A comparison between a Neuro-Physiological Psychotherapy (NPP) treatment group and a control group for children adopted from care: Support for a neurodevelopmentally informed approach to therapeutic intervention with maltreated children

BackgroundLittle evidence exists regarding outcomes of therapeutic interventions for maltreated children who are removed from their birth families and then adopted. This study follows on from a previous evaluation of the Neuro-Physiological Psychotherapy (NPP) model, which found significant, positive and sustained post-treatment change.ObjectiveTo compare the outcomes for the NPP intervention group to those of a control group.Participants and settingParticipants were families who received the NPP intervention and families who, following assessment, did not receive the NPP intervention as recommended.MethodsGroups were matched in terms of demographics and presentation at assessment. A comparison of outcomes took place using ANCOVA.ResultsSignificant differences were found between group measures of Behavioral Regulation Index (moderate effect size, Cohen’s d = .435; F(1, 1505) = 14.476, p = .000) and Global Executive Functioning (BRIEF) (small effect size, Cohen’s d = .147; F(1, 3506) = 7.771, p = .008); mental health difficulties common in maltreated children (ACC/ACA) (small effect size, Cohen’s D = .212; F(1, 1100) = 6.197, p = .020) and externalizing behavior (CBCL) (small effect size, Cohen’s D = .025; F(1, 686) = 5.420, p = .025). A comparison of parent responses on quantitative aspects of a structured interview using chi-square analysis revealed significant differences between the groups on relationship quality (x2 (2, N = 53) = 10.453, p = .005 with a medium effect size, Cramer’s V = .444), disruption (x2 (1, N = 54) = 4.998, p = .025. The effect size was medium with Cramer’s V = .304), parental separation rates (x2 (1, N = 45) = 9.474, p = .002. The effect size was moderate with Cramer’s V = .459) and several indicators for longer-term social inclusion. The results are discussed in the light of the model’s neurodevelopmental and sequential approach, which focuses on sensory integration, affect regulation and therapeutic life story work alongside parent and school support.ConclusionsImplications regarding current treatment guidelines for this population are discussed; and a call is made for interventions which actively consider and address the neurodevelopmental impact of maltreatment.     

Narrativizing trauma,activating awareness: Iris Chang’s The Rape of Nanking and its afterlives

ABSTRACT

When Iris Chang published The Rape of Nanking in 1997, exactly sixty years after the Nanjing Massacre, the subtitle The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, called attention to one of the greatest human tragedies in the twentieth century. As a powerful historic reminder, The Rape of Nanking aims “to understand the event so that lessons can be learned and warnings sounded.” This paper focuses on Chang’s role as a writer/fighter who uses words to fight forgetfulness with a forceful narrative concerning one of the most dreadful traumas in the collective psyche of the Chinese people. It produces quite a number of “afterlives,” including different Chinese translations in Taiwan and mainland China, a nanking winter (2008), a play by the second-generation Chinese Canadian playwright Marjorie Chan, Nanjing Requiem (2011), a novel by the first-generation Chinese American novelist Ha Jin, and The Nanjing Massacre: Poems (2013), a collection of poems by the third-generation Chinese Hawaiian poet Wing Tek Lum. Furthermore, the docudrama Iris Chang: The Rape of Nanking (2007), directed by Bill Spahic and Anne Pick, presents a filmic representation of the short fascinating life of this passionate writer. This paper discusses how Chang, role as a writer and activist, fights against amnesia with remembrance as well as her rich legacy to the world across linguistic, generic, and semiotic boundaries. Chang’s text and its afterlives strive to give voice to those nameless war victims as a step towards truth, justice, reconciliation, and peace.     

Children's experiences of companion animal maltreatment in households characterized by intimate partner violence

Cruelty toward companion animals is a well-documented, coercive tactic used by abusive partners to intimidate and control their intimate partners. Experiences of co-occurring violence are common for children living in families with intimate partner violence (IPV) and surveys show that more than half are also exposed to abuse of their pets. Given children's relationships with their pets, witnessing such abuse may be traumatic for them. Yet little is known about the prevalence and significance of this issue for children. The present study examines the experiences of children in families with co-occurring pet abuse and IPV. Using qualitative methods, 58 children ages 7–12 who were exposed to IPV were asked to describe their experiences of threats to and harm of their companion animals. Following the interviews, template analysis was employed to systematically develop codes and themes. Coding reliability was assessed using Randolph's free-marginal multirater kappa (k_free = .90). Five themes emerged from the qualitative data, the most common being children's exposure to pet abuse as a power and control tactic against their mother in the context of IPV. Other themes were animal maltreatment to discipline or punish the pet, animal cruelty by a sibling, children intervening to prevent pet abuse, and children intervening to protect the pet during a violent episode. Results indicate that children's experiences of pet abuse are multifaceted, potentially traumatic, and may involve multiple family members with diverse motives.     

