Predicting Nonresponse Bias from Teacher Ratings of Mental Health Problems in Primary School Children

The impact of nonresponse on estimates of mental health problems was examined in a prospective teacher screen in a community survey of 9,155 7–9 year olds. For 6,611 of the children, parents consented to participation in the actual study (Responders), while for 2,544 children parental consent was not obtained (Nonresponders). The teacher screen involved assessment of a broad set of symptoms of mental health problems and functional impairment. Calculations of non-response coefficients, a function of effect sizes and non-response proportion, revealed only ignorable nonresponse bias for both mean scores and correlations. However, the results from binary logistic regressions revealed that children ascribed signs of mental health problems by their teachers were less likely to participate. This was most frequent among children with only moderate symptoms. However, it also involved children with high symptom scores related to inattention, hyperactivity, emotions and peer relationship problems. These findings suggest that measures based on effect size can underestimate the magnitude of non-response bias and that a logistic regression approach may be more appropriate for studies geared at estimating prevalence of mental health problems in children. The study was financially supported by the Norwegian Research Council, The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs, Western Norwegian Regional Health Authority, the L. Meltzer legacy for the University of Bergen, and the City of Bergen.     

Informing supervision practice through research: A narrative inquiry

Intention: This study focused on questions of whether and how clients benefit from supervision. As practitioner research, the study was intended to shape the researchers’ own supervision practice. Method: The qualitative approach was based on interviews with a small number of experienced practitioners about their supervision experiences. The findings are presented in the form of reflexive stories, told by each researcher. Findings: In these stories the researchers tell how engagement with experienced practitioners’ accounts of their past supervision shaped the hopes and intentions the researchers hold for their future supervision. Implications forpractice: The stories suggest there are therapeutic benefits in an ethic of transparency that provides for practices that overtly carry stories in both directions between counselling and supervision.     

Understanding Change in Recycling and Littering Behavior Across a School Social Network

Understanding how communities change requires examining how individuals’ beliefs and behaviors are shaped by those around them. This paper investigates behavior change across a large social network following a recycling intervention in a New Zealand high school community. We used a mixed methods design, combining focus group data with social network analysis from two waves of a questionnaire that measured friendship networks; recycling and littering behaviors; perceived behavioral norms; and teacher, friend, and parent encouragement for these behaviors. Recycling behavior increased significantly over the course of our study. Supporting the importance of social networks in this context, both littering and recycling behavior showed clear social clustering. Further, the degree of change in an individuals’ littering and recycling behavior across time was predicted by friends’ prior behavior. Focus group data provided insight into students’ perceptions of social interactions and how these contributed to littering and recycling behavior.     

Games in Clinical Genetic Counseling Supervision

Games are defined as ongoing series of complementary ulterior transactions that are superficially plausible but have a concealed motivation to maximize pay-offs and minimize penalties for the initiator. While some games are harmless and part of socialization, others are destructive. Destructive game-playing in clinical supervision, in which game-playing (initiated by either supervisors or students) interferes with a student's realization of internship goals, has been documented in some allied healthcare professions but has not yet been studied in genetic counseling. Genetic counselors and clinical supervisors of genetic counseling students were anonymously surveyed regarding their experiences with destructive game-playing. Results show that such games do occur in genetic counseling clinical supervision. Some games are the same or similar to ones previously described in other health-care professions; others may be unique to genetic counseling. The purpose of this paper is to document these games as a first step to facilitating dialogue, understanding and awareness of them.     

A Comparison of AAMFT Approved Supervisors with Master’s and Doctoral Degrees

Given the importance of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Approved Supervisors to education, training, and regulation of marital and family therapists (MFTs), this study used 2001 national survey data to compare masters prepared AAMFT Approved Supervisors with those who possessed a doctorate. There has been a consistent increase from 1976 when 33% of Approved Supervisors were masters practitioners until today where they comprise approximately half of the Approved Supervisors respondents. We found modest differences with some overlap between masters and doctoral supervisors. More doctoral AAMFT Approved Supervisors provided supervision in private practice settings, were involved in professional organizations, had a pluralistic theoretical orientation, and were involved in ongoing MFT scholarship.     

