Psychological profiles of sexually abusive adolescents in Ireland

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to profile the psychological and psychosocial characteristics of a group of Irish adolescents who had sexually abused other youngsters. METHOD: Levels of behavior problems, personal adjustment, anger management, and psychosocial adjustment were compared in 27 Irish adolescents with a history of sexually abusing another youngster (SA group), 20 clinical controls who had significant behavioral problems but no history of sexual offending (CC group), and 29 normal controls who were without significant psychological problems (NC group). Measures used included the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Youth Self-Report Form (YSR), selected scales from Beckett (1997) Adolescent Sex Offender Assessment Pack (ASOAP), and the Family Environment Scale (FES). RESULTS: Compared with the CC group, the SA group displayed fewer problems overall on the CBCL and the YSR. The SA group showed problems with self-esteem, emotional loneliness, and perspective-taking similar to those of the CC group, but their impulsivity scores were similar to those of the NC group. The locus of control scores of the SA group fell between those of the CC and NC groups. The SA group showed an anger management profile that fell at an intermediate position between those of the NC and CC groups. The SA group showed problematic family functioning in the areas of expressiveness, behavior control, and social support, similar to those of the CC group. Their difficulties with family cohesion were less severe than those of the CC group but worse than those of the NC group. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the psychological adjustment of adolescents with a history of sexually abusing others was more problematic than that of normal controls but less problematic than that of youngsters who had significant behavioral problems but no history of sexual offending.     

Teachers' perceptions of the emotional and behavioral functioning of children raised by grandparents

Increasing numbers of grandparents are becoming full‐time surrogate parents to their grandchildren. Grandparents who raise their grandchildren reportedly endure high levels of stress, and grandchildren purportedly experience childhood trauma that can lead to poor psychological adjustment. While anecdotal reports have suggested that grandchildren experience significant behavioral problems, there is a dearth of data to empirically support this view. This research was an initial endeavor to ascertain whether teachers perceive children raised by grandparents as exhibiting serious emotional and behavioral problems. Fifty‐four African American children raised by their grandparents and a comparison group of 54 African American children living with their parents were studied to determine the grandchildren's functioning. Teachers perceived the children raised by their grandparents as experiencing significantly more emotional and behavioral problems than their similar schoolmates. Children in these families appear in need of school‐based intervention services. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 565–572, 2006.     

Developmental Status and Social–Emotional Functioning of Young Children Experiencing Homelessness

The developmental status and social–emotional functioning of young children who are homeless has received inadequate attention in spite of high rates of homelessness among families with young children and the potentially negative impact of homelessness and associated stressors on children’s well-being. The aim of this study was to gain understanding of homeless children’s social–emotional adjustment and their functioning in language, motor, and cognitive skills. We also examined gender and age differences in those areas of development. The sample included 328 children residing with their parents in one of 11 emergency shelter or transitional housing programs for families who were experiencing homelessness in a central North Carolina county. Child case managers administered the Brigance Early Childhood Screen II and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Socioemotional form in the shelter setting. Findings indicated variability in competence among the children, with some children performing above average on the developmental screening and demonstrating few social–emotional problems. However, developmental scores for overall functioning of the sample were significantly below the norming group, with particularly low functioning in language and communication skills. Parents of 24.8 % of the children had substantial concerns about their children’s mental health status. Although there are individual differences in adjustment of children experiencing homelessness, results support wide-scale screening and access to early intervention for these vulnerable children. Future investigations could be directed to identifying factors associated with resilience among children without homes.     

具有难民身份的儿童的收养问题探析

随着收养的逐渐增多,国际社会开始给予其越来越多的重视.收养既可使丧失父母或父母无力抚养的孤儿享有与其他儿童一样的权利,也可以满足一些不愿自己生育或无法生育的夫妻的要求,是解决社会冲突的重要途径,更是一个关系各国安定团结,社会稳定的重要问题,因而努力解决具有难民身份的儿童的收养问题其意义显而易见.     

