Steve de Shazer and the future of solution-focused therapy

Steve de Shazer who, along with Insoo Kim Berg, co-founded the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) approach, recently passed away. In this article we will offer a brief biographical sketch and then discuss the current state of the art of SFBT as it applies to practice, training, and research. Future directions for SFBT, such as the emergence of professional associations, the increased research interest in SFBT as evidenced-based practice, the recent focus on process-research to determine the mechanisms of change within SFBT, and the application of SFBT to education are discussed.     

Evidence for significant polydrug use among ecstasy-using college students

Ecstasy (MDMA) has been added to the spectrum of illicit drugs used by college students. In this study, the authors estimated the prevalence of ecstasy use within a large college student sample and investigated the polydrug-use history of those ecstasy users. They administered an anonymous questionnaire to college students (N = 1,206) in classrooms at a large university in the mid-Atlantic United States. The overall student response rate was 91%. Nine percent of the sample reported lifetime ecstasy use. Because 98% of ecstasy users had used marijuana, the authors compared polydrug use between ecstasy users and individuals who had used marijuana but not ecstasy. Ecstasy users, as compared with these marijuana users, were significantly more likely to have used inhalants (38% vs. 10%), LSD (38% vs. 5%), cocaine (46% vs 2%), and heroin (17% vs 1%) in the past year. Significant polydrug use among college student ecstasy users has important implications for their substance abuse treatment.     

Twenty-first century learning in afterschool

Twenty-first century skills increasingly represent the ticket to the middle class. Yet, the authors argue, in-school learning is simply not enough to help students develop these skills. The authors make the case that after-school (or out-of-school) learning programs are emerging as one of the nation's most promising strategies for preparing young people for the workforce and civic life. Most school systems have significant limitations for teaching twenty-first century skills. They have the limits of time: with only six hours per day there is barely enough time to teach even the basic skills, especially for those students starting already behind. They have the limits of structure: typical school buildings and classrooms are not physically set up for innovative learning. They have the limits of inertia and bureaucracy: school systems are notoriously resistant to change. And perhaps most important, they have the limits of priorities: especially with the onset of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools are laserlike in their focus on teaching the basics and therefore have less incentive to incorporate twenty-first century skills. Meanwhile, the authors argue that after-school programs are an untapped resource with three competitive advantages. First, they enable students to work collaboratively in small groups, a setup on which the modern economy will increasingly rely. Second, they are well suited to project-based learning and the development of mastery. Third, they allow students to learn in the real-world contexts that make sense. Yet the after-school sector is fraught with challenges. It lacks focus-Is it child care, public safety, homework tutoring? And it lacks rigorous results. The authors argue that the teaching of twenty-first century skills should become the new organizing principle for afterschool that will propel the field forward and more effectively bridge in-school and out-of-school learning.     

Usual care for trauma-exposed youth: Are clinician-reported therapy techniques evidence-based?

The current study examined the extent to which usual care interventions targeting childhood traumatic stress involved the application of practice elements (Chorpita, Daleiden, & Weisz, 2005) represented among the evidenced-based treatments (EBTs) for trauma. Youth age and the presence of conduct problems at intake were examined as potential predictors of differences in the presence of elements from EBTs. Data were obtained from archival records from 814 youth who received services from a large, community-based mental health system. Results showed that usual care clinicians reported a variety of practices, only some of which were common to the evidence base for traumatic stress. ‘Exposure’ stood out as the most common practice element among EBTs for treating traumatic stress, but it was reported in fewer than a quarter of usual care cases. For youth receiving out-of-home services, a diagnosis of PTSD predicted that fewer practice elements from EBTs for trauma were reported. Also, as youth age increased, clinicians reported using more practice elements from the evidence base. These findings point to possible opportunities for service improvement in usual care settings for trauma-exposed youth and at the same time call into question whether aspects of the context or population warrant increased use of techniques not associated with EBTs for traumatic stress (cf. Brookman-Frazee, Haine, Baker-Ericzén, Zoffness, & Garland, 2010; Southam-Gerow, Chorpita, Miller, & Gleacher, 2008).     

Measuring the Quality of Peer-Reviewed Publications in Social Work: Impact Factors—Liberation or Liability?

