Using Multiple Informants to Assess Child Maltreatment: Concordance between Case File and Youth Self-Report

To understand the psychosocial implications of child maltreatment, methods used to document prevalence must be clear. Yet, rates of maltreatment found in child self-report are generally inconsistent with data found in case files from state social service agencies. Although it is known that self-reports and case file reports of abuse disagree on occurrence of specific events, it is unclear if reporters agree when overall categories of abuse are considered. This study investigated differences between case file and youth report of abuse by examining four types of abuse—physical, sexual, neglect, and psychological—in a within-subjects design using a sample of 97 youth in foster care aged 8 to 22. Case files were coded for the presence of any indication of each type of abuse. Self-report of abuse was also assessed for any indication of each type of abuse. Results indicated that, overall, youth reported more physical and psychological abuse, and younger youth reported more sexual abuse than documented in their file. Implications for research and service provision for maltreated youth are discussed.     

Does treatment modality affect career counseling effectiveness?

This meta-analysis involved the direct comparison of treatment modalities used in career interventions. In general, interventions that did not involve a counselor were found to be less effective than other modalities. Results also indicated that workshops or structured groups tended to produce better outcomes than non-structured career counseling groups. Furthermore, participants who used a career computer system supplemented by counseling had better outcomes than those who just used a computer system. Many of the comparisons involved comparing counselor-free interventions to other counselor-free interventions; however, this analysis did not find any significant moderators to effect size variation. There was also significant variation in workshops/structured groups and additional research is needed to analyze workshop content and client attributes.     

A Comparison of Five Reinforcement Schedules for use in Contingency Management-Based Treatment of Methamphetamine Abuse

The Psychological Record - One variation of contingency management involves providing vouchers with monetary value for the provision of a biological sample indicating no recent drug use. These...     

Child Impulsiveness—Inattention, Early Peer Experiences, and the Development of Early Onset Conduct Problems

The conjoint influence of child impulsiveness-inattention (I/I) and peer relationships on growth trajectories of conduct problems was assessed in a community sample of 267 boys and girls. I/I reliably predicted teacher- and parent-reported conduct problems at kindergarten entry and growth in those problems over the next 2 years for boys and girls. The relation of boys' I/I to conduct problems was mediated, in part, by peer rejection and involvement in coercive exchanges with peers. The relation of girls' I/I to conduct problems was less clearly mediated by peer processes, but peer difficulties had additive effects. The impact of peer relationships on trajectories of conduct problems was apparent to parents as well as to teachers. Although I/I increments risk for early and persisting conduct problems in concert with poor peer relationships, it does so in complex and gender-specific ways.     

Assessment and treatment of escape from attention in the form of conversation

The purpose of this study was to evaluate treatment procedures for problem behavior maintained by escape from attention in the form of conversation for a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. After conducting a functional analysis that confirmed this function, we implemented a preference assessment to identify some forms of attention that were not aversive. Treatment consisted of four conditions, implemented in a series of reversals. During each condition, the participant chose from some of the following concurrently available options: three forms of attention, escape from conversation, and escape from conversation with a 2‐min delay. We implemented the delay to reduce (devalue) the reinforcing value of escape from conversation. The participant preferred escape from conversation to social interaction when all four consequences were available immediately. When escape from conversation was possible with a delay, the participant's preference changed to social interaction. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.     

Clinical Supervision Dilemmas Related to Child Abuse in Wraparound Treatment

We conducted two separate, exploratory studies to evaluate the differences between the supervision of wraparound (in-home) and outpatient (office) child treatment interventions. Study one (n = 96) examined the structure and norms of supervision between groups as well as rates of general disclosure to direct supervisors. Study two (n = 116) specifically examined the frequency of child abuse and neglect encountered in each intervention setting, and the level of disclosure in supervision of these mandatory reporting events. Findings from the first study suggest that wraparound clinicians received significantly less individual supervision and colleague consultation than their office-based counterparts. Additionally, wraparound clinicians were significantly more likely to withhold information about client cases from their direct supervisors. In the second study, wraparound clinicians endorsed significant increases for observed child abuse, observed child neglect, and verbally reported child neglect compared to their office-based counterparts. In regards to mandatory reporting issues with children, wraparound clinicians were found to be significantly less likely to disclose issues pertaining to child neglect to their direct supervisors than office-based clinicians. Our studies show preliminary evidence for a needed increase of individual supervision in wraparound practice, in addition to a greater focus on clinician disclosures related to incidents of child abuse and neglect.