The Effects of Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analysis and Critique

A wide range of children's developmental outcomes are compromised by exposure to domestic violence, including social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and general health functioning. However, there are relatively few empirical studies with adequate control of confounding variables and a sound theoretical basis. We identified 41 studies that provided relevant and adequate data for inclusion in a meta-analysis. Forty of these studies indicated that children's exposure to domestic violence was related to emotional and behavioral problems, translating to a small overall effect (Z _r = .28). Age, sex, and type of outcome were not significant moderators, most likely due to considerable heterogeneity within each of these groups. Co-occurrence of child abuse increased the level of emotional and behavioral problems above and beyond exposure alone, based on 4 available studies. Future research needs are identified, including the need for large-scale longitudinal data and theoretically guided approaches that take into account relevant contextual factors.     

The Implications of Conjunctive and Disjunctive Forgiveness for Sexual Abuse

This article examines the relationship between forgiveness styles (conjunctive and disjunctive models) and sexual abuse. Surveys from 114 university students were analyzed for differences between non-sexually abused and sexually abused subjects on a number of psychological and physical well-being variables. A number of differences were found including higher levels of reported verbal and physical abuse for the sexually abused subjects. Only one sexually abused subject was found that fit the pattern of conjunctive forgiveness (one of reconciliation) towards the offender. The majority of sexually abused subjects preferred to keep their distance from the abuser, regardless of the extent to which the abuser had been forgiven. The results suggest that reconciliation within forgiveness may not be an appropriate goal for all subjects.     

Connections between experience, beliefs, scientific knowledge, and self-evaluated expertise among investigators of child sexual abuse in Finland

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether clinicians investigating child sexual abuse (CSA) rely more on scientific knowledge or on clinical experience when evaluating their own expertise. Another goal was to check what kind of pre-trial beliefs the clinicians had. The connections between these different factors were investigated. A questionnaire covering items concerning demographic data, experience, knowledge about CSA, self-evaluated expertise and beliefs about CSA was given to 126 social workers, 60 child psychiatrists and 134 psychologists. The results showed that the clinicians relied more on their clinical experience than on scientific knowledge when evaluating their expertise as investigators of CSA. Furthermore, social workers possessed stronger attitudes in favor of children than the other groups, while child psychiatrists had more negative attitudes towards the criminal justice system. Male participants had less strong beliefs than did the female participants. The findings indicate that the education of CSA investigators should focus more on theoretical knowledge and decision-making processes as well as the role of pre-trial beliefs.     

On beyond urine: clinically useful assessment instruments in the treatment of drug dependence

Although there are a wealth of clinically useful, brief, and low-cost assessment instruments available for use with drug-dependent populations, relatively few are broadly used in clinical practice. With an emphasis on: (1). the multidimensional nature of drug users' problems; and (2). assessments that can be integrated into empirically validated treatments, clinically useful assessments in four general categories (evaluation and diagnosis of drug dependence, identifying concurrent disorders and problems, treatment planning, and evaluation of treatment outcome) are briefly summarized. Progress in the field of drug abuse treatment has been significantly hampered by the failure to adopt, across research and clinical settings, a common set of assessments.     

Individual and contextual predictors of involvement in twelve-step self-help groups after substance abuse treatment

Drawing on ecological and narrative theories of self-help groups, this study tests a multilevel model predicting self-help group involvement among male veterans who received inpatient substance abuse treatment. Following K. Maton (1993), the study moves beyond the individual-level of analysis to encompass variables in the treatment and post-treatment social ecology. Surveys administered to patients (N = 3,018) and treatment staff (N = 329) assessed these predictor domains and self-help group involvement 1 year after discharge. A hierarchical linear model fit to the data indicates that greater involvement in 12-step groups after discharge is predicted by the compatibility between personal and treatment belief systems. The implications of these findings for efforts to facilitate transitions between inpatient professional treatment and community-based self-help groups are discussed.     

Evaluating Environmental Change Strategies: Challenges and Solutions

In this introductory article we define environmental change strategies (ECS), summarize the primary challenges associated with evaluating ECS, and provide an overview of the methods researchers have employed to begin to address these challenges. This special issue provides a range of examples, from researchers and practitioners in the field, of different approaches for addressing these challenges. These articles present new methods to understand and test how ECS are implemented and propose methods to evaluate their implementation. The content of the articles covers multiple public health issues, including substance abuse prevention, tobacco control, HIV prevention, and obesity prevention. This special issue is intended to build the evidence base for effective ECS, generate compelling discussion, critical analyses, and spur future research that will help improve the implementation and evaluation of ECS.     

Evaluation of a Spiritually Based Child Maltreatment Prevention Training Program

The authors empirically evaluated a spiritually based 1‐day child maltreatment training program. Pretest, posttest, and follow‐up results indicated that participants' recognition of hypothetical maltreatment did not increase after training. Furthermore, although participants decreased their use of items known to dissuade decisions to report, they were less likely to report maltreatment posttraining and 1 month later. Focus group data revealed that participants felt more knowledgeable but insufficiently prepared to respond to maltreatment and that they needed opportunities to practice what they had learned. Suggestions for clergy, pastoral counselors, and mental health professionals working within spiritual communities are provided to inform curriculum advancements.     

College Student High-Risk Drinking as a Maladaptive Serious Leisure Hobby

The role of occupational therapy in community child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) multidisciplinary teams is not well documented. This qualitative study investigated the perception of occupational therapy practice held by community CAMHS workers in the Perth, Australia, metropolitan region. Eight mental health community CAMHS professionals took part in semi-structured interviews. Three themes emerged which included team membership, the nature of the work, and the team and occupational therapy. This article focuses on the third theme. Findings suggest a limited understanding of the scope of occupational therapy practice. Implications for occupational therapy in CAMHS are discussed.