Defining maltreatment chronicity: are there differences in child outcomes?

OBJECTIVE: For nearly 25 years researchers have suggested that better taxonomic systems conceptualizing and reliably differentiating among different dimensions of maltreatment are required. This study examines the utility of three different characterizations of one dimension of maltreatment, chronicity, to predict child behavioral and emotional functioning in a sample of maltreated children. A secondary objective of the study is to examine additional parameters of maltreatment inherent in our definitions of chronicity: age at first report to CPS, extent and continuity of maltreatment. METHOD: The study consists of children reported for maltreatment (N=519) from the larger LONGSCAN study cohort. Lifetime maltreatment data were collected from CPS records and coded into two chronicity constructs: "developmental" and "calendar" definitions. Variables for age at first report, frequency, extent and continuity of maltreatment reports also were constructed. Hierarchical regression analyses were utilized to determine the extent to which the various chronicity constructs contributed to the prediction of child outcomes. RESULTS: The most salient definition of chronicity, in terms of its effects on child behavioral and emotional functioning, varied by outcome. The developmental definition was found to have the most balanced sensitivity across outcomes. Among other significant findings, extent and continuity of maltreatment contributed respectively to the prediction of behavior and emotional trauma symptoms. Early age at first report was a predictor of poor daily living skills. CONCLUSION: Chronicity is a complex construct. Findings indicate there are multiple parameters that make up the chronicity construct itself that may be important for understanding child outcomes.     

Child maltreatment among boy and girl probationers: Does type of maltreatment make a difference in offending behavior and psychosocial problems?

This study examined differences in offending behavior and psychosocial problems between juvenile offenders who have been sexually abused (n = 231), physically abused (n = 1,568), neglected (n = 1,555), exposed to multiple forms of maltreatment (n = 1,767), and non-victims (n = 8,492). In addition, the moderating effect of gender in the association between type of maltreatment and offending behavior/psychosocial problems was examined. Results showed that violent offenses were more common in victims of physical abuse and victims of multiple forms of abuse than in non-victims, both in boys and girls. In boys, sexual offenses were far more common in victims of sexual abuse than in victims of other or multiple forms of maltreatment or in non-victims. In girls, no group differences were found in sexual offending behavior. For both boys and girls, externalizing problems were relatively common in victims of physical abuse and neglect whereas internalizing problems were relatively common in victims of sexual abuse. In victims of multiple forms of maltreatment, both internalizing and externalizing problems were relatively common. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.     

Grant‐maintained schools: Making a difference without being really different 1

Homo Sollers Beats Homo Sapiens. The Fourth Edinburgh Medal Address. Heinz Wolff. Pp. x, 44. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, on behalf of the City of Edinburgh District Council in association with The Edinburgh International Festival of Science and Technology, 1993. £4.95 in paperback. ISBN 0 7486 0442 1.

The Multicultural Dimension of the National Curriculum. Edited by Anna S. King and Michael J. Reiss. pp 297. London: The Falmer Press, 1993. £12.95. ISBN 0750700696 paperback. Also available in hardback.

Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals. By Iris Murdoch Pp. 512. Index. London: Chatto and Windus 1992. £20.00. ISBN 0 7011 3998 6.

World Yearbook of Education 1993; Special Needs Education. Edited by Peter Mittler, Ron Brouillette and Duncan Harris (Series Editor). Pp x 276. Index. London. Kogan Page. 1993. £32.00. ISBN 0 7494 0854 5. 11th in the series World Yearbook in Education.

The European and American University since 1800; historical and sociological essays. Edited by Sheldon Rothblatt and Björn Wittrock. pp. xi. 370. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press. 1993. £37.50. ISBN 0 521 43165 4 hardback.

Learner Managed Learning. Edited by Norman Graves. Pp x, 185. Index. Leeds: Higher Education for Capability and World Education Fellowship, 1993. £13.95 flexicover, ISBN 0–9521325–08.

