Neuropsychiatry's offspring

The British Neuropsychiatry Association Annual Meeting was held at the Institute of Child Health, London, UK, on 21-22 February 2002.     

Child/adolescent analysts at work in the present space

These two clinically-based panels, designed to throw more light on the problems of treating aggression and sexuality, were organized by Elizabeth Tuters (Canada) for the IPA (COCAP) and the Association for Child Psychoanalysis Inc. (ACP).     

Child sexual abuse allegations during custody litigation: Conflicts between mental health expert witnesses and the law

This article describes (1) an intrafamilial child sexual abuse case and (2) the multidisciplinary research project which developed from its outcome. The research project., in existence since 1987, is a task force of the Committee an Children, Youth, and Families of the New Jersey Psychological Association and is co-sponsored by the Committee on Child Psychiatry of the New Jersey Psychiatric Association. The research aims at developing an objective behavioral assessment instrument to validate child sexual abuse allegations, and at achieving a clinical-legal consensus regarding the credibility of the instrument. Ranking, reliability, and validity studies are described.     

Some observations on the relationship between language and verbal thought in a psychotic adolescent

Abstract

Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel: The Ego Ideal. Free Association Books, 1985. Hardback £18.50; paperback £8.95.

Creativity and Perversion. Free Association Books, 1985. Hardback £11.95; paperback £6.95.

Jerome Kagan: The Nature of the Child. Published by Basic Books, 1984. Hardback, £15.85. Also by Harper and Row. Paperback, £4.95.

Julia Segal: Phantasy in Everyday Life. Published by Pelican, 1985. Paperback £2.95.     

The Scope and Future Direction of Child Life

Child life specialists work in a variety of healthcare settings and help children and families to cope with stress through play, preparation, and education. The purpose of this study was to examine the current scope of child life practice. Child life specialists (N?=?147), recruited through the listserv of the Association of Child Life Professionals (formerly the Child Life Council), responded to an online survey that examined demographics, work environments and settings, the range of services provided, and perceived levels of competence in providing these services. Results indicate that the typical child life professional is a Caucasian female age 34 years, has a bachelor’s degree in child life or human development and family studies, is employed full-time in a children’s hospital as a certified child life specialist, and has 9 years of experience in the child life field. Respondents indicated that they perform a wide range of activities and feel competent in performing the majority of these activities. However, gaps in academic preparation such as more knowledge about death and dying and increased skills in working with diverse families were identified. Additionally, respondents felt supported, yet, a lack of awareness of child life persists.     

Effect of task on mother-child interaction results

The influence of task on behavior in mother-child interaction was studied. Five tasks varying in degree of structure and difficulty were used in mothers' interactions with their children at 24 and 36 months of age. Child competence was assessed through several tests. Families that had participated in an extensive parent-education program were compared with randomly assigned controls. Interactions were videotaped and rated on scales. Results indicated that there were no task differences in ability to discriminate groups and tasks seldom were found to be differentially related to child competence. Task stability over time yielded some differences.This paper was presented at the American Educational Research Association meeting in Boston, April 1980. The preparation of this article and the research reported in it were supported by the Hogg Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and Office of Child Development Grant 90-C-379.     

School Counselor Accountability: The Path to Social Justice and Systemic Change

Expectations run high that accountability for student outcomes will continue to drive the education agenda with reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965). School counselors have also recognized the imperative to connect their work to school improvement goals. This article discusses action research undertaken by school counselors who used data‐informed practice to align counseling programs with the accountability expectations of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002) and the American School Counselor Association (2003, 2005) National Model.     

The Role of Group Experiences in the Healing Process of Massive Childhood Holocaust Trauma

This paper proposes that Holocaust child survivors profoundly benefit from participating in a variety of group modalities. From participant observation and interviews we demonstrate that affiliation in organizations, social events, commemorations, rituals, and particular therapeutic groups each contributes to the well-being of Holocaust child survivors. Mourning is enhanced by joining forces with others from a historical event that left many children orphans, bereft of a home, a community, a country, and an identity. Group participants achieve individuation and ego integration, and gain clarity about the complex psychological consequences of surviving the Holocaust. A fragmented identity is restored through the opportunity of interacting with others whose identity has been ruptured by similar cataclysmic events.Senior Research Fellow, Graduate Center of CUNY. Codirector, Psychotherapy with Generations of the Holocaust and Related Traumas, Training Institute for Mental Health. Codirector, Child Development ResearchSenior Member and Faculty, National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. Codirector, Child Development Research     

Comparing parents' perceptions of IVF conceived children's behavior with naturally conceived children

Conception after assisted reproductive methods is associated with considerable emotional as well as physical stress. Parents often have to wait ten years or more before conceiving. As part of an ongoing U.K. study, we assessed 140 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) conceived children and 101 naturally conceived control children via parental completion of the Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory when their children were two years old. Parents of children conceived after assisted reproductive methods reported fewer behavioral problems. Implications for long‐term development are discussed. ©2004 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

The child PTSD Symptom Scale: a preliminary examination of its psychometric properties

Reports on the development and preliminary validation of the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) for children and adolescents. The CPSS is a new instrument that was developed to assess the severity of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in children exposed to trauma. The CPSS was administered to 75 school-age children approximately 2 years after the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake. The psychometric properties of the CPSS show high internal consistency and test-retest reliability for both the total score and the three subscales. Convergent validity with the Child Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI) was established. As expected, the correlations of the CPSS with depression and anxiety measures were lower than those with the CPTSD-RI, providing some support for discriminant validity of the CPSS. These results suggest that the CPSS is a useful tool for the assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity and for the screening of PTSD diagnosis among traumatized children.     

