to children.     

Academic careers for graduate students: a strong attractor in a changed environment

Professorship has traditionally been the single most valued career path for graduates of PhD programs. Policies now encourage graduate students to directly or indirectly engage with non-academic organizations to encourage the next generation of researchers to explore alternative careers, including opportunities in industry and government. In this article, we use data from a survey of Quebec science and engineering graduate students to examine the impact of their participation in university-industry-government research partnerships on their professional preferences. We assess the degree to which exposure to non-academic realities through different training arrangements relates to career preferences, and how these preferences evolve over time. We show that the proportion of students who did not change their preferred career path over time is high, indicating that by the time students engage in a research-training program they already, for the most part, know what career they want to pursue. However, and although students with close ties to non-academic partners may initially be more interested in non-academic career paths, over time all categories of students become more attracted to academic careers. We conclude that faculty positions continue to dominate the professional dreams of fledgling researchers, a power of attraction that increases as students advance in their program, even when it involves industrial contacts.