Post traumatic stress disorder reactions in children of war: a longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE: To establish rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reactions and general mental health problems in children who had experienced war trauma. METHOD: A longitudinal study in the Gaza strip with 234 children aged 7 to 12 years, who had experienced war conflict, at 1 year after the initial assessment, that is, during the peace process. Children completed the Child Post Traumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTS-RI), while the Rutter A2 and B2 Scales were completed by parents and teachers. RESULTS: The rate of children who reported moderate to severe PTSD reactions at follow-up had decreased from 40.6% (N = 102) to 10.0% (N = 74). 49 children (20.9%) were rated above the cut-off for mental health problems on the Rutter A2 (parent) Scales, and 74 children (31.8%) were above the cut-off on the Rutter B2 (teacher) Scales. The total scores on all three measures had significantly decreased during the 1-year period. The total CPTS-RI score at follow-up was best predicted by the number of traumatic experiences recalled at the first assessment. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD reactions tend to decrease in the absence of further stressors, although a substantial proportion of children still present with a range of emotional and behavioral problems. Cumulative previous experience of war trauma constitutes a risk factor for continuing PTSD symptoms.     

Psychosocial factors influencing competency of children's statements on sexual trauma

Objectives

The objectives of this study are to assess children's competence to state their traumatic experience and to determine psychosocial factors influencing the competency of children's statements, such as emotional factors of children and parents and trauma-related variables, in Korean child sex abuse victims.

Methods

We enrolled 214 children, who visited “Sunflower Children's Center” for sexual abuse. The children were aged 8-13 years. The children's parent were surveyed using questionnaires [Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI)] to obtain demographic information, traumatic event profiles and self-report scale. Children completed psychological measures as follows: Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), Traumatic Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). The modified-Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) was used to assess children's statements. ANOVA, independent t-test, Pearson correlation were used. All statistics were demonstrated using SPSS 12.0.

Results

Modified-CBCA scores did not differ according to children's level of depression and anxiety. Children with parents who showed supportive reactions, scored significantly higher on the modified-CBCA scores than those with unsupportive parents. Children with severely depressed parents had lower modified-CBCA scores than those with less depressed parents. Modified-CBCA scores were significantly higher in participants who experienced a single traumatic event than those who had multiple events. However, the severity of sexual abuse, relationship with the perpetrator, types of disclosure, and duration of initial disclosure did not show significant differences in capability of statement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the competence of statements in Korean sexually child sex abuse victims is related to parental emotional states and support rather than children's factors such as psychopathology or age, and appears to be more reliable with a single traumatic experience. Therefore, promoting parental support through psychoeducation is one of the most important things to be done to help children overcome psychologic trauma but also enhance the accuracy of their statement.     

Persistence of bullying from childhood to adolescence--a longitudinal 8-year follow-up study

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors associated with bullying and victimization from age 8 to 16. METHOD: An 8-year longitudinal study included questions about bullying and victimization at age 8 and 16. Children were evaluated with Rutter scales by parents and teachers and with the Child Depression Inventory filled in by the children at age 8. When the children were at the age of 16 parents filled in the CBCL and adolescents the YSR. RESULTS: About 15% of boys and 7% of girls were bullied and 12% of girls and 13% of boys were victimized at age 16. Both bullying and victimization at age 16 were associated with a wide range of psychological problems at age 8 and 16, and with referral to child mental health services. Bullying at age 8 was associated with bullying at age 16, while victimization at age 8 was associated with victimization 8 years later. CONCLUSIONS: Bullying and victimization are often persistent and associated with severe emotional and behavior problems. Preventive efforts should be focused, and targeted at those children who are characterized by both psychological disturbance and bullying.     