Predicting toddler anxiety/depressive symptoms: Effects of caregiver sensitivity on temperamentally vulnerable children

This research examines whether maternal sensitivity in early childhood reduces later anxiety/depressive symptoms for children with more temperamental vulnerability, and whether these effects are different for boys and girls. Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care study with 1,226 subjects (631 boys, 595 girls) were analyzed. Mothers and other caregivers rated children's difficult temperament at 1 and 6 months. Trained observers scored maternal sensitivity when children were 6 and 15 months. Child anxiety/depressive symptoms were rated by mothers and other caregivers when children were 2 and 3 years of age. Maternal sensitivity in early childhood significantly predicted decreased 2‐ and 3‐year‐old anxiety/depressive symptoms. Children with more difficult temperament were significantly more likely to show decreased anxiety/depressive symptoms at 2 years of age if their mothers had been more sensitive. Maternal sensitivity also was a significant predictor of decreased anxiety/depressive symptoms for more temperamentally difficult boys, and temperamentally difficult boys with more sensitive mothers were found to be significantly more likely than girls to show decreased anxiety/depressive symptoms at 3 years of age. The findings of this pilot research suggest that facilitating and supporting increased sensitivity for mothers with more temperamentally difficult children could be beneficial. ©2005 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Referees, editors, and publication practices: Improving the reliability and usefulness of the peer review system

The documented low levels of reliability of the peer review process present a serious challenge to editors who must often base their publication decisions on conflicting referee recommendations. The purpose of this article is to discuss this process and examine ways to produce a more reliable and useful peer review system. The author is a Senior Research Scientist & Biostatistician, Child Study Center and Department of Psychiatry in the Yale University School of Medicine. Note: The main points of this report were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 9, 1996.     

Maternal sensitivity behavior and infant behavior in early interaction

Maternal sensitivity behavior and infant behavior in early interaction were investigated among 57 Finnish mother–child pairs. Their interaction was video‐recorded at home in free‐play situation when the infants were 3 months and 12 months of age, and evaluated using the Parent–Child Early Relational Assessment Scale (PCERA). Maternal sensitivity behavior was mainly related to infant's positive aspects of mood, social and play behavior, and visual contact, both at 3 months and 12 months of age. Even though maternal sensitivity behavior correlated to infant behavior at 3 months and 12 months, infant behavior at 3 months of age contributed to later maternal sensitivity behavior. ©2001 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Narcissistic organisations and sexual identity - a clinical presentation

Lynn Barnett. Sunday's Child: the Development of Individuality from Birth to Two Years of Age, Parts I-VIII. Part IX: 2 to 3 years, 1988. Part X:3 to 6 years, 1989. Also available: Sunday's Child: short version (0-2 years); Sunday's Child: From Dependent Feeding to Rational Eating; Sunday's Child: Father's Role.

Copies can be obtained, for teaching and study purposes only, from Lynn Barnett, Iddesleigh House Clinic, 97 Heavitree Road, Exeter, Devon, UK EX1 2NE and Concorde Films, 201 Felixstowe Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 9BJ.

Hire: λ18 plus p&;p, compilation. λ15 each 3 months part + p&;p.

Purchase: λ50 plus p&;p, compilation. λ30 each 3 months part + p&;p.

Tilman Furniss. The Multiprofessional Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse: Integrated Management, Therapy and Legal Intervention. Routledge, 1991. λ20 paperback.

W.R. Silveira, Ed. Consultation in Residential Care: Children in Residential Establishments. Published by Aberdeen University Press. July 1991. Paperback λ13.95.

Barbara Dockar-Drysdale. The Provision of Primary Experience. London: Free Association Books. 1991. Hardback, λ29.50. Paperback, λ12.95.

BLOS, P., (1979) The Adolescent Passage: Developmental issues. International University Press: New York.

DOCKAR-DRYSDALE, B., (1968) Therapy in Child Care. Longman.

DOCKAR-DRYSDALE, B., (1973) Consultation in Child Care. Longman.

LAUFER, M., and M.E., (1987) Adolescence and Developmental breakdown: A Psychoanalytic view. Yale University Press.

TONNESMANN, M., (1980) Adolescent re-enactment, trauma and reconstruction. J. of Child Psychother. Vol. 6 pp. 23-44.

