Externalizing Disorders in Adolescence Mediate the Effects of Maternal Depression on Substance Use Disorders

Maternal depression has been linked to increased risk of substance use disorders (SUDs) in offspring. Cross-sectional studies have identified relationships among maternal depression, externalizing disorders and SUDs, but no longitudinal examination of causality has been undertaken. In order to address this gap in the literature, depression and externalizing disorders at or prior to age 15 were tested as mediators of the relationship between maternal depression and SUDs diagnosed between ages 16 and 20 in a sample of 702 Australian youth (363 women) using path models. Mothers’ and fathers’ substance diagnoses and earlier onset of substance abuse in youth were controlled for in all analyses. Consistent with previous work, maternal depression predicted SUDs between ages 16 and 20. An indirect effect of maternal depression through youth externalizing disorders diagnosed by age 16 was detected for alcohol and cannabis use disorders, but not drug disorders. Early adolescent depression was not a mediator of the relationship between maternal depression and any of the substance outcomes measured. To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine depression and externalizing disorders in early adolescence as mediators of the effect of maternal depression on psychopathology in later adolescence. Further work is needed to understand how family environment and genetic factors may explain the mediation by externalizing disorders.     

Prevention of Problem Behavior Through Annual Family Check-Ups in Early Childhood: Intervention Effects From Home to Early Elementary School

This randomized intervention trial examined the effects of yearly Family Check-Ups (FCUs) and tailored parent management training on parent report of problem behavior from age 2 to 5 years and teacher report of oppositional behavior at age 7.5. A multiethnic risk sample of 731 families in 3 distinct geographical settings who were receiving assistance from the Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement (WIC) program were randomly assigned to a yearly FCU. Intention to treat (ITT) analyses were used to examine overall intervention effects, and complier average causal effect (CACE) modeling was used to examine the effects of annual intervention engagement in the FCU on parent reports of child problem behavior from age 2 to 5 and teacher reports of problem behavior at age 7.5. ITT intervention effects were found regarding parent report at ages 2 to 5 and teacher report at age 7.5, indicating less growth in problem behavior for children in the intervention group than for those in the control group. CACE modeling of intervention engagement revealed that the effect sizes on parent- and teacher-reported problem behavior increased as a function of the number of yearly FCUs caregivers participated in. Findings suggest that embedding yearly FCU services within the context of social, health, and educational services in early childhood can potentially prevent early-onset trajectories of antisocial behavior. The increases in effect size with successive FCU engagement underscores the importance of a motivational approach to parenting support among high-risk families.     

Does the Demographic Objection to Epistocracy Succeed?

In most, if not all, forms of epistocracy, we can expect (at least in the near future) that the more advantaged demographic groups would have higher rates of representation than less advantaged groups. The Demographic Objection to Epistocracy holds that this means epistocracy is unjust. One version of the Demographic Objection holds that the unequal representation is inherently unfair. I show that this argument fails, as proceduralist concern for fairness does not get us to universal equal suffrage at all. A second version holds that by giving some kinds of people more power than others, epistocracy will tend to help the advantaged and harm the already disadvantaged. In contrast, I argue that certain forms of epistocracy escape this objection altogether. For the others, though, this version of the objection relies on questionable empirical assumptions. In the end, neither version of the Demographic Objection succeeds. The Demographic Objection to epistocracy is much weaker than it seems.     

What is the Impact of Placement Type on Educational and Health Outcomes of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors? A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Record numbers of unaccompanied refugee minors have been arriving in high-income countries since 2015. Child welfare agencies and non-governmental organisations tasked with providing services have struggled to cope with demands on their services as a result. Despite this, there is little research on how best to meet their needs and in particular what services can mitigate the psychological difficulties they face. As a result, the evidence base for social services for refugee children remains very limited. This paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence on the relationship between care placement type and the educational, mental health and physical health outcomes of unaccompanied refugee minors. We searched ten databases and identified 3877 citations which were screened for inclusion. Nine studies were included in the final review, with seven included in the meta-analysis. Eight studies examined the link between accommodation type and mental health outcomes, and two analysed the relationship between accommodation type and education. There were no studies looking at physical health outcomes. Included studies suggest that foster care and placements that are culturally sensitive may be associated with better mental health outcomes. This review highlights the paucity of research on the impact of services provided by child welfare agencies and non-governmental organisations.     

Personality and Perceived Justice as Predictors of Survivors’ Reactions Following Downsizing1

Downsizing, when deemed unfair, can result in negative outcomes in terras of survivors’ job attitudes and behaviors. Little research to date has examined whether a survivor's personality moderates these reactions. The present study examines the roles of personality and organizational justice in survivors’ reactions to downsizing. Results show that angry hostility moderates the relationships between survivors’ perceived interactional justice and (a) their organizational commitment, and (b) their intention to quit following downsizing. Specifically, the relationship between interactional justice and both criterion variables was significant only when angry hostility was low. Self‐discipline was found to moderate the relationship between survivors’ interactional justice and their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) such that there was a significant positive correlation between interactional justice and OCB only for those employees who were low on self‐discipline. These findings are discussed in light of how supervisors could best manage downsizing.     

Creating space for interdisciplinary and interagency learning: the Newham ‘responsiveness’ days

Family therapists in Newham's specialist child and adolescent mental health services describe an interdisciplinary and interagency training day for Newham's children's workforce; the workshop aims to develop co‐learning about communication and collaboration in the context of a rapidly changing service environment, driven by current national and local policy initiatives. The training team attempts to generate a rich learning context using three themes: networking, responsiveness and complexity. The workshop demonstrates that it is perhaps possible to embed complex communication discourses in brief, pragmatic training, enhancing collaboration between professionals in local networks.