Longitudinal Associations Among Child Maltreatment,Resting Frontal Electroencephalogram Asymmetry,and Adolescent Shyness

Child maltreatment is linked to distinct neurophysiological patterns and social‐emotional vulnerability. Relations among maltreatment, relative resting frontal alpha asymmetry, shyness, and psychopathology were examined prospectively. Adolescent girls (age 14–16) who experienced child maltreatment (N = 55) were compared to nonmaltreated controls (N = 25), and returned for 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐ups. Among participants exhibiting relative right frontal asymmetry, maltreated adolescents reported higher shyness than controls at Time 1. Low‐stable and high‐stable shyness trajectories were observed for maltreated participants. Compared to low shy, participants in high‐shy trajectory reported at Time 3: higher neuroticism and generalized anxiety; and lower extraversion if they also exhibited relative right frontal asymmetry. Thus, right frontal brain activity and shyness are involved in social‐emotional vulnerability of adolescents who experienced child maltreatment.     

危机与转机:童年期虐待对青少年心理健康的影响及应对策略

童年期虐待是指对儿童具有抚养、监管和操纵权的人,对儿童做出的足以对其健康、生存、发展及尊严造成实际或潜在伤害的一系列行为。由于其发生率高,负面影响严重且持久,现已成为一个世界性的公共卫生问题。童年期虐待的发生受到儿童自身因素、父母和家庭因素以及社会文化因素的共同影响。作为一种极端负性的早期人际经历,童年期虐待是青少年内化(如焦虑/抑郁、退缩和躯体主诉)和外化(如攻击行为和违纪行为)心理健康问题最有力的预测因素之一。遭受虐待后个体通常会产生有关自我和他人的非适应性认知,Young的图式理论和相关研究揭示了非适应性认知在童年期虐待与青少年内外化心理健康问题之间所发挥的中介机制。有鉴于此,在应对青少年内外化心理健康问题时,亟需加强对童年期虐待问题的关注,具体可采取以下教育干预策略:一是防微杜渐,建立良好的亲子关系,减少童年期虐待的发生;二是亡羊补牢,深入挖掘保护性因素,提高青少年的心理韧性,构建积极的同伴关系;三是顶层设计,充分发挥文化软实力的作用,加强正确的社会舆论引导。     

Suspected Child Maltreatment: Preschool Staff in a Conflict of Loyalty

Objective To investigate the actions of Swedish preschool staff when suspecting the maltreatment of children in their domestic environment, and the staff’s further experiences and relations to the family members. Methods A questionnaire in 2005 to the staff of 189 child groups in community preschools, including 3,100 children. Results A report to Child Protective Agency (CPA) was submitted in 30% of the cases where maltreatment was suspected. The staff’s decisions as well as their working situation, and how they estimated the parents’ benefits from CPA support were deeply affected by their different relations to the families. The staff had their best contact with the children and their most insecure and vulnerable contact with the fathers. Conclusions In situations with suspected child maltreatment the staff face conflicts of loyalty, mostly based on insecure relations, which could become an impediment to supporting and educating the children.     

First Do No Harm: Emotional Maltreatment in the Classroom

Emotional maltreatment of children is occurring in classrooms daily and professionals sometimes are unaware of it. We are bound by a Code of Ethics, which states that we have a responsibility to intervene when children are harmed. Most professionals are unaware of how emotional maltreatment looks in the classroom and what they can do to prevent it. We have addressed what emotional maltreatment look like in the classroom and what teachers and parents can do to help to change this frequently occurring situation. The editorial presents a scenario of a first grade child who is experiencing emotional maltreatment in the classroom and strategies for parents and professionals to use when they observe emotional maltreatment in the classroom.     