A Developmental Approach to the Supervision of Therapists in Training

Supervision is considered essential to therapeutic effectiveness yet trainees frequently report negative supervisory experiences. Although such experiences may be due to inadequate or poor supervision, more often they result from differing needs or expectations among trainees. Thus, supervisors must struggle to determine how to best conduct supervision. We propose that many negative experiences result from a supervisors inattention to the trainees development as a mature individual. By examining the cognitive and emotional development of trainees supervisors are offered a framework from which to select interventions and strategies that encourage rather than discourage trainees.     

The Exchange Boundary Framework: Understanding the Evolution of Power within Collaborative Decision-Making Settings

Many community decision-making bodies encounter challenges in creating conditions where stakeholders from disadvantaged populations can authentically participate in ways that give them actual influence over decisions affecting their lives (Foster-Fishman et al., Lessons for the journey: Strategies and suggestions for guiding planning, governance, and sustainability in comprehensive community initiatives. W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, MI, 2004). These challenges are often rooted in asymmetrical power dynamics operating within the settings (Prilleltensky, J Commun Psychol 36:116–136, 2008). In response, this paper presents the Exchange Boundary Framework, a new approach for understanding and promoting authentic, empowered participation within collaborative decision-making settings. The framework expands upon theories currently used in the field of community psychology by focusing on the underlying processes through which power operates in relationships and examining the evolution of power dynamics over time. By integrating concepts from social exchange theory (Emerson, Am Soc Rev 27:31–41, 1962) and social boundaries theory (Hayward, Polity 31(1):1–22, 1998), the framework situates power within parallel processes of resources exchange and social regulation. The framework can be used to understand the conditions leading to power asymmetries within collaborative decisionmaking processes, and guide efforts to promote more equitable and authentic participation by all stakeholders within these settings. In this paper we describe the Exchange Boundary Framework, apply it to three distinct case studies, and discuss key considerations for its application within collaborative community settings.     

How Big is My Neighborhood? Individual and Contextual Effects on Perceptions of Neighborhood Scale

Neighborhood is a social and geographic concept that plays an increasingly important role in research and practice that address disparities in health and well-being of populations. However, most studies of neighborhoods, as well as community initiatives geared toward neighborhood improvement, make simplifying assumptions about boundaries, often relying on census geography to operationalize the neighborhood units. This study used geographic information system (GIS) tools to gather and analyze neighborhood maps drawn by residents of low-income communities in 10 cities. The median resident map size was approximately 30 percent smaller than the median census tract, but 25 percent of residents viewed their neighborhood as quite small (less than one-fifth of the typical census tract). Multi-level modeling showed significant within context variation in perceived neighborhood scale. Longer term residents with higher education and income and who were more engaged in the neighborhood held more expansive views. But there were also contextual influences with higher density and mixed use areas associated with smaller perceived neighborhoods, and higher collective efficacy associated with larger neighborhood sizes. Artificially imposed neighborhood units may misrepresent resident experience, but GIS tools can be used to craft more authentic neighborhood definitions for research and practice.     

The relationship of supervisor and trainee gender match and gender attitude match to supervisory style and the supervisory working alliance

Background: Gender‐related events have the potential to impact the supervisory relationship. Gender events might be related to the match between supervisors and supervisees on variables such as gender or gender attitudes. Method: In this study, we sought to determine whether gender match and gender attitude match were related to supervisory style and the supervisory working alliance in 94 supervisory dyads using four instruments: the Gender Attitude Inventory; Operationalisation of Gender Match; Supervisory Styles Inventory; and the Working Alliance Inventory/Supervision. Results: Progressive dyads (in which supervisors have more liberal attitudes about societal issues and culturally defined roles for women than their supervisees) were perceived by supervisors as more task‐oriented than parallel‐high dyads (in which supervisors and supervisees both had liberal attitudes). Implications for counselling supervision are discussed.