Child and Caregiver Dropout in Child Psychotherapy for Trauma

This study focused on the identification of variables collected at baseline assessments that predict children and caregivers who are at risk for dropout from treatment. A sample of 115 children and their caregivers who received evidence-based treatment for traumatic stress was utilized for this study. Multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that caregiver and child age, the child's externalizing behaviors, and the child and caregiver's acknowledgment of posttraumatic stress symptoms significantly predicted premature dropout from treatment. Clarification of child and caregiver characteristics that increase the risk of dropout allows for the identification of families in need of additional support to stay in treatment.     

虐待与儿童心理发展

儿童虐待问题近年来日益受到社会的广泛关注,本文旨在国内外已有的相关研究的基础上,阐述儿童期的虐待对儿童各个方面的心理发展的影响,以为心理和教育工作者对受虐待儿童的心理进行有效的干预和教育提供参考。     

Dreams in Child Psychoanalysis

More than six decades after Freud's death, psychoanalysts are certainly not more unified in their view of the concept of the unconscious—its structure and its way of working—than in ‘the good old days’. Challenges are facing psychoanalysis from many perspectives, urging psychoanalysts to continuously reconsider their theoretical grounds. This paper pursues three lines of argumentation concerning the Unconscious. The first line concerns the relation to neuroscience and this paper suggests the concept of background feelings (Damasio) as a contribution to another understanding of deficits in the psychoanalytic relationship. The second line concerns the relation to cognitive semiotics, and here, the paper stresses the concept of basic image sehemata as a possible link between the subject's pre-reflective awareness of the other and the internal world of phantasy. The third line pursues a concept of the analytic interpretation which is close to the Freudian idea that psychoanalysis is the communication between two Unconscious, and, consequently, that the psycho-analytic interpretation is not per se a conscious act.     

Perceptions Among Child Welfare Staff when Modifying A Child Mental Health Intervention to be Implemented in Child Welfare Services

In order to increase access to child mental health evidence‐based interventions (EBIs) for vulnerable and hard‐to‐engage families involved in the child welfare (CW) system, innovative approaches coupled with input from service providers are needed. One potential solution involves utilizing task‐shifting strategies and implementation science theoretical frameworks to implement such EBIs in CW settings. This study examined perceptions among CW staff who were members of a collaborative advisory board involved in the implementation of the 4Rs and 2Ss Strengthening Families Program (4R2S) in CW placement prevention settings, utilizing task‐shifting strategies and the Practical, Robust, Implementation, and Sustainability Model. Advisory board members reported difficulties in engaging families, heavy workloads, and conflicting implementation initiatives. While 4R2S was perceived as generally aligned with their organization's mission, modifications to the intervention and to agency procedures were recommended to promote implementation success. Suggested modifications to the existing 4R2S training and supervision are discussed. Findings underscore the importance of understanding the experiences of CW service providers, which can inform future efforts to implement child mental health EBIs in CW services.     

Child Participation in Family Therapy

The full involvement of children, particularly those of younger ages, in family therapy presents a personal and professional challenge to the therapist. Out of his own needs he may favor involvement with one or another generation rather than with the complete three generation family. This issue is discussed and suggestions for therapeutic use of younger children are presented.     

A Meta-analytic Review of the Role of Child Anxiety Sensitivity in Child Anxiety

Conflicting findings exist regarding (1) whether anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a construct distinct from anxiety in children and (2) the specific nature of the role of AS in child anxiety. This study uses meta-analytic techniques to (1) determine whether youth (ages 6–18 years) have been reported to experience AS, (2) examine whether AS differentiates anxiety disordered youth from youth without diagnoses, and (3) ascertain whether AS distinguishes youth with panic disorder from those with other anxiety disorders. The weighted mean effect size analyses included 15 studies and 6,579 participants. Results suggested positive correlational relationships between AS and anxiety for children (r = 0.26) and adolescents (r = 0.36) and higher levels of AS for anxiety disordered youth than non-clinical youth (d = 0.64). Findings tentatively suggested higher levels of AS for youth with panic disorder than youth diagnosed with other anxiety disorders. Implications and future directions in the research of child AS are discussed.     

Assessing Child Compliance-Noncompliance

This article presents normative data on boys' noncompliance and illustrates an easily adaptable technique for assessing that noncompliance. Mothers and sons were videotaped in a structured task situation. The mothers elicited their sons' noncompIiance by interrupting their building a Tinkertoy model with fourteen separate requests. The sons' average latency of initiation (19.6 seconds) and completion (30.01 seconds) were greater than the arbitrary times usually chosen as cutoff points between compliance and noncompliance and the latencies increased from the first seven to the latter seven tasks. The article discusses the implications of this normative data on the clinical assessment of noncompliance.     

The Divine Child

The divine child of this article is not a concrete person, but rather a part of one’s inner self, a part that is with us from birth, but often unknown to us until some later critical moment in life brings it into our awareness, often as an image in a vivid dream or fantasy. This figure can reveal, and bring with it, an amazing energy, and make felt desires never before known to us, which are now pressing for our awareness—and along with this awareness, a need to live an expanded, more conscious life.     

Child Sexual Abuse

Summary

Children who are recent victims of sexual abuse may initially present to their primary care health provider. Often, the outward manifestations of sexual abuse are somatic complaints or nonspecific behavioral changes. Retrospective reports of adults suggest that about 20-30% of women were sexually abused as children, with figures for men ranging from 10-15%. Interview guidelines for children and adolescents emphasize the need for sensitivity to cognitive development and emotional issues while simultaneously being focused on eliciting specific behavioral data. The use of anatomically detailed dolls, in the context of a comprehensive assessment, is discussed. Health care providers are mandated reporters and must disclose suspected child sexual abuse to the state's child protective service department. Guidelines for reporting as well as addressing this issue with parents are discussed.