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.     

The effects of intervening experiences on children's memory for a physical examination

To examine the extent to which children's long‐term retention is influenced (both positively and negatively) by intervening events, the impact of three programmed experiences on later recall of the details of a physical examination was explored. Four groups of 3‐ and 5‐year‐olds were established, with all children being interviewed immediately after their check‐ups and then again after 12 weeks. The groups, however, differed in terms of their experiences midway through the delay interval. At each age level, children in three experimental groups received either a complete interview about the physical examination, a return visit to the pediatrician's office, or an opportunity to view a videotape that showed a child receiving an actual check‐up. Children in a fourth group served as controls in that they were not seen during the delay period. Recall of standard features was scored, along with responses to questions concerning procedures that did not occur. The results indicated mixed mnemonic effects for the differential intervening experiences. In comparison to the control group, children at each age who had received an additional interview or who had observed the videotape showed elevated open‐ended recall at the 12‐week interview. In addition, the videotape manipulation, as well as the return visit to the doctor's office, was associated with a marked decrease in the 5‐ but not the 3‐year‐olds' accuracy regarding questions about activities not included in the physical examinations. The results are discussed in terms of factors that affect the facilitation and distortion of memory over long temporal delays. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Attribution of Hostile Intent in Mothers,Fathers and Their Children

Child externalising symptoms are associated with a bias towards attributing hostile intent to others. We examined the role of parental attributions in the development of this hostile attribution bias in children. The parents of 134 children aged 5-7 years responded to hypothetical social scenarios examining a) their general tendency to attribute hostile intent to the ambiguous behaviour of others, and b) hostile attributions made specifically to their child. Children's own attributions of hostile intent and levels of externalising symptomatology were assessed. The results indicated that child externalising symptoms were positively associated with both a generalised tendency towards the attribution of hostile intent and child-specific hostile attributions in parents. Child externalising symptoms were themselves associated with hostile attributions made by the child. However, no direct associations were observed between parental and child attributions of hostile intent. Thus, although the results suggest a role for parental social information processing biases in the development of child externalising symptoms, a direct transmission of such biases from parent to child was not supported.     

Social Externalism and First-Person Authority

Social Externalism is the thesis that many of our thoughts are individuated in part by the linguistic and social practices of the thinker’s community. After defending Social Externalism and arguing for its broad application, I turn to the kind of defeasible first-person authority that we have over our own thoughts. Then, I present and refute an argument that uses first-person authority to disprove Social Externalism. Finally, I argue briefly that Social Externalism—far from being incompatible with first-person authority—provides a check on first-personal pronouncements and thus saves first-person authority from being simply a matter of social convention and from collapsing into the subjectivity of “what seems right is right.”

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Religion and Science: What Is at Stake?

Abstract : “Religion and Science: What Is at Stake” looks at the latest information available on global warming from the International Panel on Climate Change and puts it in the context of the current culture war between progressives and conservatives. We worry that the science will become captive to ideological concerns that are theological, economic, and therefore political. The ideological domination of science may make a sustainable response to global warming even more difficult. It is vitally important that Christian theologians learn enough about the science to be articulate and support the scientists in their endeavors to promote our care of the creation.     

Why Do Students Keep Writing Me Sermons? Teaching Biblical Studies Cross‐Culturally in New Zealand

Abstract. Students from different cultural backgrounds respond in a variety of ways to my teaching of biblical studies. Some sermonize or plagiarize quite unselfconsciously in their written assignments, while others consistently hand in work late or are silent members of the class. As I struggled with what these behaviors were saying about my teaching, I came to realize that limited ability in spoken and written English was not the only barrier. Deeper issues were at stake here about the nature of cross‐cultural communication, teaching, and learning. In this note I analyze the issues of faith, authority, and styles of teaching and learning which underlie the “clash of educational cultures” ( Ballard and Clanchy 1997 , viii) occurring in the cross‐cultural classroom. Then I suggest a number of strategies that I have developed to build bridges of understanding between the various educational cultures, to encourage deeper participation and to develop critical thinking.     

No evidence of attentional bias in obsessive compulsive checking on the dot probe paradigm

Attentional biases have been proposed as maintaining and causal factors in anxiety, and it has been suggested that training attentional bias can impact on emotional responding. Given the severity of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and the considerable number of clients who do not respond to traditional therapies, understanding the factors that maintain anxiety in OCD is critical for the development of effective treatments. This study investigated attentional biases in a homogenous group of OCD patients whose primary concern was checking (OCD-Check; n = 18) compared to a Control group individually matched for age, gender and level of education (Control; n = 18) using a dot probe task. No evidence of attentional bias, or of differences in orienting to or disengaging from checking-relevant stimuli, was found in the OCD group compared to the matched Control group. From this data, it would appear that attentional bias may not be a feature of obsessive compulsive checking. The limitations of the present study and future research directions are discussed.     

The rapid development of explicit gaze judgment ability at 3 years

Two studies examined development of the ability to judge what another person is looking at. In Study 1, 54 2- to 4-year-olds judged where someone was looking in real-life, photograph, and drawing formats. A minority of 2-year-olds, but a majority of older children, passed all tasks, suggesting that the ability arises at around 3 years of age. Study 2 examined the fine-grained gaze judgment of 76 3- to 6-year-olds and 15 adults using gaze differences of 10° and 15°. Development of gaze judgment was gradual, from chance at 3 years of age to near adult-level performance at 6 years of age. Although performance was better when a congruent head turn was included, 3-year-olds were still at chance on 10° head turn trials. The findings suggest that the ability to explicitly judge gaze is novel at 3 years of age and develops slowly thereafter. Therefore, the ability does not develop out of earlier gaze following. General implications for the evolution and development of gaze processing are discussed.