Conflict in Child and Adolescent Development; edited by Shantz C. U. and Hartup, W. W. Pp. 453. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. £40/$59.95 hardcover only. ISBN 0–521–40416–9. Cambridge Studies in Social and Emotional Development.

Children's Learning Difficulties: A cognitive approach by J. Dockrell and J. McShane. Pp. viii, 245. Index. Oxford: Blackwell, 1993. £40 hard cover; £12.99 flexicover. ISBN 0–631–17016–2 hc; 0–631–17017–0 fc.

The Schoolhome: Rethinking Schools for Changing Families by Jane Roland Martin. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London: 1992. 237 pp. ISBN 0–674–79265–3. Price: $24.95.

Assessing the National Curriculum Edited by Philip O'Hear and John White. Pp 138. Index. London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd. 1993 £11.95 Paperback. ISBN 1 85396 232 5

Partnership in Initial Teacher Training: Talk and Chalk, Clare Hake, pp 36, London, Institute of Education, Tufnell Press £3.95 ISBN 1 872767 46 X The London File: Papers from the Institute of Education.

The Promise and Perils of Educational Comparison by Martin McLean. Pp. 40. London: Institute of Education, University of London, 1992: The London File ISBN 1 872767 31 1, £3.95

Case Studies in Teaching in Higher Education by Peter Schwartz and Graham Webb. Pp. 162; London: Kogan Page, 1993. £16.95; ISBN 0–7494–0972‐X.

Educational Values for School Leadership by Sylvia West. Pp x, 160. London: Kogan Page 1993. £14.95. ISBN 0 7494 0839 1. The Management and Leadership in Education Series.

Equality and Achievement in Education by James S. Coleman. Pp xi, 340. Boulder, San Francisco &; London: Westview Press 1993. £30.50 hardcover: £13.50 paperback. ISBN 0–8133–7791–9 hc;‐1860–2 pbk. Social Inequality Series #1.

Children in Time and Place, developmental and historical insights, edited by Elder, G., Modell, J., Parke, R.: pp. 289, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1993. £35.00 hardback, ISBN 0 521 41784 8     

Is childhood cruelty to animals a marker for physical maltreatment in a prospective cohort study of children?

Childhood cruelty to animals is thought to indicate that a child may have been maltreated. This study examined: (a) prevalence of cruelty to animals among 5- to 12-year-old children; (b) the association between cruelty to animals, child physical maltreatment, and adult domestic violence; and (c) whether cruelty to animals is a marker of maltreatment taking into account age, persistence of cruelty, and socioeconomic disadvantage. Data were from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, an epidemiological representative cohort of 2,232 children living in the United Kingdom. Mothers reported on cruelty to animals when children were 5, 7, 10, and 12 years, on child maltreatment up to age 12, and adult domestic violence. Nine percent of children were cruel to animals during the study and 2.6% persistently (≥2 time-points). Children cruel to animals were more likely to have been maltreated than other children (OR = 3.32) although the majority (56.4%) had not been maltreated. Animal cruelty was not associated with domestic violence when maltreatment was controlled for. In disadvantaged families, 6 in 10 children cruel to animals had been maltreated. In other families, the likelihood of maltreatment increased with age (from 3 in 10 5-year-olds to 4.5 in 10 12-year-olds) and persistence (4.5 in 10 of those persistently cruel). Although childhood cruelty to animals is associated with maltreatment, not every child showing cruelty had been maltreated. The usefulness of cruelty to animals as a marker for maltreatment increases with the child's age, persistence of behavior, and poorer social background.     

Re-reporting of child maltreatment: does participation in other public sector services moderate the likelihood of a second maltreatment report?

