Effects of the child–perpetrator relationship on mental health outcomes of child abuse: It's (not) all relative

The present study was conducted to better understand the influence of the child–perpetrator relationship on responses to child sexual and physical trauma for a relatively large, ethnically diverse sample of children and youth presenting for clinical evaluation and treatment at child mental health centers across the United States. This referred sample includes 2,133 youth with sexual or physical trauma as their primary treatment focus. Analyses were conducted to ascertain whether outcomes were dependent on the perpetrator's status as a caregiver vs. non-caregiver. Outcome measures included psychiatric symptom and behavior problem rating scales. For sexual trauma, victimization by a non-caregiver was associated with higher posttraumatic stress, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, depression, and dissociation compared to youth victimized by a caregiver. For physical trauma, victimization by a non-caregiver was also associated with higher posttraumatic symptoms and internalizing behavior problems. The total number of trauma types experienced and age of physical or sexual trauma onset also predicted several outcomes for both groups, although in disparate ways. These findings are consistent with other recent studies demonstrating that perpetration of abuse by caregivers results in fewer symptoms and problems than abuse perpetrated by a non-caregiving relative. Thus, clinicians should not make a priori assumptions that children and adolescents who are traumatized by a parent/caregiver would have more severe symptoms than youth who are traumatized by a non-caregiver. Further exploration of the role of the perpetrator and other trauma characteristics associated with the perpetrator role is needed to advance our understanding of these findings and their implications for clinical practice.     

News coverage of abortion between Roe and Webster: Public opinion and real‐world events

Based on agenda‐setting research, this study focused on the links between media coverage, real‐world indicators, and public opinion about abortion. We conducted a content analysis of coverage of the abortion issue in two prestige newspapers, The New York Times and the Washington Post, between two key Supreme Court rulings. We hypothesized that amount of coverage would (a) increase during election years, (b) be related to number of abortions performed, and (c) be related to public opinion about abortion rights. We found mixed support for our hypotheses. Abortion coverage did peak during election years but was not related to the number of abortions performed, and was related negatively to public acceptance of abortion rights.     

Student Learning Groups: Does Group Composition Matter?

There has been a shift in university teaching over the past decades to emphasize student achievement and persistence through high-impact practices and collaborative learning. While research supports the efficacy of these pedagogical strategies, it can be difficult to implement them on large campuses. Yet, many criminal justice professors assign students to work in small groups. This study, conducted at a university with a large underrepresented student population, found that the composition of student groups in one criminal justice class can affect the perceived benefits students receive in that class, in other classes, and in general. We found that students placed in a small group with classmates who shared some criminal justice classes reported more student-initiated collaborative learning, expanded support networks, and improved grades in shared courses compared to students in small groups with classmates who shared no classes. This simple intervention has the potential to mimic learning-communities with similar benefits.     

We Talk About It,But Do They Get It?

This article reports on the last of a series of iterative research studies involving students with learning disabilities in reform mathematics classrooms at the intermediate grade levels. This study reports the findings from a larger, year‐long case study that focused on ways to include students with learning disabilities and other students who are at risk for special education services in classwide discussions of problem solving. The data reported in this article detail the changes in teacher and student discourse over a nine‐week period in one classroom. Sources of data for this study included videotapes, audiotapes, and informal interviews with the teacher, a paraprofessional, and students. A quantitative analysis of the results indicates clear patterns of change in teacher and student discourse. Nonetheless, intentional efforts to include target students in the whole‐class discussions yielded instructional dilemmas that are underdescribed in the mathematics reform literature. Findings from this study have implications for special educators interested in mathematical problem solving, as well as math reformers who value the role of classroom discourse in daily instruction.     

Lasting impressions: Hannah Arendt’s educational legacy

Hannah Arendt’s work is gaining increasing recognition in educational administration. But less has been written about her as an educator, colleague, and provocateur. Here, I explore the lasting impressions that Arendt had on former students, colleagues, and friends. This exploration is conducted through the lens of Arendtian narrative inquiry. For Arendt, narrative is fundamental to understanding lived experience, not least because stories provide us with a deeper understanding of an individual. She maintains, however, that it is the spectator, not the actor, who is better able to assess the ‘who’ of a person. Because each spectator has a particular viewpoint, I include diverse recollections that gathered together, create a silhouette of the ‘who’ of Hannah Arendt. I use the term ‘silhouette,’ purposefully, since this is not an in-depth portrait. Rather, it is an impressionistic account of the lasting effects she made on others. These lasting impressions serve to reaffirm Arendt’s belief in the value of storytelling as a powerful means of understanding.     

CHARGE Association: Symptoms,behaviour and intervention

This paper reviews current knowledge on CHARGE Association. CHARGE is a relatively recently identified, heterogeneous, condition about which there is a good deal of medical information concerning the developmental anomalies involved. These include coloboma, heart defects, atrestia, retardation of development or growth, genital hypoplasia and ear problems including deafness. There is far less published material concerning the psychological and educational implications. The severity, impact and interaction between the six developmental anomalies characterising the condition can vary greatly. The paper considers aspects related to social behaviour and factors to be considered when planning educational interventions with this low incidence group of children who have more significant additional needs. Given the relatively low incidence of children with dual sensory impairment in the population and the wide range of demands made on educational psychologists' time, it is perhaps not surprising that most have little knowledge or experience of CHARGE Association. The purpose of this short paper, therefore, is to describe the main features of the condition, to note the incidence, to look at its impact upon learning and behaviour, and to consider the implications for intervention.     

Some Non‐Academic Developmental Correlates of Ability‐Grouping in Secondary Schools

Using data from the National Child Development Study, the relationship between certain non‐academic aspects of children's development and their school's ability‐grouping policy were examined.

The four areas of non‐academic development considered were: the young people's rating of their own ability in English, mathematics, science and practical subjects, their academic motivation, their plans for further education and occupational aspirations and their behaviour at school. However, in general there were no differences in any of these respects between children in streamed, setted and mixed‐ability schools.

The implications of these findings are discussed, in particular the potential differences which could arise between schools with different policies if more appropriate methods of teaching and organisation were adopted.