Systems for measuring the quality of publications in peer-reviewed academic journals have achieved importance in the ‘audit culture’ to which academia worldwide has become increasingly subjected. In the United Kingdom this debate has focused on government proposals to give greater emphasis to bibliometrics (counts of journal articles and their citations) as a measurement of research quality, in respect of publications in the emergent Research Excellence Framework (REF) which is set to replace the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). This approach impacts on social work educators who are the main producers of papers published in peer-reviewed academic journals. It affects their publishing behaviour by pressurising them to publish their work in journals that are regarded as being prestigious, for which ‘high impact factor’ journals as determined by Thomson Reuters—a private commercial information management enterprise with headquarters in the United States—has become a proxy for quality. In this paper the authors describe and critique the Thomson Reuters system as it applies to social work and propose an alternate fair, inclusive and transparent system for assessing the quality of publications based on peer evaluation and incorporating an ethical approach consistent with the discipline's professional values.     

Continuity and change in the regional stereotypes of southern college students, 1970–1987

This article examines the effects of the race and Hall of Fame membership of professional football players on the value of their “rookie” football cards. Several studies have examined the impact of race on the value of baseball cards, but only one paper has examined this topic among football card collectors. Data were derived from 177 black and white football players who are members of the NFL Hall of Fame or who have been on the final voting ballot for the Hall. All of the players in the sample started their careers after professional football became racially integrated. Data for each player's race, value of their rookie card, card availability (scarcity), performance, Hall membership, and position were obtained from secondary sources. The principle finding of the study is that when controlling for factors such as position, performance, and card scarcity, race applies an independent effect on the value of the rookie cards of NFL Hall of Fame members, but not among non-Hall of Fame cards. Speculation on why “race matters” and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Social Networks,Substance Use,and Mental Health in College Students

Abstract

Objectives: The relationship between social network risk (alcohol-using close friends), perceived peer closeness, substance use, and psychiatric symptoms was examined to identify risk and protective features of college students’ social context. Participants: Six hundred and seventy undergraduate students enrolled in a large southeastern university. Methods: An online survey was administered to consenting students. Results: Students with risky networks were at a 10-fold increase of hazardous drinking, 6-fold increase for weekly marijuana use, and 3-fold increase for weekly tobacco use. College students’ who feel very close to their peers were protected against psychiatric symptoms yet were at increased risk for marijuana use. Perceived closeness of peers was highly protective against psychiatric symptoms, adding a natural preventive effect for a population at great risk for mental illness. Conclusions: Results support targeting college students through network-oriented preventive interventions to address substance use as well as mental health.     

Gender Differences in the Path From Sexual Victimization to HIV Risk Behavior Among Homeless Youth

ABSTRACT

Experiencing sexual victimization prior to becoming homeless is common among homeless youth and is associated with increased HIV risk behavior. This study examined mediating variables that underlie this association, adding to the understanding of gender differences in these paths. Participants were homeless youth in Los Angeles recruited through service access centers who completed a computerized self-administered interview in English or Spanish using an iPad. Findings indicate a high presence of sexual victimization across both genders. Female participants experienced posttraumatic stress disorder and subsequent engagement with exchange sex, whereas male participants were primarily involved in substance use risk pathways. Results indicate paths in the association between sexual victimization and HIV risk behavior differ between male and female homeless youth. Gender-specific, mental-health-informed interventions targeting sexual risk reduction are warranted.     

American political affiliation, 2003-43: a cohort component projection

The recent rise in identification with American political parties has focused interest on the long-term dynamics of party support. Liberal commentators cite immigration and youth as forces that will produce a natural advantage for the Democrats in the future, while conservative writers highlight the importance of high fertility amongst Republicans in securing growth. These opinions are not based on demographic analysis. We addressed this omission by undertaking the first ever cohort component projection (up to 2043) of populations by American party allegiance, based on survey and census data. On current trends, we predict that American partisanship will change much less than the nation's ethnic composition because the parties are similar in age structure. Nevertheless, our projections suggest that the Democrats will gain 2-3 per cent more support than the Republicans by 2043, mainly through immigration, although the higher fertility of Republicans may eventually offset that advantage.