OBJECTIVE: This study uses administrative data to track the first re-reports of maltreatment in a low-income, urban child welfare population (n=4957) while controlling for other public service involvement. Service system involvement is explored across the following sectors: Child Welfare, Income Maintenance, Special Education, Juvenile Court, and various forms of Medicaid-reimbursed medical or mental health care. This study builds knowledge by adding the services dimension to an ecological framework for analyses and by following recurrence for a longer period of time than prior investigations (7.5 years). METHOD: We model the re-reporting of a child for maltreatment as a function of child, caregiver, service, and neighborhood characteristics using data from birth records, child welfare, income maintenance, Medicaid, adult corrections, juvenile court, special education, law enforcement, and census sources. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are presented, the latter using Cox regression with a robust sandwich covariance matrix estimate to account for the intracluster dependence within tracts. RESULTS: Key results across bivariate and multivariate analyses included a lower rate of re-reporting among children with parents who were high school graduates and/or permanently exited from the first spell on AFDC (p<.0001); and for children in families that received less intensive in-home services compared to those not receiving services, receiving intensive in-home, or foster care services (p<.0001). Higher rates of re-reporting were found for children with Medicaid mental health/substance abuse treatment records (p<.0001) and special education eligibility for emotional disturbance (p<.005). CONCLUSIONS: Caretaker characteristics and non-child welfare service use patterns had a strong association with the likelihood of a child being re-reported to the child welfare agency and should be more heavily attended to by child welfare workers. High rates of service sector overlap suggest that interagency ties and cooperation should be strengthened. The lower risk associated with less intensive in-home services compared to un-served cases may indicate under-identification of in-home service eligibility following a first report of maltreatment.     

Teachers’ agency: Do their values make a difference?

This research explored antecedents and outcomes of teachers’ agency. Study 1 (n = 767) tested whether teachers’ values relate to an agentic capacity. Study 2 (n = 430) tested the relations between teachers’ values, their agentic capacity and their agentic behaviours. The findings show that attributing importance to promoting the self and being open to new experiences, whilst maintaining self-independence, is positively related to agentic capacity. Further, agentic capacity mediates the relations between values and agentic behaviour. These findings start to explain the broad motivations for teachers’ agency and its translation into behaviour.     

Risk or resilience? What makes a difference?

Dropping out of school has been associated with a student’s ethnicity, socioeconomic status, challenging behaviours and low academic achievement. This paper describes research conducted with 1050 students aged 12–15, in three North Queensland urban high schools to investigate issues related to Indigenous and non-Indigenous students at risk of dropping out of school before gaining adequate qualifications.     

Should child protection services respond differently to maltreatment, risk of maltreatment, and risk of harm?

Objective

To examine evidence available in large-scale North American datasets on child abuse and neglect that can assist in understanding the complexities of child protection case classifications.

Methods

A review of child abuse and neglect data from large North American epidemiological studies including the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS), the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), and the National Incidence Studies of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS).

Results

The authors of this paper argue that recent evidence from large North American epidemiological studies examining the incidence of child abuse and neglect demonstrate that children and families identified as being at risk of maltreatment present with as many household and caregiver concerns as investigations that are substantiated.

Conclusions

In order to continue to develop appropriate services and policies for vulnerable children the authors urge continue definitional clarity for research in child maltreatment that considers the exemplars or indicators of categories, in tandem with parental and child characteristics which can provide one source of evidence-basis to meaningful child protection case classifications. Continued monitoring, refined by the dilemmas faced in practice, are critical for a continued public health investment in children's well-being, predicated upon upholding children's rights.     

Study skills in anatomy and physiology: Is there a difference?

Many factors influence the way individual students study, including but not limited to: previous coursework, attitudes toward the class (motivation, intimidation, risk, etc.), metacognition, and work schedules. However, little of this research has involved medical students. The present article asks the question, “Do individual medical students study differently for different classes?” Study skills surveys were given to United States medical students at an allopathic medical school and an osteopathic medical school. Students were surveyed near the end of their first year gross anatomy course and again near the end of their first year physiology course. Survey items included Likert scale and open‐ended questions about study habits and basic demographic information. The survey responses were correlated with each student's final grade percentages in the courses. Analysis revealed that the four most common study habits were reviewing lecture notes, taking practice examinations, completing learning exercises, and making drawings and diagrams. The two surveys (anatomy and physiology) from each individual were also compared to see if students reported different study habits in anatomy versus physiology. A negative correlation was found between changing study habits between courses and final anatomy grade percentages. Additional analyses suggest that those students who do change their study habits between courses are increasing the number of study strategies that they attempt. This increase in the number of study strategies attempted may not allow the student to reach the same depth of understanding as their colleagues who utilize fewer strategies. Anat Sci Educ. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.     

