International adoption and the formation of new family attachments

Clinical studies of children in international adoption reveal unique patterns of psychological adjustment to permanent family care. Pre‐adoption history often includes early object loss, medical and nutritional deprivation, multiple care‐giving disruptions, and the lack of primary care‐giving relationships. These factors and the age at the time of adoption are risks to positive emotional and cognitive development. Adoptive parents may be unprepared for the resulting developmental problems. Most significantly, parents and children are often at different points in readiness to establish an attachment relationship. The parents are eager to claim their child, but the child is unready to respond because of emotional fragility and lack of previous attachment experiences. Two clinical vignettes illustrate the importance of a developmental and medical framework in assessing the unique needs of these survivor children, as well as the necessity of an empathic therapeutic holding environment that can sustain the emerging family attachments under stress. The psychological impact of cross‐cultural adoption and traumatic early beginnings reverberates across time but with empathic parental care and treatment recovery can be significant.     

State Variations in Nursing Home Social Worker Qualifications

ABSTRACT

This is the first published account of state administrative code variations in nursing home social worker qualifications. It is important to review state codes because the majority of nursing homes in the U.S. have fewer than 121 beds and therefore are not required by the federal government to employ at least one full-time qualified social worker. States have the option of extending the federal regulations to homes with 120 or fewer beds, or strengthening the federal requirements in other ways. Findings indicate enormous variation in state requirements for qualifications of nursing home social workers, and even when states define a qualified nursing home social worker (not all do), they often exempt facilities from employing one. Seven states were found to be out of federal compliance. Research describing the qualifications of people employed in nursing home social services is called for, as well as research documenting effective psychosocial interventions, especially as they relate to resident quality of life. Ten recommendations for enhancing nursing home social work services are included.     

AIDS as a political issue: working with the sexually prostituted in the Philippines

An estimated 200,000-500,000 men, women, and children work in prostitution in the Philippines in a variety of venues, including brothels, nightclubs, pubs, massage parlors, and other legitimate entertainment establishments. Few, however, are voluntary prostitutes. Many people who work as prostitutes have been recruited from the provinces, kept in conditions similar to slavery, and forced to earn money from prostitution to pay for their transportation, board, and lodging. Many prostitutes work in urban centers and tourist resorts in the countryside. During the 1970s, then President Ferdinand Marcos promoted tourism as a major industry, effectively marketing attractive Filipinas to tourists. Sex tourism has flourished in the country ever since. Thousands of prostitutes are also located in Olongapo and Angeles, 2 cities north of Manila, from where they serve the sexual desires of US military personnel. The presence of US military personnel in the Philippines has always been associated with prostitution. The country's social hygiene centers, prostitutes in Manila and Davao, and AIDS education are briefly discussed.     

A review of research on techniques for lifting low-lying objects: 1. Criteria for evaluation

Advice and training on techniques for lifting is frequently provided. The choice of which technique to use should be based on the evidence available on a number of criteria. Important criteria include: psychophysical, physiological, biomechanical, psychological, performance and clinical. However few professionals have the time to read all the original research required to understand the limitations of the available criteria. The purpose of this paper was to present an accessible synthesis of the criteria used to choose a specific technique. Each criterion is described and its validity discussed to provide the reader with a better understanding of the criteria, and thus the evidence available.     

Validity of work-related assessments

Insufficient evidence of the validity of work-related assessments is frequently reported as a major concern in occupational rehabilitation. Despite this concern, and the continuing development of new and old assessments, no comprehensive evaluation of the evidence has been conducted. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to first determine the extent and quality of available evidence for the validity of work-related assessments, and then where sufficient evidence was available, determine the level of validity. STUDY DESIGN: This study examined available literature and sources in order to review the extent to which validity has been established for 28 work-related assessments. RESULTS: The levels of evidence and validity are presented for each assessment. Most work-related assessments have limited evidence of validity. Of those that had adequate evidence, validity ranged from poor to good. There was no instrument that demonstrated moderate to good validity in all areas. Very few work-related assessments were able to demonstrate adequate validity in more than one area, or with more than one study, even when contributory evidence was included. CONCLUSION: With this study clinicians will be able to examine their options with regard to the validity of the assessments they choose to use.     

Predictors for resolution of antisocial behavior among foster care youth receiving community-based services

Youth in the foster care system are more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness than those in the general population. Within this system, youth with antisocial behavior (e.g., aggressive, oppositional) are overrepresented. The challenges youth with antisocial behavior present to foster care systems make understanding the factors that predict remission in this population important for improving placement stability. Using Optimal Data Analysis (ODA), this study examines potential moderating effects of various individual, social, and strength variables on clinically significant decreases antisocial behavior in a sample of foster care youth over time. Results revealed positive improvements in youths' wellbeing to be the optimal predictor of resolution, followed by positive changes in family functioning and positive changes in adjustment to trauma (i.e., symptoms of PTSD). These results indicate that clinically significant decreases over time in antisocial behavior were associated with concurrent improvement in individual and environmental variables. Implications for service providers working with this population are discussed.