The Influence of Rurality and Parental Affect on Kindergarten Children's Social and Behavioral Functioning

Research Findings: Children's early academic achievement is supported by positive social and behavioral skills, and difficulties with these skills frequently gives way to underachievement. Social and behavioral problems often arise as a product of parent–child interactional patterns and environmental influences. Few studies have examined the role of a salient aspect of children's environments, community locale, in the relationship between parenting practices and child outcomes. Using a large, nationally representative sample, we examined whether preschool parenting practices and children's social-behavioral skills in kindergarten were related to geographic setting (rural vs. city, suburban, and town). Results indicated that rural children experienced greater difficulties with parent-reported externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, rural parents displayed less emotional support than parents in other settings. Preschool parenting behaviors were associated with social skills and behavior problems in kindergarten, as reported by both parents and teachers. Parents' emotional supportiveness was found to account for the relationship between geographic setting and parent-reported children's social skills, such that rural parents who provided less emotional support had children with lower social skills in kindergarten. Practice or Policy: Findings of this research indicate that rural children may face particular risk for behavioral issues and highlight the need for increased behavioral supports in rural communities. Moreover, our results suggest that interventions designed to promote parents' support of children's emotions may have particular utility for rural families.     

学业不良儿童与普通儿童社会支持的对比研究

社会支持是学业不良儿童社会性发展研究的重要内容,本文采用问卷法对189名学业不良儿童和205名普通儿童进行对比研究,结果表明:(1)学业不良儿童在获得父母亲、教师和同性朋友的总体社会支持上均少于普通儿童,并且在母亲支持和教师支持上存在显著差异;(2)在父母和教师的多项具体社会支持内容上,学业不良儿童的得分也显著低于普通儿童;(3)学业不良儿童更倾向于从异性朋友那里获得陪伴娱乐性支持和亲密感。     

Life with (or without) father: the benefits of living with two biological parents depend on the father's antisocial behavior

The salutary effects of being raised by two married, biological parents depend on the quality of care parents can provide. Using data from an epidemiological sample of 1,116 5-year-old twin pairs and their parents, this study found that the less time fathers lived with their children, the more conduct problems their children had, but only if the fathers engaged in low levels of antisocial behavior. In contrast, when fathers engaged in high levels of antisocial behavior, the more time they lived with their children, the more conduct problems their children had. Behavioral genetic analyses showed that children who resided with antisocial fathers received a "double whammy" of genetic and environmental risk for conduct problems. Marriage may not be the answer to the problems faced by some children living in single-parent families unless their fathers can become reliable sources of emotional and economic support.     

Development and initial validation of a scale to measure emotional abuse among school children aged 13-15 years in Sri Lanka

OBJECTIVE: To develop a scale to measure emotional abuse among school children aged 13-15 years in Sri Lanka that can be used in field settings. METHOD: Emotional abuse was defined based on available literature. Review of literature and discussions with a panel identified 85 items indicating abusive behaviors. Content validity and social acceptability were achieved by getting the views of this same panel and parents, respectively. Item analysis and assessment of validity were carried out based on the responses to the draft instrument by 105 children aged 13-15 years attending a school in an urban slum area. The test-retest reliability of the scale was assessed using the responses from 144 students from a different school. Criterion validity was established by comparing the independent assessments of a psychiatrist for the presence or absence of emotional abuse with the respective scores of the children on the scale. RESULTS: The scale developed to assess emotional abuse included 46 items having a Cronbach alpha of .89. The test-retest reliability was .73. A cutoff score of 95 was identified at a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 51.4%. CONCLUSIONS: A scale that had a satisfactory level of reliability and validity was socially acceptable, which could be used in school settings in Sri Lanka was developed to enable identification of emotional abuse among school children aged 13-15.     

Building Preschool Children's Emotional Competence: A Parenting Program

Poor emotional competence has been identified as a precursor to later social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in children. Aspects of parenting, including modeling, reactions to and coaching of children's emotions, have been associated with the development of emotional competence in children. In this paper, a parenting program with this theoretical basis is outlined and a pilot study of the program is presented. The six-session parenting program was delivered in preschool centers to 47 parents with a four or five year old child, and data were collected about parenting and children's functioning twice prior to program commencement, following program completion, and at three month follow-up. Pre and post program teacher assessments were also collected. Following the program parents reported that they were more encouraging of their children's emotional expression, used emotion-focused approaches more frequently in interactions with their children, and were less critical and dismissive of their children's emotional expression. Their children showed less emotional negativity and had significant reductions in difficult behaviors, especially those who had behavior problems prior to their parents' participation in the program. This program offers a promising approach to fostering the development of children's emotional competence and consequently enhancing social and behavioral functioning.     

