Helping Homeless Families Overcome Barriers to Successful Functioning

The author articulates key stressors in the lives of families who are homeless. These stresses often combine with barriers such as lack of job opportunities and/or insensitive professionals. Strategies for helping homeless families overcome these barriers and related issues are presented.     

Child sexual abuse and bulimic symptomatology: relevance of specific abuse variables

OBJECTIVE: This study examined specific aspects of child sexual abuse in relation to symptom severity among hospitalized patients diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. METHOD: Participants were 45 hospitalized bulimic women who reported a history of child sexual abuse. Structured interviews were conducted in order to obtain detailed information regarding specific features of the abusive event(s). Participants also completed instruments that measured depression and eating pathology. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in severity of depression or eating disturbance among women reporting differing abusive experiences including intrafamilial versus extrafamilial abuse, abuse with or without the use of physical force, one versus multiple incidents, early abuse versus abuse occurring after age 14, contact versus noncontact abuse, disclosed versus undisclosed, and combined physical/sexual abuse versus sexual abuse alone. CONCLUSION: The specific characteristics of child sexual abuse are not related to the level of symptomatology for hospitalized bulimic patients. This study suggests that differences in the nature of the abuse may not be as important as the fact that the abuse occurred in the first place.     

The effects of child maltreatment on language development

The separate effects of child neglect, abuse, and their interaction upon language development as measured by the Preschool Language Scale were examined in four groups of children (n = 79) in a quasi-experimental design. There were three groups of maltreated subjects, all drawn from a treatment center: an abused only group (n = 13), a neglected only group (n = 7), and an abused and neglected group (n = 31); a non-maltreated group (n = 28) was drawn from a day care center. Abuse, neglect, and their interaction were used to predict both auditory comprehension and verbal ability as separate criteria in two stepwise multiple regression equations, where the variance attributable to gender and mother's status on Aid to Dependent Children had been removed. Child neglect was found to predict significantly both auditory comprehension and verbal ability. Neither child abuse nor the interaction between abuse and neglect significantly predicted either dependent variable. These findings suggest that child neglect may be the critical type of maltreatment associated with language delay.     

The maltreatment of adolescents

Official reports of maltreatment involving adolescent victims were compared to those involving younger children in a representative sample of protective services' reports drawn from New York State in 1985. Specific case characteristics, including age, gender, ethnicity of the victim, and source of report, are described and their relation to case substantiation is examined. Analyses revealed that adolescents represent a substantial proportion of all victims of official child maltreatment reports. The impact of age on substantiation varied as a function of the type of maltreatment, where for adolescents sexual abuse reports were more likely to be substantiated, while neglect and physical abuse reports were less likely to be substantiated. Reports involving adolescents were significantly more likely to involve a female victim. Significant gender differences in substantiation rate were found only for sexual abuse reports involving adolescents. White children were also found to be under-represented in this sample, while blacks were over-represented relative to their numbers in the population. The impact of minority status on substantiation was significant for neglect and physical abuse reports involving children. The majority of adolescent reports came from mandated sources, which had a significantly higher substantiation rate than reports from non-mandated sources.     

A Model for Training Group Counselors

A teaching model is presented which was used for increasing the skills and interests of practicing school counselors in group counseling. A significant aspect of the model is its inclusion of learnings designed to explore both affective and cognitive aspects of the group process. Although the model described was used in an in-service workshop for counselors, the format might also be useful in designing a university course in group counseling.     

White Privilege,Oppression, and Racial Identity Development: Implications for Supervision

Although the U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse, the race of individuals entering the counseling profession remains predominantly White (S. P. Pack‐Brown, 1999). The authors define and explore the connection between White privilege and oppression and encourage the use of racial identity models to address these constructs with counselor trainees in supervision.     

Computers in Artificial Intelligence Education

Both the origin and development of artificial intelligence (AI) are connected with the origin and development of computers. Computers play a very important role in engineering education. AI influences such disciplines like CAD, CASE, CAE, and others. The specific experience concerning AI education at a technical university has been gathered in this paper. There is stressed need of good balance between theoretical background and individual training with computers as well as importance of personal experience in solving practical AI.     

Teaching effectiveness: Comparisons between traditional and nontraditional college students

This article compares traditional college students' perceptions of effective teaching behaviors with nontraditional students' perceptions. A 15-item questionnaire was completed by undergraduates at a small Southeastern university. Nontraditional students viewed personality and interaction behaviors as more indicative of effective teaching, whereas traditional students focused on behaviors that potentially would enhance grades. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of techniques and approaches that facilitate the needs of both types of students.His major areas of interest include testing and counseling. Nina Mattie, M.A. is a recent graduate of the University of West Florida in the area of school psychology. Stephen J. Vodanovich, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the psychology department at the University of West Florida. His major areas of interest are social psychology and industrial/organizational psychology. Chris Piotrowski, M.A. is a consultant in forensic psychology. His major areas of interest are personality assessment and online database searching.