The First Twenty Years of the ELCA: Remembrances of a Retired Bishop

Abstract : The ELCA has experienced a number of significant events and developments in the first twenty years of its existence as a Church. In this article you will read about the preparation and direction that newly elected Bishops received for their ministry in their synods, and some of the struggles and joys that accompanied their work with one another and with their rostered leaders and congregations. It is the perspective of one retired Bishop Emeritus who gives an account of his ministry as he experienced it.     

A randomized control trial to investigate the impact of the Lidcombe Program on early stuttering in German-speaking preschoolers

In order to investigate whether the Lidcombe Program effects a short-term reduction of stuttered speech beyond natural recovery, 46 German preschool children were randomly assigned to a wait-contrast group or to an experimental group which received the Lidcombe Program for 16 weeks. The children were between 3;0 and 5;11 years old, their and both of their parents’ native language was German, stuttering onset had been at least 6 months before, and their stuttering frequency was higher than 3% stuttered syllables. Spontaneous speech samples were recorded at home and in the clinic prior to treatment and after 4 months. Compared to the wait-contrast group, the treatment group showed a significantly higher decrease in stuttered syllables in home-measurements (6.9%SS vs. 1.6%SS) and clinic-measurements (6.8%SS vs. 3.6%SS), and the same increase in articulation rate. The program is considered an enrichment of currently applied early stuttering interventions in Germany.

Educational objectives: Readers will discuss and evaluate: (1) the short-term effects of the Lidcombe Program in comparison to natural recovery on stuttering; (2) the impact of the Lidcombe Program on early stuttering in German-speaking preschool children.     

Teaching Beginning Braille Reading Using an Alphabet or Uncontracted Braille Approach

This study examined the effects of using a research based print reading program modified to accommodate beginning braille readers using an alphabet or uncontracted braille reading approach with five beginning braille readers. Four of the 5 participants displayed a clear increase in their ability to read high frequency words when they began using the Early Steps reading program modified to an Early Steps Alphabet Braille Reading Program. Study findings indicate that access to reading activities and materials afforded to sighted peers resulted in improved reading outcomes for children with visual impairments. Teachers, participants, and family members all viewed the use of the uncontracted braille reading program and materials favorably. Specialized reading instruction was also perceived as beneficial by teachers of students with visual impairments when the training addressed the specific needs of braille readers.     

Caregiver Involvement in the Intensive Mental Health Program: Influence on Changes in Child Functioning

We examined behavioral markers of caregiver involvement and the ways in which family participation was related to treatment outcomes in 47 elementary school children with SED enrolled in a school-based intensive mental health program. Measures of caregiver involvement included therapeutic home visits, attendance at therapeutic meetings, completion of ratings on the daily point sheet, and extra communications with the therapeutic team on the point sheet. Greater initial impairment was associated with greater caregiver involvement. Greater caregiver involvement was linked to improvement in child thought processes, increased ability to provide emotional and social supports for the child, and greater overall child functioning at discharge. Our findings also reflected increased therapists’ attempts to provide additional in-home services in cases where caregivers demonstrated a decline in their ability to provide for their children’s physical and material needs, or in which therapists discovered that the family functioning was more impaired than what was initially assessed. We provide a case study that exemplifies many of these findings.     

Challenges of Evaluating Multilevel Interventions

This article uses the Comprehensive Mixed-Methods Participatory Evaluation (CMMPE; Nastasi and Hitchcock Transforming school mental health services: Population-based approaches to promoting the competency and wellness of children, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press with National Association of School Psychologists 2008; Nastasi et al. School-based mental health services: creating comprehensive and culturally specific programs. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association 2004) model as a framework for addressing the multiplicity of evaluation decisions and complex nature of questions related to program success in multilevel interventions. CMMPE defines program success in terms of acceptability, integrity, social or cultural validity, outcomes (impact), sustainability and institutionalization, thus broadening the traditional notions of program outcomes. The authors use CMMPE and an example of a community-based multilevel sexual risk prevention program with multiple outcomes to discuss challenges of evaluating multilevel interventions. The sexual risk program exemplifies what Schensul and Tricket (this issue) characterize as multilevel intervention–multilevel evaluation (M–M), with both intervention and evaluation at community, health practitioner, and patient levels. The illustration provides the context for considering several challenges related to M–M designs: feasibility of randomized controlled trials within community-based multilevel intervention; acceptability and social or cultural validity of evaluation procedures; implementer, recipient, and contextual variations in program success; interactions among levels of the intervention; unanticipated changes or conditions; multiple indicators of program success; engaging multiple stakeholders in a participatory process; and evaluating sustainability and institutionalization. The complexity of multilevel intervention and evaluation designs challenges traditional notions of evaluation research and experimental designs. Overcoming these challenges is critical to effective translation of research to practice in psychology and related disciplines.     