无法忍受不确定性与抑郁倾向关系:情绪调节困难的中介作用

为探讨情绪调节困难在无法忍受不确定性与抑郁倾向间的中介作用和调节作用。采用无法忍受不确定性量表、情绪调节困难量表和抑郁量表测量500名大学生,随后检验各量表之间的相关系数,以及情绪调节困难在无法忍受不确定性与抑郁间的中介和调节作用。结果发现:无法忍受不确定性、情绪调节困难都与抑郁呈显著正相关;情绪调节困难在无法忍受不确定性和抑郁间起部分中介作用而非调节作用。 无法忍受不确定性不仅能直接影响抑郁,还能通过情绪调节困难的中介作用间接影响抑郁。     

情绪调节技能与情绪适应:听障状态的调节作用

情绪调节与个体心理健康的关联非常密切,情绪调节技能的不足往往会导致很多情绪障碍的发生.为探讨情绪调节技能与情绪适应之间的关系,该研究将《情绪调节困难量表》和《正负性感情检核表》施测于149名听障大学生和159名普通大学生.研究结果显示:与普通大学生相比,听障大学生在情绪调节技能的三个方面(情绪接受、冲动控制和策略使用)体验到更多的困难,在情绪适应方面体验到更少的正性情绪和更多的负性情绪.进一步分析发现,对负性情绪的预测中,听障状态和策略使用的主效应显著,听障状态对情绪接受与负性情绪之间关系的调节作用显著,即情绪接受方面的困难对听障大学生的负性情绪体验有显著的正向预测作用,而对普通大学生的影响未达到显著水平.这对我们设计和实施情绪调节技能方面的针对性培训来改善听障群体的心理健康状况有启示作用.     

Child Maltreatment and Children's Developmental Trajectories in Early to Middle Childhood

Associations between experiencing child maltreatment and adverse developmental outcomes are widely studied, yet conclusions regarding the extent to which effects are bidirectional, and whether they are likely causal, remain elusive. This study uses the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth cohort of 4,898 children followed from birth through age 9. Hierarchical linear modeling and structural equation modeling are employed to estimate associations of maltreatment with cognitive and social‐emotional well‐being. Results suggest that effects of early childhood maltreatment emerge immediately, though developmental outcomes are also affected by newly occurring maltreatment over time. Additionally, findings indicate that children's early developmental scores predict their subsequent probability of experiencing maltreatment, though to a lesser extent than early maltreatment predicts subsequent developmental outcomes.     

Supporting Child Welfare and Parent Involvement in Preschool Programs

This article discusses the findings from a mixed-method study examining the relationship between social resources and levels of parent involvement in state-funded preschool programs in Illinois. Using survey data from the Illinois Birth to Five Evaluation (n = 843) and interviews with ten preschool administrators who completed the survey, the study found the number of social resources provided by a program was positively associated with levels of parent involvement. The correlation analysis (r = −0.22, p = .0001) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) F(2,708) = 23.19, p = .0001 findings both demonstrated positive relationships wherein high numbers of social resources were associated with higher levels of parent involvement in programs. Administrator interviews confirmed survey findings and suggested additional influences on parent involvement levels and use of social resources in programs. Implications for supporting child welfare and policy recommendations for early childhood programs are provided.     

Parents' Perceived Discrimination and Adolescent Adjustment in Chinese American Families: Mediating Family Processes

Parental discriminatory experiences can have significant implications for adolescent adjustment. This study examined family processes linking parental perceived discrimination to adolescent depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors by using the family stress model and incorporating family systems theory. Participants were 444 Chinese American adolescents (M_age.wave1 = 13.03) and their parents residing in Northern California. Testing of actor–partner interdependent models showed a significant indirect effect from earlier paternal (but not maternal) perceived discrimination to later adolescent adjustment through paternal depressive symptoms and maternal hostility toward adolescents. The results highlight the importance of including both parents and examining actor and partner effects to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how maternal and paternal perceived discrimination differentially and indirectly relate to adolescent adjustment.     

Child and Adolescent Predictors of Personality in Early Adulthood

This study investigated development of the Big Five personality traits from early childhood into adulthood. An initial group of 137 Swedish children were assessed eight times between ages 2 and 29 years. Initial decreases in extraversion leveled off in early adulthood; agreeableness and conscientiousness increased from ages 2 to 29; neuroticism initially increased, leveled off in later childhood and adolescence, and decreased throughout early adulthood; while openness to experience showed an initial increase, then decreased and leveled off in early adulthood. Individual developmental trajectories varied significantly, particularly in relation to gender. Personality traits became increasingly stable, and the fact that childhood scores predicted scores in adulthood indicated that personalities are fairly stable across this portion of the life span.     

