Comments on how child protective services investigators decide to substantiate mothers for failure-to-protect in sexual abuse cases

This commentary discusses the decisions of child protective service (CPS) investigators to substantiate mothers for failure to- protect (FTP) in child sexual abuse cases. Four areas are identified in which the scientific literature remains inadequate to fully inform child maltreatment researchers, CPS practitioners and child welfare policymakers on models and outcomes for FTP substantiation decisions. Attention is called to the need for more information about how differences in statutory definitions, common guidelines, and professional education and training influence FTP substantiation decisions. Current gaps in the knowledge base on FTP and nonoffending caregivers are highlighted. doi:10.1300/J070v15n04_05.     

Increasing the usability of cognitive processing therapy for survivors of child sexual abuse

There is an ongoing need for empirically based treatments for child sexual abuse (CSA) that are time-efficient and cost-effective. This article describes a modification of cognitive processing therapy for child sexual abuse (CPT-SA) that increases the therapy's usability by reducing the number of individual therapy sessions required. The modifications are based on the developing literature on stage-based approaches to the treatment of CSA and incorporate dialectical behavior therapy skills training into the treatment protocol. Initial pilot data (N = 6) on modified CPT-SA suggests the therapy may be effective for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.     

Sexual abuse histories of youth in child welfare residential treatment centers: analysis of the Odyssey Project population

This multi-site examination of sexual abuse histories of youth in residential treatment centers asked, for the sample as a whole and by youth's gender: (a) How many perpetrators did each youth have? (b) What was the gender of the perpetrator? (c) What proportion of youth was abused by family members? (d) What proportion of youth was abused in a child welfare setting? And, (e) what proportion of sexually abused youth were also victims of physical abuse and/or neglect? Results revealed that males were more likely to have one perpetrator, a female perpetrator, and to have been abused in a child welfare setting and less likely be abused by a family member. Implications for refining programs and practices are discussed.     

The risk of partner aggression research: impact of laboratory couples conflict protocols on participants

The impact of male-to-female intimate partner violence (IPV) research on participants is unknown. A measure of impact was given to participants in an IPV study to assess systematically the impact of completing questionnaires, engaging in conflict conversations, and being interviewed individually about anger escalation and de-escalation during the conversations. Participants completed a six-question, Likert-scaled impact measure. Both male and female participants rated the impact of the study as helpful to them personally and to their relationships. Female participants rated different segments of the study as more helpful to themselves and their relationships, while male participants did not find any segment of the study to have a different impact than other segments.     

Parent-child interaction therapy: application of an empirically supported treatment to maltreated children in foster care

One of the more serious problems faced by child welfare services involves the management of children with serious behavioral and mental health problems. Aggressive and defiant foster children are more likely to have multiple foster care placements, require extraordinary social services resources, and have poor short- and long-term mental health outcomes. Interventions that work with challenging foster children and enhance foster parents' skills in managing problem behaviors are necessary. This article presents the successful results of a single case study examining the application of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) with an aggressive young boy and his foster-adoptive parent. PCIT is a dyadic intervention that has been identified as an empirically supported treatment for abused children and for children with different types of behavioral disruption. The application of PCIT to assist foster parents is a promising direction for child welfare services.     

Integrating the older/special needs adoptive child into the family

This qualitative, grounded theory study investigated 11 families who reported having successfully integrated into their family unit at least one older/special needs adoptee. The theory that emerged through the constant comparative methodology consisted of two categories (Decision to Adopt and Adjustment) and a core category (Developing a Sense of Family). The two categories and core category comprised a process that was informed by the Family Narrative Paradigm and culminated in the successful integration of the child or children into the existing family unit. Parental perceptions that appeared to facilitate this process included: (a) finding strengths in the children overlooked by previous caregivers, (b) viewing behavior in context, (c) reframing negative behavior, and (d) attributing improvement in behavior to parenting efforts.     

The relationship between negative mood and sexuality in heterosexual college woman and men

Negative mood states, such as depression and anxiety, are typically associated with decreased sexual interest and arousal. However, there is also some evidence that depressed or anxious mood may increase sexual interest or arousal in some individuals. In this study, 663 female college students (mean age = 18.9 years, SD = 1.21) answered questions regarding the effects of anxious and depressed mood on sexual interest and arousal and completed trait measures of sexual excitation and inhibition, anxiety, and depression. The majority of women reported decreased sexual interest and response when feeling depressed or anxious; a minority (about 10%) of women, however, reported increased sexual interest/response during anxious and depressed mood. This sample of women was compared to a sample of 399 college-aged men. In general, men were more likely than women to report increased sexual interest during negative mood states. Of the variables explored, propensity for sexual excitation was the strongest predictor of the relationship between negative mood and sexuality in women. Individual differences in the effects of negative mood may prove relevant to our understanding of a variety of topics, including risky and compulsive sexual behavior and sexual dysfunction.     

Interpersonal Influences on Students' Academic and Career Decisions: The Impact of Sexual Orientation

The authors investigated differences in interpersonal influences on career decision making between gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) and heterosexual college students. Contrary to hypotheses, GLB students reported having more career role models than did heterosexual students, and the amount of inspiration received from role models did not differ between the 2 groups. However, GLB students perceived they received less support and guidance from others in their academic and career decision making. As expected, GLB students were more likely to endorse the importance of a career role model's sexual orientation and support of people with their own sexual orientation. Career intervention and research implications are discussed.     

Understanding Interest in the Second Year of Life

Infants (n = 24, mean age 13 months and n = 24, mean age 19 months) were tested on an extension of the method introduced by Tomasello and Haberl (2003) to examine the understanding of another person’s interest in a novel object. Four objects were presented serially. For two objects, infants played with an experimenter. The infant played with one object alone, and the experimenter played with one object alone. Finally, all four objects were presented together, and the experimenter excitedly asked for one without indicating which. Results showed that younger infants tended to chose the object that they had not yet played with, whereas older infants were significantly more likely to choose the object that the experimenter had not yet played with. These results are discussed in the context of research on the development of understanding diversity of simple object‐directed attitudes in the second year of life.