More than therapy: The link between adverse childhood experiences,social support,and therapeutic services

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a cumulative effect on physical, emotional, and social well‐being throughout the life course. ACEs also impact parenting practices, which may contribute to intergenerational cycles of trauma. Access to child mental health services and caregiver social support are two protective factors that may reduce the burden of ACEs. To advance understanding of the relationships between caregiver social support and child mental health services among caregivers with ACEs, we interviewed 13 caregivers of young children receiving outpatient mental health services. Thematic analysis revealed the integral role of therapeutic providers in the social support circles of caregivers with high ACE scores. Caregivers frequently named therapeutic providers as the first point of contact in a problem situation. Implications for social work research, clinical practice, and advocacy are discussed.     

Everyday Discrimination Experienced by Conservative Christians at the Secular University

Two studies explore everyday discrimination experienced by conservative Christians in a secular university setting. In Study 1, 42 conservative Christian students documented 87 Anti-Christian incidents in one week of diaries. Incident frequency and type (e.g., Stereotyping, Hostility, and Interaction Difficulties) paralleled past research of more traditionally studied target groups (e.g., Hyers, 2007a ; Swim, Hyers, & Cohen, 1998 ). Unique patterns emerged as well (e.g., Overt Derogation and Belief Conflicts). In Study 2, a general sample of university students rated their sympathy for Anti-Christian, Sexist, and Anti-Black Racist incidents. Students had less sympathy for Anti-Christian incidents than for Anti-Black Racism and Sexism, though Christian students were more sympathetic to all types of prejudice. For Anti-Christian incidents, sympathy was highest for antagonistic types (e.g., Hostility and Teasing), moderate for Derogation, Belief Conflicts, and Stereotyping, and lowest for Interaction Difficulties. Implications for conceptions of everyday discrimination, diversity, and higher education are discussed.     

A Pilot Study to Explore the Influence of the ‘Safety First Assessment Intervention’ on the Family Environment

The family environment is considered an important influence on a young person's well‐being. The ‘Safety First Assessment Intervention’ is a model of care that considers and incorporates the importance of family environment when assessing and managing distressed young people. This pilot study explores the influence of the ‘Safety First Assessment Intervention’ on the family environment of young people referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. A pre‐ and post‐design was used, with families completing the Family Survey before and after their assessment/intervention. The Family Survey was correlated with a validated measure of family function, the APGAR, and pre‐intervention. Significant changes in multiple dimensions of family environment, including reduced level of distress for the adult, increased level of distress for the young person, improved sense of how the family felt the adult was managing currently, and improved confidence in family communication were found. There was no significant change in how the adult understood their role in helping the young person manage their distress. A thematic analysis showed trends in the current concerns for young people and adults as well as the difficulty young people in distress have in identifying their strengths. This pilot study demonstrates that the ‘Safety First Assessment Intervention’ can influence the family environment in a positive way and highlights the importance of using a family‐based approach for distressed young people.     

School Dropout as Predicted by Peer Rejection and Antisocial Behavior

This longitudinal study assessed the prediction of school dropout from measures of antisocial behavior, social preference, and achievement. The sample was assessed at 8th grade (n= 516) and was expanded at 10th grade (n= 1157). In the 8th, but not 10th grade, rejected–antisocial students had higher dropout rates than those in other groups. Seperate logistic regression analyses were then conducted using the 8th‐ and 10th‐grade data. Across both sets of analyses, aggression and achievement, but not social preference, predicted subsequent dropout. These results, in conjunction with those of others, suggests that social preference does not uniquely predict school dropout. The possibility exists, however, that youth who are both antisocial and rejected may be at heightened risk for school dropout.     

Pathways to Problem Gambling in Seniors

Little is known about problem gambling in older adults, particularly when gambling problems only commence late in life. Knowledge of pathways to later life problem gambling can assist prompt and effective interventions for vulnerable older adults. This study builds on a generic Pathways Model. It proposes routes to problem gambling for individuals aged 55 years and above, with a particular focus on late-life, rather than lifetime problem gambling. Gambling-related risk and protective factors/correlates were extracted from the literature based on the extent to which the studies were senior-specific. Common themes were then identified and classified into 3 main clusters: 1 concerning individual vulnerability factors, a 2nd concerning social and environmental factors, and a 3rd concerning factors affecting behavioural regulation.     

Spacing, Position, and Order: Interpretive Heuristics for Visual Features of Survey Questions

We present the results of six experiments that demonstrate theimpact of visual features of survey questions on the responsesthey elicit, the response process they initiate, or both. Allsix experiments were embedded in Web surveys. Experiments 1and 2 investigate the effects of the placement of nonsubstantiveresponse options (for example, "No opinion" and "Don’tknow" answer options) in relation to the substantive options.The results suggest that when these options are not differentiatedvisually (by a line or a space) from the substantive options,respondents may be misled about the midpoint of the scale; respondentsseemed to use the visual rather than the conceptual midpointof the scale as a reference point for responding. Experiment3, which varied the spacing of the substantive options, showeda similar result. Responses were pushed in the direction ofthe visual midpoint when it fell to one side of the conceptualmidpoint of the response scale. Experiment 4 examined the effectsof varying whether the response options, which were arrayedvertically, followed a logical progression from top to bottom.Respondents answered more quickly when the options followeda logical order. Experiment 5 examined the effects of the placementof an unfamiliar item among a series of similar items. For example,one set of items asked respondents to say whether several makesand models of cars were expensive or not. The answers for theunfamiliar items depended on the items that were nearby on thelist. Our last experiment varied whether a battery of relateditems was administered on a single screen, across two screens,or with each item on its own screen. The intercorrelations amongthe items were highest when they were all on the same screen.Respondents seem to apply interpretive heuristics in assigningmeaning to visual cues in questionnaires. They see the visualmidpoint of a scale as representing the typical or middle response;they expect options to be arrayed in a progression beginningwith the leftmost or topmost item; and they expect items thatare physically close to be related to each other conceptually.