Fostering secure attachment in low- and middle-income countries: Suggestions for evidence-based interventions

Children struggling with the effects of trauma in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) face a substantial mental health resource gap that limits their opportunities for positive psychosocial development. Multidisciplinary interventions working to close this gap may benefit from incorporating an empirically supported treatment (EST) into their approach that targets a universal mechanism implicated in resilience, like attachment. ESTs should be selected based on their level of empirical support and cultural adaptability, and then modified on the basis of qualitative evaluations conducted with the local population and stakeholders. This paper will provide an overview of attachment as a mechanism of resilience, a critical analysis of existing attachment-based ESTs, and recommendations for overcoming EST implementation barriers in LMIC.     

A Postmodern Critique of Societal Discourses of Male Violence in Interpersonal Family Relationships: A Balancing Act for Social Work

In recent years, treatments of family violence have tended to be built around conventional discourses suggesting that men are major initiators in instances of interpersonal violence. Utilizing a postmodernist analysis, we assess societal discourses that continue to give life to this narrow conceptualization of interpersonal violence. We also examine literature suggesting that both men and women resort to violence to resolve relationship difficulties and suggest that a more holistic and inclusive approach to understanding interpersonal violence is critical for social workers committed to social justice and a balanced understanding of the contextual nature of human problems.     

Factors That May Influence Parent Treatment Decision Making for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACT

The number of interventions available for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has expanded greatly in recent years, although relatively little is known about the factors that influence family caregivers as they make treatment decisions for their children. This study involved a statewide survey of parents of young children with ASD to examine the relative weights of the factors that influenced their treatment decisions. Results suggested that caregivers rely on their own intuition for much decision making, although selected professionals are also influential. Implications for professionals working with children with ASD and their families are discussed.     

The Role of Social Workers in the Treatment of Addictions

Abstract

This article describes the history of social workers' involvement in the treatment of addictions in the United States. Beginning with Mary Richmond, the “mother of social casework,” social workers have played an increasingly important role in the treatment of individuals with alcohol and other drug problems and of their family members. Today, social workers are important players not only in program development, administration, and treatment of chemical addictions, but also in “process” addictions, such as eating disorders and gambling. Moreover, social workers are increasingly involved in addictions research and policy arenas.     

An Evaluation of Simulations in Developmental Disabilities (SIDD): Instructional Software that Provides Practice in Behavioral Assessment and Treatment Decisions

ABSTRACT

Simulations in Developmental Disabilities (SIDD) is a multimedia computer program designed to provide undergraduate psychology students with practice in making assessment and treatment decisions. Eighteen undergraduate psychology students participated in an experiment to test the instructional effectiveness of SIDD. Post-test scores were significantly higher in the experimental group who received training with SIDD than in a control group who did not receive training. The students also rated the software positively. Future strategies to further evaluate the software are discussed.     

Comparison of causal effect estimators under exposure misclassification

Over the past decades, various principles for causal effect estimation have been proposed, all differing in terms of how they adjust for measured confounders: either via traditional regression adjustment, by adjusting for the expected exposure given those confounders (e.g., the propensity score), or by inversely weighting each subject's data by the likelihood of the observed exposure, given those confounders. When the exposure is measured with error, this raises the question whether these different estimation strategies might be differently affected and whether one of them is to be preferred for that reason. In this article, we investigate this by comparing inverse probability of treatment weighted (IPTW) estimators and doubly robust estimators for the exposure effect in linear marginal structural mean models (MSM) with G-estimators, propensity score (PS) adjusted estimators and ordinary least squares (OLS) estimators for the exposure effect in linear regression models. We find analytically that these estimators are equally affected when exposure misclassification is independent of the confounders, but not otherwise. Simulation studies reveal similar results for time-varying exposures and when the model of interest includes a logistic link.     

Narratives of Low-Income Mothers in Addiction Recovery Centers: Motherhood and the Treatment Experience

ABSTRACT

This study examines the narratives shared by low-income women in addiction recovery centers about the meaning they attach to being a parent in recovery and how they view current program models that include children in daily treatment. Their stories reflect the centrality of the mothering role to women in recovery and offer insights that can guide treatment and program planning with families.     

Standards of Care for the Treatment of Adult Sex Offenders

Summary

A proposed version of these standards was first produced and published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation through input from professional meetings (Coleman and Dwyer, 1990). Since that time, The Standards of Care were reviewed and revised by a group of professionals and unanimously endorsed by voice vote by the participants in the Third International Congress on the Treatment of Sex Offenders held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 20–22, 1994. These Standards were again published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation (Coleman, Dwyer, Abel, Berner, Breiling, Hindman, Honey-Knopp, Langevin, and Pfäfflin, 1996). Those Standards have been subsequently reviewed by the current authors at the Fifth International Conference on the Treatment of Sex Offenders held in Caracas, Venezuela, March 22–27, 1998 and minor modifications and changes were incorporated into this version. The authors invite feedback from readers. Further revisions are anticipated and will be reviewed by current committee members and at future International Conferences on the Treatment of Sexual Offenders.     

Religiosity as a Predictor of Successful Post-Treatment Abstinence for African-American Clients

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of religiosity as a predictor of post-treatment abstinence. A sample of 96 African-American clients receiving community-based outpatient alcoholism treatment were interviewed at treatment entry and three months later. Achieving complete abstinence was predicted from client gender and 17 other predictors, including 6 substance-related factors, 7 psychosocial and health variables, and 4 religiosity/spirituality measures. Bivariate analyses showed that abstainers drank less prior to treatment, had more prior formal treatment and AA involvement, practiced their religion more regularly, and scored higher on measures of both spirituality and extrinsic religiosity. In addition, women were more likely to achieve abstinence. Forward entry binary logistic regression revealed that, controlling for client gender and pre-treatment consumption, only regular practice of one's religion/faith significantly predicted abstinence. Recommendations include (1) the need for research to evaluate if the current findings can be generalized across race/ethnicity and religious affiliation and (2) directing more attention to clients' religiosity in alcoholism treatment.