Socio-Ecological Predictor Model of Parental Intention to Participate in Triple P-Positive Parenting Program

We examined variables associated with parental intention to participate in a parenting program viewed within a socio-ecological framework. In two metropolitan areas in Japan, 222 families voluntarily completed a series of questionnaires. A series of multiple regression analyses was used to evaluate the Socio-Ecological Predictor Model that was able to account for 50% of the variance associated with parental intention to participate in a parenting program. The most significant predictor in the model was program features, which accounted for 30% of the variance. It is important to consider program features that make it more likely that parents will engage positively in a parenting program. We discuss parental intention to participate in a parenting program as well as the limitations of the study and areas for future research.     

The Integration of Family and Group Therapy as an Alternative to Juvenile Incarceration: A Quasi‐Experimental Evaluation Using Parenting with Love and Limits

The current study employed a quasi‐experimental design using both intent‐to‐treat and protocol adherence analysis of 155 moderate‐ to high‐risk juvenile offenders to evaluate the effectiveness of Parenting with Love and Limits® (PLL), an integrative group and family therapy approach. Youth completing PLL had significantly lower rates of recidivism than the comparison group. Parents also reported statistically significant improvements in youth behavior. Lengths of service were also significantly shorter for the treatment sample than the matched comparison group by an average of 4 months. This study contributes to the literature by suggesting that intensive community‐based combined family and group treatment is effective in curbing recidivism among high‐risk juveniles.     

Can we Build on Social Movement Theories to Develop and Improve Community‐Based Participatory Research? A Framework Synthesis Review

A long‐standing challenge in community‐based participatory research (CBPR) has been to anchor practice and evaluation in a relevant and comprehensive theoretical framework of community change. This study describes the development of a multidimensional conceptual framework that builds on social movement theories to identify key components of CBPR processes. Framework synthesis was used as a general literature search and analysis strategy. An initial conceptual framework was developed from the theoretical literature on social movement. A literature search performed to identify illustrative CBPR projects yielded 635 potentially relevant documents, from which eight projects (corresponding to 58 publications) were retained after record and full‐text screening. Framework synthesis was used to code and organize data from these projects, ultimately providing a refined framework. The final conceptual framework maps key concepts of CBPR mobilization processes, such as the pivotal role of the partnership; resources and opportunities as necessary components feeding the partnership's development; the importance of framing processes; and a tight alignment between the cause (partnership's goal), the collective action strategy, and the system changes targeted. The revised framework provides a context‐specific model to generate a new, innovative understanding of CBPR mobilization processes, drawing on existing theoretical foundations.     

Valoración de un programa de habilidades interpersonales en niños superdotados

Certain research studies report that a number of gifted children show social adaptation issues, as well as problems with social and interpersonal skills, while others consider that this does not occur. In this regard, Neihart, Reis, Robinson and Moon (2002) speaks of a resilience approach versus a risk approach. From the risk viewpoint, this paper presents the benefits of applying training programs in interpersonal skills as to prevent potential problems in gifted children. For this reason, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program for solving interpersonal problems in this population. Participants include 40 gifted children aged 7 to 13, divided into a treatment group and a control – waitlisted – group. Program application results show significant differences in direct assessment measurements in the treatment group. An increase in effect sizes between the treatment group and the control group is also detected, in favor of the former, and a relationship between the children's learning potential and the benefits obtained is also confirmed. In short, the training program proves effective in interpersonal problem-solving skill improvement in children with high intellectual capacity.