Stop It Now! A Pilot Study Into the Limits and Benefits of a Free Helpline Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

Stop It Now! aims to prevent child sexual abuse using a free anonymous helpline. It provides information, advice, and guidance to anyone concerned about child sexual abuse. It targets people who have sexually abused children or who are worried that they might do so. This article presents findings from a pilot study on the operation and outcomes of the helplines in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The findings underline the strength of the public health approach to prevention efforts. More specifically, benefits reported by helpline users are shown to correspond with the aims of the helplines. A number of factors were reported by users that helped them modify their own or others’ actions to minimize risk of abuse. However, a challenge that remains is ensuring that helplines are accessible to those most in need. Recommendations are included to further expand the effect of Stop It Now! in reducing CSA.     

Practical Ways Psychotherapy Can Support Physical Healthcare Experiences for Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

This pilot study was conducted to examine older child molestation victims' self-report of their long-term psychological adjustment at least 12 months after the date of their initial clinic evaluation. Female participants were assesed using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, Children's Depression Inventory, and the Hopelessness Scale which were also administered during their first evaluation. T-ratios revealed that scores on all measures, including five of the six Piers-Harris subscales showed significant improvement. The high rate of noncompliance associated with this population is also discussed in terms of removal from the home, type of abuse, and age of the perpetrator.     

Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual,and Transgendered People and Chemical Dependency: Exploring Successful Treatment

This exploratory and quantitative study presents a model of treatment success of the nation's oldest and largest chemical dependency treatment provider for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) population. The main purpose is to examine the potential ability of the predictor variables’ degree of affiliation with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the severity of chemical use, the strength of a higher power relationship, attitudes about sexual orientation, and length of time in treatment to predict length of time clean and sober.

The proposed model demonstrated the ability to explain 29% of the variance in time clean and sober. Results lend tentative support for culturally competent treatment and include specific intervention recommendations for professionals, including social workers, chemical dependency counselors, and therapists.     

Lesbian Mothering in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence

SUMMARY

Twenty-four lesbian mothers (12 African American, 9 White, and 3 Latina) who had experienced physical abuse by a same-sex partner were interviewed. Three types of IPV were found: intimate terrorism, situational violence, and mutual violent control. Further, relationships between mothers/abusers, mothers/children, and abusers/children were examined. Regarding relationships with abusers, 71% of mothers reported lengthy sagas, 17% had worked it out, and 13% made a clean break from the abuser. Regarding relationships with their children, 48% of mothers hid the violence, 26% minimized it, and 26% openly communicated about the situation. Relationships between abusers and the mothers' children were found to be either co-parental (29%), playmate (21%), abusive (21%), or non-parental (21%). Correlations among relational and demographic variables were also examined.     

Associations Among Attachment Style,Burnout, and Compassion Fatigue in Health and Human Service Workers: A Systematic Review

Health and human service workers are at risk for developing burnout or compassion fatigue due to the demanding nature of their work. Attachment theory makes specific predictions that may help explain why some workers experience burnout or compassion fatigue and others do not. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify and attempt to explain patterns and inconsistencies in results across studies that have examined the association between adult attachment style and burnout or compassion fatigue. Ten studies representing a diverse range of disciplines within the health and human service sectors were included in the research synthesis. The findings demonstrated consistent results for secure and anxious attachment, suggesting that attachment security is associated with lower levels of burnout, whereas attachment anxiety is associated with higher levels of burnout. Some studies found an association between avoidant attachment and burnout, whereas others did not. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the selection, training, and supervision of health and human service workers.     

Are Adult Patients More Tolerant of Treatment Risks Than Parents of Juvenile Patients?

Understanding patient-specific differences in risk tolerance for new treatments that offer improved efficacy can assist in making difficult regulatory and clinical decisions for new treatments that offer both the potential for greater effectiveness in relieving disease symptoms, but also risks of disabling or fatal side effects. The aim of this study is to elicit benefit-risk trade-off preferences for hypothetical treatments with varying efficacy and risk levels using a stated-choice (SC) survey. We derive estimates of "maximum acceptable risk" (MAR) that can help decisionmakers identify welfare-enhancing alternatives. In the case of children, parent caregivers are responsible for treatment decisions and their risk tolerance may be quite different than adult patients' own tolerance for treatment-related risks. We estimated and compared the willingness of Crohn's disease (CD) patients and parents of juvenile CD patients to accept serious adverse event (SAE) risks in exchange for symptom relief. The analyzed data were from 345 patients over the age of 18 and 150 parents of children under the age of 18. The estimation results provide strong evidence that adult patients and parents of juvenile patients are willing to accept tradeoffs between treatment efficacy and risks of SAEs. Parents of juvenile CD patients are about as risk tolerant for their children as adult CD patients are for themselves for improved treatment efficacy. SC surveys provide a systematic method for eliciting preferences for benefit-risk tradeoffs. Understanding patients' own risk perceptions and their willingness to accept risks in return for treatment benefits can help inform risk management decision making.     

Product placements as public relations: an exploratory study of the role of the public relations firm

This article reports the results of a survey of 106 public relations firms concerning their level of involvement with product placements as part of their public relations strategies. The findings of this research suggest that public relations practitioners are active players in choosing whether to use product placements to enhance a client’s product or service. Results also indicate that practitioners are more knowledgeable about product placements than previously believed and that they are more enthusiastic about the future of product placements than their advertising counterparts.Carol J. Pardun is an assistant professor of public relations and advertising at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Kathy Brittain McKee is an associate professor of journalism at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.     

Consumer participation in the employment rehabilitation process: contextual factors and implications for practice

Rehabilitation models of practice have emerged that offer persons' with disabilities opportunities to have an active role in the work entry or re(entry) process. Despite the growth and interest in empowering client involvement in practice, consumer views on the determinants of participation are not fully understood. Thus, consumer feedback on using a self-directed approach to employment rehabilitation was elicited to identify factors integral to their participation in the process. Focus groups were conducted with 35 adult consumers with developmental, mental health, physical and learning disabilities to gain insights into their involvement in a participatory approach to find employment. Content analysis of data revealed barriers and facilitators, which hindered or enabled consumer involvement in the vocational service process. This article discusses the importance of considering issues across the rehabilitation system, practice and lived contexts when implementing participatory approaches in vocational rehabilitation settings.