Honours: a taken-for-granted pathway to research?

In this paper we examine variations in Honours programs in Australian universities and the consequences that this has for students who wish to undertake higher degrees by research after their undergraduate programs have been successfully completed. Our review of universities’ Honours programs across rural, regional, and urban Australia has indicated that there is a degree of variation that is localised as far as each university is concerned, and that there is a lack of consistency in various universities’ application of policies or procedures in the implementation of their Honours programs. We conclude by calling for greater consistency across universities in Australia in the awarding of Honours, certainly, but also suggesting that a review needs to be undertaken as part of national, systematic and orchestrated project.     

Does assessment for learning make a difference? The development of a questionnaire to explore the student response

Assessment for learning is a widely used term and the concept forms the basis of many teaching innovations in higher education. However, the definitions and scope of assessment for learning vary considerably. We describe a conceptualisation of assessment for learning that encompasses current thinking in a holistic way and which has been trialled and extensively refined in practice. A student questionnaire is presented which has enabled us to explore the student experience. Results indicate that the overall student experience is more positive in modules where assessment for learning approaches are used and students are more likely to take a deep approach to learning. It also demonstrates that the student experience is centred on staff support and module design, feedback, active engagement and peer learning. The full questionnaire is made available and its wider use in evaluation, enhancement and research is encouraged.     

Teaching time and organizational management skills to first year health science students: does training make a difference?

The present study reports on new research conducted to determine whether teaching time and organizational skills using a training package can improve these skills. The Abbreviated Time Management Indicator (ATMI) developed by Roberts et al. was used to assess time and organizational management skills. This scale consists of six dimensions, namely sense of purpose, meeting deadlines, mechanics of time management, propensity to plan, coping with temporal flow and effective organization. Participants in this study comprised first year health science students studying at the University of Sydney in their first semester. Four hundred and seventy‐eight students participated in a pre‐test (baseline) session after which they received information on their individual scores on each of the six dimensions of the scale together with average scores on each dimension for the total group (feedback). Of the original participants 122 completed the post‐test session, 5 weeks later. During the intervening period students were given a self‐directed training package which provided practical information on how to improve their skills on each of the dimensions contained in the scale. The results of the study indicated no significant improvement in time and organizational management skills. Possible reasons for the lack of improvement are discussed in terms of recent developments in teaching and learning contexts, together with suggestions for future research.     

School-to-work transitions in the OECD: do education systems make a difference?

High unemployment among the young is a concern in many OECD countries. A key issue for policy makers is whether the education system has a role to play in assisting the transition from education to work or whether economic issues dominate. This paper uses OECD country-level data to see whether the structure of countries’ education systems, characterised by the level of participation by age at the various ISCED education levels, affects systematically the level of unemployment for the cohorts aged 20–24 and 25–29 years who should have largely completed their transition to work. Various confounding factors, including overall labour market conditions and demographic structures, are accounted for. We find that the structure of education systems does make a difference, although the general state of the labour market is critical.     

Price-induced substitution of faculty in academe: Does mission make a difference?

In an earlier paper Tuckman and Chang demonstrated that college faculty were substitutable and that differences in faculty salaries influenced the distribution of faculty by rank and sex. This paper uses a similar methodology to explore the question of whether institutions of high education with different missions have different substitution patterns and price elasticities. Our main conclusion is that price-related substitution does exist at each of the four types of colleges in our sample. However, the observed price effects are small and there is little evidence that any one college type is consistently more price responsive than any other.