Developmentally Adapted Cognitive Processing Therapy for Adolescents Suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder after Childhood Sexual or Physical Abuse: A Pilot Study

Although childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse (CSA and CPA) have severe psychopathological consequences, there is little evidence supporting psychotherapeutic interventions for adolescents who have experienced CSA or CPA. To provide a treatment tailored to the specific needs of adolescents suffering from abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we modified Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) by adding new treatment modules and changing the therapy setting. To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of Developmentally Adapted CPT (D-CPT), we treated 12 adolescents suffering from PTSD secondary to CSA or CPA. Patients were assessed prior to treatment (t0), post-treatment (t1), and 6 weeks after treatment (t2). Assessments included the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), the UCLA PTSD Index (UCLA), the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES), and the Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23). MANOVAs revealed that posttraumatic stress measurements and associated symptom measurements significantly differed across time points. When comparing t0 with t2, Cohen’s d was large with respect to the CAPS scores (d = 1.45, p < .001) and the UCLA scores (d = 1.91, p < .001). Cohen’s d had a medium magnitude with respect to the CDI scores (d = .78, p < .001), the A-DES scores (d = 0.64, p < .05), and the BSL-23 scores (d = 0.74, p < .01). D-CPT has the potential to reduce PTSD symptoms and comorbid psychopathology in adolescents with histories of CSA or CPA.     

A Qualitative Study on Children’s Digital Media Use and Parents’ Self-interest

Journal of Child and Family Studies - This qualitative study provides insight into the role of parents’ self-interest in digital media use of children in different age groups. We conducted 31...     

Filial Piety,Generativity and Older Adults’ Wellbeing and Loneliness in Denmark and China

The article considers the potential of intergenerational encounters and family and social ties for alleviating loneliness and promoting older adults’ wellbeing. Loneliness has been widely recognized as one of the factors that are most deeply and pervasively detrimental to older adults’ wellbeing. We combine theoretical reflections with a comparative study of older adults in Denmark and China. Both countries have to deal with an aging population and growing number of cases of isolation and loneliness in an increasingly individualized society. They differ, however, with regard to how far they have developed a system of institutionalized care, as well as with regard to their culture-specific views of family life and parent-child relationships. We apply the notions of filial piety, known from Confucian philosophy but often misinterpreted as conservative and conformist, and generativity, to qualitative studies of older adults in Denmark and China. The great potential of intergenerational ties is confirmed. Our study also shows that filial piety is still highly valued, in both China and Denmark, and can be maintained even in a highly individualized society. There is, however, considerable uncertainty among both older adults and their younger relatives as to what is required and what can be expected; realism, and an emphasis on the quality, rather than the quantity of interaction, may be sensible coping strategies, but can also lead to unnecessary acquiescence and self-abnegation. Our study also serves to distinguish different aspects and effects on wellbeing of intergenerational relationships.

     

Enculturation and narrative practices

Recent work on enculturation suggests that our cognitive capacities are significantly transformed in the course of the scaffolded acquisition of cognitive practices such as reading and writing. Phylogenetically, enculturation is the result of the co-evolution of human organisms and their socio-culturally structured cognitive niche. It is rendered possible by evolved cerebral and extra-cerebral bodily learning mechanisms that make human organisms apt to acquire culturally inherited cognitive practices. In addition, cultural learning allows for the intergenerational transmission of relevant knowledge and skills. Ontogenetically, enculturation is associated with neural plasticity and the development of new motor routines and action schemas. It relies on scaffolded learning that structures novice-teacher interactions. The acquisition of reading and writing are paradigm examples of enculturation. Based on an empirically informed analysis of the components of enculturation, I will apply the emerging account of enculturated cognition to narrative practices. To date, research on the impact of narratives on the constitution of the self and our understanding of folk psychology has not paid much attention to the question how narratives are influenced by cumulative cultural evolution and our capacity to acquire reading and writing during ontogeny. I will argue that textual narratives, above and beyond oral narratives, provide genuinely new ways of narration. Therefore, the enculturated interaction with textual narratives has the potential to contribute to a better understanding of ourselves and other cognitive agents.     