Mental health problems of deaf Dutch children as indicated by parents' responses to the child behavior checklist

Emotional/behavioral problems of 238 deaf Dutch children ages 4-18 years were studied. Parental reports indicated that 41% had emotional/behavioral problems, a rate nearly 2.6 times higher than the 16% reported by parents of a Dutch normative sample. Mental health problems seemed most prevalent in families with poor parent-child communication. Deaf children ages 12-18 showed more problems with anxiety and depression and more social problems than those ages 4-11. Deaf children with relatively low intelligence showed more social problems, thought problems, and attention problems than those with relatively high intelligence. The authors stress the need to get information on deaf children's mental health functioning not just from parents but from other informants such as teachers and the children themselves. An expansion assessment of deaf children, and of special services and treatments for deaf children and adolescents with emotional/behavioral problems, is recommended.     

Social competence in internationally adopted and institutionalized children

A growing, sizable proportion of school children do not live in conventional family environments. Among these, internationally adopted children have gained increasing visibility in recent years. While other areas of their behavior have been widely explored, little is known about adopted children's social competence and their integration into peer groups. This study, involving 148 children between 4 and 8 years of age, compared 40 internationally adopted children with 50 children who were residing in institutions for children and 58 community comparison children. Social competence, problems with peers and friendship relationships were assessed using SSRS and SDQ, with both parents/caretakers and teachers as the informants. The sociometric status of the children and their friendship relationships were obtained through their teachers’ reports. The results showed statistically significant differences between children living in institutions (more problems with peers, poorer social skills and sociometric status) and those in family environments, whether adopted and non-adopted. Also, the results suggest some minor differences between the adopted and the comparison children, the former with greater visibility and the latter with higher sociometric status in the peer group.     

Being a parent's eyes and ears: emotional literacy and empathy of children whose parents have a sensory disability

Children of parents with sensory disability may feel that their experience helped nurture their sense of empathy. The study was designed to examine the connection between parents’ sensory disability (visual disability to blindness and hearing disability to deafness) and the empathy and emotional literacy of their non‐sensory‐disabled children. Participants were 77 children aged 7–17 – 37 children of parents with a sensory disability and 40 children of parents with no such disability. Questionnaires to check empathy and emotional literacy were accompanied by a demographic questionnaire. Findings revealed that levels of empathy and emotional awareness of others (a measure of emotional literacy) were higher among children of parents with a sensory disability than among children of parents without a disability. The results expand the literature on that subject and shed light on the important issues of empathy and emotional literacy in families with disability.     

初中流动儿童疏离感与亲社会行为的关系:社会支持的中介作用

采用青少年学生疏离感量表、长处和困难问卷(学生版)和青少年社会支持量表对271名初中流动儿童进行问卷调查,考察了疏离感、亲社会行为及社会支持的关系.结果发现:(1)初中流动儿童男生环境疏离感显著高于女生,女生亲社会行为显著高于男生,曾远离父母生活过的流动儿童疏离感总分及社会疏离感、人际疏离感均显著高于一直与父母一起生活的儿童;(2)疏离感与社会支持和亲社会行为显著负相关,社会支持与亲社会行为显著正相关;(3)结构方程模型表明,社会支持在疏离感与亲社会行为的关系中发挥中介作用,模型拟合较好.初中流动儿童疏离感通过社会支持间接影响亲社会行为,提高社会支持可促进初中流动儿童的亲社会行为.     