Johannes S Bodtker: Beyond Words: Interpretive Art Therapy. Published by Clunie Press. The Roland Harris Education Trust. 1990. λ10.00 (paperback).     

Child Maltreatment in DSM‐5 and ICD‐11

Child maltreatment is widespread and has a tremendous impact on child victims and their families. Over the past decade, definitions of child maltreatment have been developed that are operationalized, face valid, and can be reliably applied in clinical settings. These definitions have informed the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and are being considered for the International Classification of Disease–11 (World Health Organization). Now that these definitions are available in major diagnostic systems, primary healthcare providers and clinicians who see children and families are poised to help screen for, identify, prevent, and treat child maltreatment. This article reviews the definitions of maltreatment in these diagnostic systems, along with assessment and screening tools, and empirically supported prevention and intervention approaches.     

The revised version of the screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (scared-r): Further evidence for its reliability and validity

Abstract The revised version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED-R) is a self-report questionnaire that intends to measure symptoms of childhood anxiety disorders as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The current article presents three studies which examined in more detail the reliability and validity of the SCARED-R. Study 1 (N=101) demonstrated that the SCARED-R possesses satisfactory test-retest stability. Study 2 (N=71) shows that the child-parent agreement of the SCARED-R is rather low. Study 3 (N=88) provides support for the concurrent validity of the SCARED-R. More specifically, SCARED-R scores were correlated in a meaningful way with scores on the Children's Anxiety Scale, a questionnaire that also measures DSM-defined childhood anxiety symptoms.     

Gender/ed identities: an overview of our current work as child psychotherapists in the Gender Identity Development Service

Abstract

This paper is adapted from a presentation first given at the 2017 Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP) Conference. We hope to give a feel of our work as psychoanalytic child psychotherapists working in a Tier 4 national assessment service for gender variant children and connect with our colleagues working therapeutically with these families in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and other settings. Gender variance does not have a single cause, or straightforward developmental pathway; rather it is a complex interplay of multiple factors, akin to sexuality in the diverse manifestations and ‘tributaries’ taken. This paper is given as a plea for complexity, to counter the current intense focus on gender identity and the consequent reductionism this can lead to. To this end, three case studies from the clinic, taken from Under Five, Latency and Adolescent phases of development, are explored. The complexity of the cases is then discussed, followed by parallel issues of development, divergence and difference. These three ‘average’ cases from the Gender Identity Development Services (GIDS) serve to demonstrate the need for child psychotherapy as part of multi-disciplinary thinking about gender variance and how attention must be maintained to each unique story and process of identity development; as well as our clinical task to establish and encourage depressive functioning and secondary processes where possible.     

The development of implicit attitudes. Evidence of race evaluations from ages 6 and 10 and adulthood

To understand the origin and development of implicit attitudes, we measured race attitudes in White American 6-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and adults by first developing a child-oriented version of the Implicit Association Test (Child IAT). Remarkably, implicit pro-White/anti-Black bias was evident even in the youngest group, with self-reported attitudes revealing bias in the same direction. In 10-year-olds and adults, the same magnitude of implicit race bias was observed, although self-reported race attitudes became substantially less biased in older children and vanished entirely in adults, who self-reported equally favorable attitudes toward Whites and Blacks. These data are the first to show an asymmetry in the development of implicit and explicit race attitudes, with explicit attitudes becoming more egalitarian and implicit attitudes remaining stable and favoring the in-group across development. We offer a tentative suggestion that mean levels of implicit and explicit attitudes diverge around age 10.     

JERRY FORD

Jerry (Jerome) Ford, Director of the Institute of Family Counseling at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, died Wednesday, September 5th at the age of 41. Mr. Ford spent his entire professional career teaching, guiding and counseling inner city youth and their families, and training others to do the same. He graduated from the University of Maryland and earned a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Temple University. Mr. Ford joined the Clinic in 1969 while serving as a guidance counselor at Bok Technical High School, Philadelphia. He had earlier been a teacher in the public school system. Mr. Ford was a member of the Family Institute of Philadelphia, Family Service of Philadelphia, the Women's Christian Alliance and the Crime Prevention Association. He is survived by his wife, Clarice Bailey Ford, a son and a daughter.     

The growth and development of an infant mental health program: An integrated perspective

This article details the development of the Infant Mental Health Clinical and Training Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine from 1976 to the present. The article discusses the clinical sites where the program takes place, which include the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, outpatient child psychiatry clinic, and day treatment programs. Trainees from several mental health disciplines participate in the program, including predoctoral psychology externs, interns from the Clinical Psychology Internship, residents from the Child Psychiatry Training Program, and postdoctoral research fellows in developmental psychopathology. Recently, the Infant Mental Health Program has also been able to offer its own training positions. The philosophical models of clinical service and training are outlined. The article concludes by looking at future directions and challenges for the Infant Mental Health Program. © 1997 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health