Childhood Maltreatment,Gender Nonconformity,and Adolescent Sexual Orientation: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study

This study tested whether associations between childhood maltreatment and adolescent sexual orientation were accounted for by childhood gender nonconforming behavior (GNCB) in a prospective birth cohort (N = 5,007). Childhood parental maltreatment (physical and emotional) and GNCB were assessed on multiple occasions up to age 6 years, and sexual orientation at 15.5 years. Boys with a history of maltreatment were significantly more likely to be nonheterosexual. Using propensity score weighting, maltreatment was associated with a 3.5% (p = .03) increase in the prevalence of nonheterosexuality accounting for confounders not including GNCB, and by 2.9% (p = .06) when also accounting for GNCB. These findings suggest that maltreatment is associated with an increased prevalence of nonheterosexuality in boys but may be explained by confounding factors including GNCB.     

Economic evaluation research in the context of Child Welfare policy: a structured literature review and recommendations

Objectives

With over 1 million children served by the US Child Welfare system at a cost of $20 billion annually, this study examines the economic evaluation literature on interventions to improve outcomes for children at risk for and currently involved with the system, identifies areas where additional research is needed, and discusses the use of decision-analytic modeling to advance Child Welfare policy and practice.

Methods

The review included 19 repositories of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed “gray” literatures, including items in English published before November, 2009. Original research articles were included if they evaluated interventions based on costs and outcomes. Review articles were included to assess the relevance of these techniques over time and to highlight the increasing discussion of methods needed to undertake such research. Items were categorized by their focus on: interventions for the US Child Welfare system; primary prevention of entry into the system; and use of models to make long-term projections of costs and outcomes.

Results

Searches identified 2,640 articles, with 49 ultimately included (19 reviews and 30 original research articles). Between 1988 and 2009, reviews consistently advocated economic evaluation and increasingly provided methodological guidance. 21 of the original research articles focused on Child Welfare, while 9 focused on child mental health. Of the 21 Child Welfare articles, 81% (17) focused on the US system. 47% (8/17) focused exclusively on primary prevention, though 83% of the US system, peer-reviewed articles focused exclusively on prevention (5/6). 9 of the 17 articles included empirical follow-up (mean sample size: 264 individuals; mean follow-up: 3.8 years). 10 of the 17 articles used modeling to project longer-term outcomes, but 80% of the articles using modeling were not peer-reviewed. Although 60% of modeling studies included interventions for children in the system, all peer-reviewed modeling articles focused on prevention.

Conclusions

Methodological guidance for economic evaluations in Child Welfare is increasingly available. Such analyses are feasible given the availability of nationally representative data on children involved with Child Welfare and evidence-based interventions.

Practice implications

Policy analyses considering the long-term costs and effects of interventions to improve Child Welfare outcomes are scarce, feasible, and urgently needed.     

儿童、青少年、童工及其他——一组儿童史概念术语辨析

通过对经常使用的儿童、少年等概念术语进行辨析,可以发现彼此之间的不同。不同词典辞书和法律法规的不同解释是导致出现混用的根源。与此相似,在儿童劳动、童工、未成年工等概念术语的使用方面也有类似的情况。明确这些概念术语各自的含义和指称对象,对确定被保护的对象及其范围有积极的意义,同时也可以最大限度地保护儿童的权利。     

Maltreatment and disabilities: a population-based epidemiological study

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of abuse and neglect among a population of children identified as a function of an existing disability, relate specific types of disabilities to specific types of abuse, and to determine the effect of abuse and neglect on academic achievement and attendance rates for children with and without disabilities. METHOD: An electronic merger of school records with Central Registry, Foster Care Review Board, and police databases was followed by a detailed record review of the circumstances of maltreatment. RESULTS: Analyses of the circumstances of maltreatment and the presence of disabilities established a 9% prevalence rate of maltreatment for nondisabled children and a 31% prevalence rate for the disabled children. Thus, the study established a significant association between the presence of an educationally relevant disability and maltreatment. CONCLUSIONS: Children with disabilities are 3.4 times more likely to be maltreated than nondisabled peers. School professionals need to be cognizant of the high base rate of maltreatment among the children they serve. Disability status needs to be considered in national incidence studies of maltreatment.     