Association of child maltreatment and depressive symptoms among Puerto Rican youth

This article compares multiple types of child maltreatment among Puerto Rican youth. We seek to expand the limited knowledge of the effects of multiple types of maltreatment on depressive symptoms in a specific Latino population as emerging studies indicate that children who are exposed to one type of maltreatment are often exposed to other types. This study examines the predictive strength of different and multiple types of lifetime child maltreatment (i.e., physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; and neglect), and the effect of youth support from parents, youth coping, youth self-esteem, and place of residence on depressive symptoms among Puerto Rican youth. Secondary data analyses were performed using three annual waves (2000–2004) of data from the Boricua Youth Study. The analytic sample consists of 1041 10–13 year old Puerto Rican youth living in New York and Puerto Rico. Results indicate that: (1) youth who experienced ‘sexual abuse only’, ‘multiple maltreatment’ (2 or more types of maltreatment), ‘physical abuse only’ have a significant increase in depressive symptoms (75.1%, 61.6%, and 40.5% respectively) compared to those without maltreatment; and (2) place of residence, exposure to violence, and mental disorders were significant risk factors. When developing psychosocial interventions, professionals should particularly focus on youth who report past lifetime experience with child maltreatment. Particular attention should be given to children living in the Bronx, New York and similar urban low-income areas who report past lifetime experience with multiple types of child maltreatment and who present symptoms or a diagnosis of co-occurring mental health problems.     

A scale for home visiting nurses to identify risks of physical abuse and neglect among mothers with newborn infants

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to construct and test the reliability (utility, internal consistency, interrater agreement) and the validity (internal validity, concurrent validity) of a scale for home visiting social nurses to identify risks of physical abuse and neglect in mothers with a newborn child. METHOD: A 71-item scale was constructed based on a literature review and focus group sessions with social nurses and paraprofessionals who had experience with underprivileged families. This scale was applied in a random sample of 40 home visiting social nurses, who collected data in a sample of 373 nonabusive and 18 abusive/neglectful mothers with a newborn child. RESULTS: Items with prevalence rates below 5% and items making no significant difference between maltreating and non-maltreating mothers were omitted. The final version contained 20 items. This scale showed high internal consistency (alpha = .92) and high interrater reliability (r = .97). Exploratory factor analysis yielded a three-factor solution: Isolation (8 items, explaining 62.17% of the common variance), Psychological complexity (6 items, 18.86%), and Communication problems (6 items, 8.41%). Scores on Communication problems and Isolation significantly predicted scores on a social deprivation scale, which significantly distinguished maltreating from non-maltreating mothers. Mothers scoring high on Communication problems or Isolation obtained higher scores for social deprivation than low-scoring mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Home visiting nurses can identify risks for physical abuse and neglect among mothers with a newborn infant by focusing on signs of social isolation, distorted communication and psychological problems.     

Development and Validation of the Chinese Preschool Readiness Scale

Research Findings. A growing number of young children encounter group learning environment for the first time when entering preschool at age 3, yet their parents and teachers have no means to discern whether they are ready for this challenge. To address this uncertainty, this study developed and validated the Chinese Preschool Readiness Scale (CPRS), which assesses children’s readiness for successful adjustment to preschool. The scale was validated through EFA in Study 1, with 29 teachers who rated 288 children. The scale was further validated by ESEM and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in Study 2, with 46 teachers who rated 765 children. A five-factor CPRS was determined: self-care abilities and emotional maturity, cognitive and communications skills, social competence, learning dispositions, and classroom rules. The construct validity and internal reliability were satisfactory. Its concurrent validity was also established: (1) the CPRS scores were positively correlated with parent-rated self-regulation and (2) the social competence domain of CPRS was positively correlated with sensitive-cooperative behaviors and negatively correlated with anxious-withdrawn behaviors.Practice or Policy. The results supported further development and use of the CPRS to monitor children’s development upon entry at preschool. The findings also highlighted the need for more research on preschool readiness.     

Validity of self-reported reading disability by parents of reading-disabled and control children

Composite reading scores obtained from parents of 125 reading-disabled children and 125 matched control children who participated in the Colorado Family Reading Study were used to test the validity of self-reported reading problems. Parents who reported that they encountered serious difficulty learning to read had significantly lower reading scores than did those who reported no positive history of reading problems. Moreover, this difference was larger for parents of reading-disabled children than for those of controls. Thus, parental self-reports provide a valid index of reading problems.