Association between adolescent rough-and-tumble play and conduct problems,substance use,and risk-taking behaviors: Findings from a school-based sample

Rough-and-tumble play (RTP), also known as play fighting, is a common form of play frequently reported and studied by researchers. However, one important limitation of past research in the area of RTP has been the neglect of the adolescence period. Consequently, little is known about the function of adolescent RTP as well as about clinical characteristics of youth who engage in this activity after childhood. In a school-based sample of 1,771 middle school students (ages 9–16 years), the current study sought to address this gap by examining, via bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, the potential cross-sectional associations of adolescent RTP with (a) selected demographic variables, (b) conduct problem symptoms, (c) substance use, and (d) risk-taking behaviors, including adjustment for several demographic confounders. Results indicated that adolescents reporting higher rates of conduct problem symptoms were more likely to report a recent participation in RTP. In addition, substance use (experimentation and current consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) and risk behaviors assessed all were strongly associated with an increased likelihood of reporting an engagement in RTP. This finding suggests that participation in this activity probably implicates particular phenotypic characteristics including the propensity to engage in health-damaging behaviors. But the most profound issue raised by this research concerns the strong relationship between RTP and great levels of conduct disorder symptoms, suggesting a possible significant change in the functional significance of RTP in the adolescence period.     

Predictors of treatment outcome for youth receiving intensive residential treatment for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD)

ABSTRACT

Little is known about the predictors of outcome from intensive residential treatment of OCD. This study aimed to examine age, gender, and baseline OCD severity, as well as measures of comorbid anxiety and depressive, internalizing/externalizing, and inattention symptoms, as predictors of treatment outcome in adolescents receiving intensive residential treatment for OCD.

The sample comprised 314 adolescents aged 13–17 years with treatment-resistant OCD and a Children’s Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale Self-Report (CY-BOCS-SR) total score ≥16. Bivariate and multiple regression models were used to evaluate the predictors of continuous OCD severity outcome and treatment response.

Results of the bivariate regression analyses of predictors demonstrated that length of treatment, pre-treatment OCD severity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression significantly predicted post-treatment OCD severity, while only symptoms of depression and anxiety predicted treatment response. When including all predictors in the same model, only baseline OCD severity remained a significant predictor of post-treatment OCD severity, and none of the assessed variables significantly predicted treatment response.

Results indicate that low pre-treatment OCD severity predicts lower OCD severity following treatment, although it did not predict treatment response.     

A trainee psychotherapist’s heuristic exploration of losing a mother to suicide

ABSTRACT

Suicide bereavement is a newly developing field of research in the UK, yet over 6,600 people take their own lives here every year. This heuristic inquiry aims to explore the lived experiences of trainee psychotherapists bereaved by maternal suicide. It examines the lived experiences of the researcher and two participants, with data collected through interviews, dreams and journalling. The findings revealed five themes: 1) It’s not just about the suicide, 2) The pain continues – attachment, abandonment and fear, 3) Left with all the unprocessed feelings – “the shit”, 4) Trigger after trigger – complicated experiences of psychotherapy training, 5) A catastrophic loss that no one “gets”. Implications for the counselling and psychotherapy profession are discussed.     

Table talk: inviting students to share the feast

This account describes part of the first morning of the AFT accredited South Yorkshire Foundation Course in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. The course committee members join together in a reflective conversation about the course. We share with the students our ‘kitchen table’ discussions, the history of our involvement, and how it has affected our lives. We aim to introduce social constructionist practice in which we present the context of the course and address the power relationships in the room by being transparent about our own experiences. We hope to create an atmosphere in which learning can flourish.