Developing an Online Early Detection System for School Attendance Problems: Results From a Research-Community Partnership

School refusal and other school attendance problems are vexing problems for school-aged youth, families, school personnel, and clinicians. However, few resources exist to detect problematic attendance. The current report describes three steps of a research-community partnership to develop an early identification program to detect youth at risk for problematic attendance. First, a survey was conducted to estimate the scope and cost of school refusal across grades K–12. School administrators estimated relatively few youth exhibiting significant school refusal (missing 5 or more days per year) but estimated the costs associated with services for these youth to be very high (mean cost of in-district programs: $94,052; mean cost of out-of-district placements: $496,657). Second, elementary school counselors were tasked with tracking absenteeism among at-risk youth using an online attendance tracking prototype. Counselors identified a high number of youth who showed elevated absences, lates, or early departures (17.2% of enrolled students), and counselor ratings were significantly related to whether the student (a) had received an individualized education plan or 504 plan, (b) had a sibling with similar attendance problems, (c) was older, or (d) had divorced or separated parents. In a final step, counselor feedback was sought and revisions were incorporated in the attendance tracker. Findings reinforce the prevalence and cost of school attendance problems, provide guidance for using technology to monitor attendance and related indices (tardies, early departures), and direct attention to youth factors that may be useful in identifying youth at risk for poor attendance.     

Prologue: Quality of Life in South America

Applied Research in Quality of Life -     

Vicarious Improvement Among Parents Participating in Child-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety

Parental variables likely have important and bidirectional influences on the etiology of child anxiety. Although some child-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CCBT) anxiety trials have found vicarious improvements among parents who participated in their children’s treatment, this is an understudied area. We hypothesized that parental variables (psychopathology, stress, and burden) will significantly decrease from pre- to post-CCBT and will be associated with child treatment response. We explored whether intervention delivery method—in-person CCBT versus parent-mediated bibliotherapy—influenced vicarious parental improvements. Parental variables decreased from pre- to post-CCBT and were associated with child treatment response. Effects did not interact with delivery method. Parent participation in anxiety CCBT may result in vicarious improvements for parents.     

Sleep deprivation in Air National Guard medical personnel responding to simulated disaster-training exercises

National Guard personnel remain largely unstudied within the sleep research community, despite their unique and important role. In response, the purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of sleep deprivation in National Guard medical personnel from two separate Air Force Bases (AFBs) responding to simulated disaster-training exercises. National Guard medical personnel (N = 77) were fitted with wrist activity monitors (actigraphy) to objectively measure their sleep for 4 days of their civilian time (baseline), followed by a 4-day transition period from civilian to military duty, and a 3–5-day disaster-training exercise. Differences in sleep quantity, quality, and “cognitive effectiveness” were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. Participants’ sleep quantity was significantly reduced from civilian to disaster-training periods, and their cognitive effectiveness also dropped significantly. National Guard medical personnel were sleep-deprived during a simulated disaster-training exercise, which, although a valid proxy for real-world disasters, is likely to be a conservative approximation of the stress and fatigue National Guard personnel experience during crisis response. As such, the need for targeted fatigue-related interventions to safeguard our service members during these critical times is clear.     

Bedroom design and decoration: gender differences in preference and activity

This investigation examined gender differences in niche-building preference and activity among 238 8th and 9th grade boys and girls. A questionnaire was developed to measure both the actual and preferred bedroom content, bedroom design activity, and the level of perceived influence by the immediate and extended family, friends, and social institutions. Gender differences were identified for preference, activity, and influence in bedroom design and decoration. Girls and boys differed in the type of items contained in their bedrooms. Girls' rooms contained stuffed animals and pictures of people, including themselves, more frequently than the boys' rooms. In contrast, boys' rooms contained sports-related items, and things for building or that they had built themselves. Although bedroom design activity for both boys and girls was influenced by older teens, friends, media, and popular culture, boys (but not girls) were also influenced by their mothers, fathers, girlfriends, and activities such as sports, Boy or Girl Scouts, and music lessons.     

Digit ratios (2D:4D and other) and relative thumb length: a test of developmental stability

Sex and side differences in relative thumb length of children and adolescents have been reported by prior researchers. These findings mirror those reported for the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a likely biomarker for the organizational (permanent) effects of prenatal androgens on the human brain and body. The present study investigated relative thumb length, in particular, its associations with all possible digit ratios (2D:3D, 2D:4D, 2D:5D, 3D:4D, 3D:5D, and 4D:5D), in a sample of young adults (60 men and 64 women). Relative thumb length was less precisely measurable than direct or image-based finger-length measurements, as used in digit ratio research. There were no significant sex or side differences in relative thumb length. Contrary to expectation, thumb size was not positively correlated with any digit ratios. Relative thumb length appears to be developmentally unstable (decreases during childhood and adolescence). Additional findings, such as the magnitude ranking of sex differences in digit ratios and the comparability of direct versus image-based finger-length measurements, are also discussed.     

Knowledge and Expectations of Women Undergoing Cancer Genetic Risk Assessment: A Qualitative Analysis of Free-Text Questionnaire Comments

Individuals undergoing cancer genetic risk assessment have been found to have a poor understanding of the process, which may affect how well they cope with learning their risk. This paper reports free-text data from questionnaires completed by women undergoing a randomised controlled trial of a psychological intervention. Of the 268 women undergoing genetic assessment for familial breast/ovarian cancer risk who were invited to take part in the trial, 157 women returned research questionnaires. Of these, 97 women provided free-text comments upon referral to a cancer genetics clinic, 62 provided comments whilst waiting for risk information (average, moderate or high), and 36 women provided comments following notification of risk. This paper reports a thematic analysis of the free-text data. Themes reflected individuals’ poor knowledge and uncertainty about genetic risk assessment. How well individuals responded to learning their risk depended upon whether expectations had been met. Regardless of risk, individuals undergoing cancer genetic risk assessment are likely to benefit from increased information about its process and timescales, and access to increased psychological support. Free-text comments can provide valuable data about individuals’ expectations and knowledge of genetics services.     

Online self‐help: Developing a student‐focused website for depression

Many depressed people, young men in particular, do not seek professional help. This social constructionist action research project aimed to construct a comprehensive self‐help website for students. Its goal was to give a multi‐layered (‘thick’) account of depression to website users offering empowering perspectives and strategies while challenging barriers to help‐seeking. Thirteen student interviewees, representing diverse demographics and depression experiences, attended semi‐structured interviews to elicit ‘coping’ narratives. Ten of them then formed an ongoing e‐mail focus group. An evaluative action research spiral was used to analyse and act upon public health guidelines, student interviews and student focus group commentary. Triangulation was provided via the specifications and ongoing feedback from the other project stakeholders. These were the funding charity steering group (including heads of university counselling services); the university providing programme/ethical approval; and the expert group offering clinical validation. The final site at www.studentdepression.org has nearly 100 pages of information and self‐help resources cross‐referenced with personal narratives. It provides a rich, complex account of how depression may be tackled and resisted. Both student and expert groups were impressed with final site quality and usefulness. Collaborative development with user‐group representatives is likely to have produced a far richer, more accessible and more comprehensive resource than counsellor authorship alone. 1 ¹Formerly at the Counselling Service, Royal Holloway University of London, UK.