Brief Counseling for Alcohol Misuse Among Trauma Patients: Two Interventions and Influence of Baseline Use

This study examined whether baseline trauma patient characteristics and randomized participation in 1 of 2 brief interventions predicted changes in alcohol use at 6 months postintervention. Higher total Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores predicted greater changes, and specific AUDIT items were significant predictors.     

Development switch in neural circuitry underlying odor-malaise learning

Fetal and infant rats can learn to avoid odors paired with illness before development of brain areas supporting this learning in adults, suggesting an alternate learning circuit. Here we begin to document the transition from the infant to adult neural circuit underlying odor-malaise avoidance learning using LiCl (0.3 M; 1% of body weight, ip) and a 30-min peppermint-odor exposure. Conditioning groups included: Paired odor-LiCl, Paired odor-LiCl-Nursing, LiCl, and odor-saline. Results showed that Paired LiCl-odor conditioning induced a learned odor aversion in postnatal day (PN) 7, 12, and 23 pups. Odor-LiCl Paired Nursing induced a learned odor preference in PN7 and PN12 pups but blocked learning in PN23 pups. 14C 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) autoradiography indicated enhanced olfactory bulb activity in PN7 and PN12 pups with odor preference and avoidance learning. The odor aversion in weanling aged (PN23) pups resulted in enhanced amygdala activity in Paired odor-LiCl pups, but not if they were nursing. Thus, the neural circuit supporting malaise-induced aversions changes over development, indicating that similar infant and adult-learned behaviors may have distinct neural circuits.     

Gender differences in victimized homeless adolescents

Most of what we know about sexual abuse comes from efforts to examine female children victimized by men. Although some researchers have identified similarities between male and female victims of sexual abuse, few studies have examined gender-specific factors associated with sexual health practices among homeless adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore how gender and history of sexual abuse influence cognitive-perceptual and behavioral factors associated with sexual health practices of homeless adolescents. This study was a secondary analysis of data collected for a cross-sectional study of the sexual health practices of homeless adolescents. The sample consisted of 414 youths (104 males who reported sexual abuse and 124 who did not; and 95 females who reported sexual abuse and 75 who did not; 16 did not provide these data). Homeless adolescent females with a history of sexual abuse scored higher (indicating a shorter perspective) on a measure of future time perspective than females with no sexual abuse. Males who reported no sexual abuse scored higher than abused females on perceived health status and higher than abused males on assertive communication. With respect to perceived health status, males who reported no sexual abuse scored significantly higher than females who reported sexual abuse (p = .04). Males with no sexual abuse had significantly higher assertive communication scores than did males who had experienced sexual abuse (p = .015). We found that male and female abuse victims differ in terms of their cognitive-perceptual and behavioral factors associated with sexual health practices. Early identification of those who have been abused is critical so that interventions can be developed. Effective short-term interventions are needed for the adolescent victims of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), particularly those who are homeless and prone to further sexual victimization.     

A Recess Evaluation with the Players: Taking Steps Toward Participatory Action Research

This qualitative study, part of a Canadian national study of fathers’ involvement, opened up First Nations and Métis fathering as a new area of inquiry. Conversational interviews with 80 Indigenous fathers illuminated the socio-historical conditions that have shaped Indigenous men’s experiences of learning to be a father and becoming a man in the context of changing gender relationships and the regeneration of circles of care. Indigenous fathers’ experiences unfold in a socio-historical context fraught with difficulties. However, the study findings suggest cultural strengths and sources of resilience unseen in research and community programs driven by Euro-western perspectives. This research can inform efforts to reduce systemic barriers and reconstitute positive father involvement following disrupted intergenerational transmission of fathering in Canada and elsewhere.