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.     

An Examination of the Effects of Stress Management Training for Japanese College Students of Social Work

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a stress-management program for college students of social work on their perception of mental stress and stress-coping strategies. Students in a stress-management group received progressive muscle training, cognitive-behavioral skills training, and assertion training for 14 weeks. Their life events, stress symptoms, and stress-coping skills (active and passive coping skills), evaluated on the first and last days of program, were compared with those of a control group. The effect of the participants' trait anxiety on those variables was also examined. Because the stress-management program in the present study focused on coping strategies, it was expected that the students' coping skills would change. The results showed that passive coping skills of students in the stress-management group had decreased after the program.     

Comparison of blinking behavior during listening to and speaking in Japanese and English

Blinking behavior during conversation may be different between conditions in listening and responding to questions because sifting attention from external to internal is possibly associated. The purpose of this study was to compare blinking behavior, duration, heart rates, and mental states during the tasks of listening to and responding to questions in Japanese and English. Participants were 67 (35 men and 32 women) undergraduate students. Blink rate while responding to questions in English did not differ from that while responding to questions in Japanese, but blink rate while listening to questions in English was significantly reduced compared to that while listening to Japanese. While anxiety and uneasiness were increased by the English conversation, blink rate and heart rate were decreased. Blinking behavior may be related to thinking and attention.     

A Multilevel Meta-analysis on Academic Achievement Among Maltreated Youth

Maltreatment can influence normative development and negatively impact emotional, behavioral, and social functioning in youth. As a result, it is not surprising that maltreated youth, as compared to non-maltreated youth, tend to underperform academically. Research on the academic performance of maltreated youth has increased over the last decade and several review papers have been published in this area. While the conclusions of these review articles have been that maltreated youth are at greater risk for academic deficits as compared to their non-maltreated peers, there are several conflicting findings within the literature that make it difficult to determine if or to what extent maltreated youth may demonstrate academic difficulty. Using a multilevel, structural equation model meta-analysis technique, the current study sought to provide a quantitative synthesis of the literature by examining the mean difference between maltreated and non-maltreated youth on measures of academic performance. Moreover, the current study also examined group differences between academic subject and maltreatment type. A total of 72 effect sizes were extracted from 32 studies that met inclusion criteria. Results demonstrated an overall negative, medium effect size, such that maltreated youth tended to perform slightly greater than half a standard deviation below non-maltreated youth on measures of academic performance. Moderation analyses suggest deficits may be greater on measures of general academic performance, as compared to language arts measures. No differences were observed for maltreatment type. These findings highlight the need for increased focus on academic difficulties among maltreated youth.     

Acquisition of a same-different discrimination task by pigeons (Columba livia)

Four homing pigeons were trained to discriminate two figures simultaneously presented on an LCD screen. The figure was either a rectangle (A) or a square (B), and four combinations of the two figures, AA, AB, BA, BB, appeared in a pseudo-randomized order. The pigeons' task was to peck one of these figures based upon whether the two figures were identical or not. One pigeon successfully learned this discrimination, with proportions of correct responses above 90% in two consecutive sessions. Of the other birds, two performed above chance level but had difficulty meeting a learning criterion of above 80% in two consecutive sessions. All birds achieved this criterion when the combinations of figures presented were reduced to two. Results suggested that learning the present same-different discrimination is within the capacity of pigeons to a certain extent, although there exists considerable individual variation in the pigeons' skills to acquire complex discrimination.     

A Study of the Psychometric Properties of the Social Support Scale for Children

The Social Support Scale for Children (SSSC; Harter, 1985a) is one of the most commonly used measures of perceived social support and positive regard from others in children and young adolescents. Research on the validity of the SSSC, however, is limited. The current study examined the test-retest reliability, internal validity intersubscale correlations, and convergent validity of the SSSC. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed using structural equation modeling. The participants included 279 youth between the ages of 6 to 15 from three metropolitan areas in the Midwest. The results supported the reliability and validity of the SSSC. The results supported the four factor solution reported by Harter (1985a). Rewording or removal of two items is suggested.     

Performance of pigeons (Columba livia) on maze problems presented on the LCD screen: in search for preplanning ability in an avian species

The authors examined how pigeons (Columba livia) perform on 2-dimensional maze tasks on the LCD monitor and whether the pigeons preplan the solution before starting to solve the maze. After training 4 pigeons to move a red square (the target) to a blue square (the goal) by pecking, the authors exposed them to a variety of detour tasks having lines as a barrier. A preview phase was introduced, during which the pigeons were not allowed to peck at the monitor. Results of a set of experiments suggest that our pigeons successfully learned to solve these tasks, that they came to take an efficient strategy as the barriers became complex, and that they possibly preplan its solution, at least on familiar, well-practiced tasks.     

Japanese social workers' healthy behaviours as related to masculinity: Focus on mental health workers and caregivers of children and nursing home residents

Due to the rapid ageing of the Japanese population, the demand for social services is increasing. However, these professions are not generally recognized yet. According to the report by Kawata (1984, 1986), social workers were distressed by low pay and low recognition for the profession, an inflexible, hierarchical administration system, and staff shortages. However, few studies have focused on social workers' healthy behaviours. The present study focused on the healthy behaviours of Japanese social workers and examined the relationship of these habits to masculinity and femininity, in addition to gender differences. To identify the healthy behaviours of social workers, we compared the behaviours of 32 mental health workers and 63 caregivers to those of 91 members of the general public who attended a summer course. Four questionnaires were administered: health locus of control (Watanabe, 1985), healthy behaviours (Munakata, 1996), health state, and Masculinity‐Humanity‐Femininity scale (Ito, 1978). The results revealed that females scored higher in masculinity than males, and females tended to assess their health state as poorer and were more active in preventive health than males. Social workers practice preventive healthy behaviours more than the general public. Between the two types of social workers, mental health workers tend to rely on medical services and believe that health and sickness are matters of luck, whereas caregivers tend to believe they can control their health by themselves. In the health locus of control, external control was more closely associated with poor health than internal control, and it was negatively correlated with masculinity. As masculinity is related to healthy behaviours, it may be an important factor influencing them. Both masculinity and femininity could be desirable, not for only better caregiving but also for the social workers' own health.     

The effect of sight levels on daily stressors and coping styles

The structures of daily stressful events of visually impaired people are reported, and the effects of the sight levels of the subjects on these structures are examined. Sixty‐nine visually impaired people (22 males, 47 females) were interviewed and divided into three groups according to their sight levels. Subjects provided examples of stressful events for three coping styles (Don’t, Do by others, Do by oneself). Statistical analyses of the data indicated that the sight levels of visually impaired people are related to the structure of stressful events and coping styles.     

Effects of communication skills on stress responses while speaking Japanese and English

The present study was conducted to examine the effects of communication skills on stress responses, such as physiological (blink and heart rate), emotional (state of anxiety and mood), and behavioral responses (smiling and expressing an opinion) in stressful communication situations, specifically answering questions and giving a speech in Japanese and English. Participants were 32 students (16 men and 16 women; Mage = 19.5 yr., SD = 1.3) attending a Japanese university. A high communication skills group was selected from the upper tertile scores of the Social Skills Inventory, and a low communication skills group was selected from the lower tertile scores. Analysis indicated that individuals who had high communication skills performed without heart-rate increase and with more positive attitude during stressful communication tasks. Individuals who had low communication skills displayed higher anxiety prior to the experiment than those who had high communication skills.