生命意义与大学生抑郁:自我效能感的中介作用

采用生命意义、自我效能感、抑郁问卷对659名大学生进行调查,考察生命意义和自我效能感对大学生抑郁的影响。结果发现:(1)大学生抑郁检出率为12.9%,男生检出率(14.7%)高于女生(11.4%);(2)存在意义显著负向预测大学生抑郁,追寻意义对大学生抑郁预测不显著;(3)自我效能感在存在意义和大学生抑郁之间起部分中介作用。     

Parental Cultural Socialization and Adolescent Private Regard: Exploring Mediating Pathways Through Daily Experiences

Using longitudinal experience sampling data from 214 ethnic/racial minority adolescents (Wave 1 M_age = 15.24), the present study investigated how the longitudinal effect of parental cultural socialization on adolescent private regard was mediated through various daily pathways and novel constructs. Both the mean levels and variability of adolescents' ethnic feelings (i.e., private regard) and social interactions (i.e., intragroup contact) in daily situations, as well as the situational association between intragroup contact and private regard, emerged as mediators. Greater cultural socialization promoted greater and more stable ethnic feelings and interactions, as well as their situational association, all of which promoted private regard over time. This study provides a framework to explore how development occurs in daily lives.     

Profiles of Childhood Maltreatment: Associations with Sexual Risk Behavior during Adolescence in a Sample of Racial/Ethnic Minority Girls

This study examines associations between childhood maltreatment and developmental trajectories of sexual risk behaviors (SRBs) in a sample of 882 sexually active adolescent girls, predominantly Hispanic or Black, assessed every 6 months between 13 and 23 years. Latent profile analyses revealed four distinct maltreatment profiles: Low Maltreatment (76%), Moderate Emotional Neglect Only (15%), Severe Physical/Emotional Abuse (3%), and Severe Sexual Abuse (6%). Multilevel growth analyses showed the Moderate Emotional Neglect Only and Severe Sexual Abuse profiles exhibited more SRBs starting in late adolescence, and the Severe Sexual Abuse profile also exhibited a faster increase than the Low Maltreatment profile. Understanding heterogeneity within maltreated populations may have important implications for healthy sexual development.     

Pubertal Timing and Adolescent Alcohol Use: The Mediating Role of Parental and Peer Influences

Using intergenerational, prospective data at ages 9 months, 7, 11, and 14 years from the nationally representative United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study, this interdisciplinary study unpacks why 14-year-old adolescents with early perceived pubertal timing (PT) were more likely to drink alcohol (ever, frequent, and binge drinking) compared to those whose PT was on-time or late (5,757 girls, 5,799 boys; 80% White, 10% Asian, 3% Black, and 7% Other British). Parents allowed drinking among 22% (18%) of early PT girls (boys) compared to 11% of late PT adolescents; formal mediation models showed differences by PT in parent permissiveness and gains in alcohol-using friends primarily explained age 14 PT-drinking associations. Parental alcohol permissiveness should be a key prevention target for early PT adolescents.     

Persistence and Fadeout in the Impacts of Child and Adolescent Interventions

Many interventions targeting cognitive skills or socioemotional skills and behaviors demonstrate initially promising but then quickly disappearing impacts. Our article seeks to identify the key features of interventions, as well as the characteristics and environments of the children and adolescents who participate in them, that can be expected to sustain persistently beneficial program impacts. We describe three such processes: skill-building, foot-in-the-door and sustaining environments. We argue that skill-building interventions should target “trifecta” skills—ones that are malleable, fundamental, and would not have developed eventually in the absence of the intervention. Successful foot-in-the-door interventions equip a child with the right skills or capacities at the right time to avoid imminent risks (e.g., grade failure or teen drinking) or seize emerging opportunities (e.g., entry into honors classes). The sustaining environments perspective views high quality of environments subsequent to the completion of the intervention as crucial for sustaining earlier skill gains. These three perspectives generate both complementary and competing hypotheses regarding the nature, timing, and targeting of interventions that generate enduring impacts.