寻根文学：精神内伤与亚文化崇拜

寻根文学的崛起有其深刻的历史背景。创作群体的涵制策略折射出历史和现实的“双重恐怖”在作家心灵上所遗留下来的“精神内伤”，他们重回故里的形象搜寻和把时间空间化的做法，客观上为政府排忧解难，同时为主流话语掌握民间资源提供了方法论和认识论的基础，而他们对当地古语民俗的考证和发掘，则隐含一种亚文化崇拜的反现代性倾向。     

Mental health indicators fifty years later: A population-based study of men with histories of child sexual abuse

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a widely acknowledged trauma that affects a substantial number of boys/men and has the potential to undermine mental health across the lifespan. Despite the topic’s importance, few studies have examined the long-term effects of CSA on mental health in middle and late life for men. Most empirical studies on the effects of CSA have been conducted with women, non-probability samples, and samples of young or emerging adults with inadequate control variables. Based on complex trauma theory, the current study investigated: a) the effect of CSA on mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms, somatic symptom severity, hostility) in late life for men, and b) the moderating effects of childhood adversities and masculine norms in the relationship between CSA and the three mental health outcomes. Using a population-based sample from the 2004–2005 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, multivariate analyses found that CSA was positively related to both depressive and somatic symptoms and increased the likelihood of hostility for men who reported a history of CSA. Both childhood adversities and masculine norms were positively related to the three outcomes for the entire sample. Among CSA survivors, childhood adversities exerted a moderating effect in terms of depressive symptoms. Mental health practitioners should include CSA and childhood adversities in assessment and treatment with men. To more fully understand the effects of CSA, future studies are needed that use longitudinal designs, compare male and female survivors, and examine protective mechanisms such as social support.     

Adopted and permanently placed children in education: from rainbows to reality

Children who leave care into adoption and special guardianship are often considered by schools and local authorities to have found their “happy ending.” Yet there is growing evidence that the impact of prenatal and early trauma, abuse and neglect does not disappear upon placement in a permanent family. Rates of social, emotional and mental health difficulties remain high, and the group has pronounced educational needs. Whilst having high levels of involvement with education and health services, families report significant difficulties in mobilising understanding, support and provision. In the context of growing numbers of children in England finding permanence through adoption and special guardianship, and the Department for Education’s increasing focus on addressing the needs of this group, this paper highlights the key role of Educational Psychology Services in supporting adopted and other permanently placed children by providing training, consultation, assessment, intervention and research for children and their families, their schools, and the local authorities.     

From Pain to Healing:Cure for Trauma in Bone by Fae Myenne Ng

Fae Myenne Ng, one of dominant writers in American literary circle currently, had been making her efforts in Bone for ten years. In Bone, Ng depicts the trauma Chinese-Americans suffered profoundly whi...     

黑人历史铸造的心灵永久的“墓碑”——《宠儿》心理创伤解读

托尼·莫里森在小说《宠儿》中通过黑人妇女主体言说,来重现满目疮痍的美国黑人历史体验,重构美国历史。小说在内容和形式上有丰富的文化内涵,深入表现了黑人心灵难以磨灭的创伤。用心理学相关的创伤理论解读女主人公和整个黑人种族的精神肉体双重的创伤,以期使得读者更加深刻理解托尼·莫里森如何通过黑人历史这个“中心叙事”和“宏大叙事”实现对“创伤”的全面呈现。     

福建女篮运动员常见运动损伤成因及其应急处理

篮球运动是一项集体对抗性很强的球类运动项目。随着篮球运动的不断普及与提高,运动员在场上的高速度和高强度运动、战术运用更加灵活和攻防对抗更加激烈,构成了当前篮球运动的主要特点。在高强度激烈运动对抗中,各种运动损伤随之出现,极大地影响了运动员技战术水平的发挥,因而对篮球运动损伤的防治工作也就越发显得突出和重要。     

运动性外伤截瘫病人术后康复护理

康复护理是运动性外伤截瘫术后不可缺少的医学工程,运用现代康复护理技术结合传统护理模式,对截瘫术后患者护理,与单纯传统护理模式相比较,具有科学性强,疗效满意之特点,值得探讨和推广。