Interparental Hostility and Early Adolescent Problem Behavior: The Mediating Role of Specific Aspects of Parenting

This study examines how parenting helps explain the contemporaneous association between interparental hostility and adolescent problem behavior. A theoretical model of spillover was tested specifying five aspects of mothers' and fathers' parenting that might be associated with parents' hostile interactions with one another: harshness, inconsistency, psychological intrusiveness, and lower levels of acceptance and monitoring knowledge. The sample consisted of 416 early adolescents and their married parents. The association between interparental hostility and adolescent externalizing problems was mediated uniquely by fathers' and mothers' harshness, lower levels of fathers' monitoring knowledge, and mothers' psychological intrusiveness. The association between interparental hostility and adolescent internalizing was mediated uniquely by mothers' harshness, psychological intrusiveness, and lower levels of acceptance. These patterns were similar for sons and daughters.     

The lost gamblers

For some, gambling is a harmless pleasure. For others it is a wrecker of lives. Charities such as Gamblers Anonymous (gamblersanonymous.org.uk) and Gamcare (Gamcare.org.uk) exist to help such people; but why do they find themselves addicted to gambling and unable to resist its allure? Gambling behaviour is complex, yet most psychological research has confined itself to narrow areas of specialisation. Dr Mark Griffiths tells us that a more integrated approach is needed to understand the power of the gamble.     

Common pitfalls of beginning therapists utilizing enactments

Empirical data, clinical observation, and theoretical rationales support use of enactments as a fundamental mechanism of change in relationship therapies. Yet beginning therapists may lack an adequate conceptual framework and operational training essential to effectively utilize enactments. Inadequate training may contribute to ineffective execution, and in turn to negative results, which could lead to abandonment of enactments. This study sought to identify proficiencies and nonproficiencies of beginning therapists in conducting enactments. Twenty beginning therapists from three Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE)-accredited programs were briefly trained in an indirect therapy style that incorporates enactments. Twenty-six therapist enactments were coded using a comprehensive observational measure designed to assess proficiencies and nonproficiencies in executing enactment phases, component tasks, and subcomponent operations. Results suggest that beginning therapists struggle with numerous clinical operations conceptually linked to the successful engagement of relationships in marriage and family therapy. In light of these findings, specific recommendations for additional enactment training in COAMFTE-accredited programs are offered.     

Assessment and management of hospitalized suicidal patients

Suicide in inpatient psychiatric settings is a critical problem. A comprehensive literature review was performed to determine risk factors for inpatient suicide, instruments for assessing suicide, and treatment of hospitalized suicidal patients. Findings suggested that root causes of inpatient suicide were factors related to the treatment environment, failure to assess patient behavioral characteristics, and staff reliance on no-suicide contracts. Recommendations include assessing suicide risk regularly throughout hospitalization, including on admission, during changes in a patient's mental or physical status, after a change in observation level, and before discharge. Orientation and inservice education for all staff and additional research on the psychometric properties of available suicide assessment instruments are also essential.     

Development and validation of a tool to improve physician identification of elder abuse: the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI)

This study aimed to develop and validate a brief tool for physician use to improve suspicion about the presence or absence of elder abuse. A literature review on elder abuse, obstacles to its identification, limitations of detection tools, and characteristics of screeners employed by physicians were used to generate elder abuse detection questions for critique by 31 doctors, nurses, and social workers in focus groups. Six resulting questions became the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI) administered by 104 family doctors to 953 cognitively intact seniors in ambulatory-care settings. Findings were compared to a recognized, detailed elder abuse Social Work Evaluation (SWE) later administered to participants by social workers blinded to the results of the EASI. The EASI had an estimated sensitivity and specificity of 0.47 and 0.75, usually took less than 2 minutes to ask, and 97.2% of doctors felt it would have some or big practice impact. This research is a first phase in the development and validation of a user-friendly tool that might sensitize physicians to elder abuse and promote referrals of possible victims for in-depth assessment by specialized professionals.     

Youth organizing: From youth development to school reform

Over the past twenty years, youth organizing has grown across the country. Through organizing, young people identify issues of concern and mobilize their peers to build action campaigns to achieve their objectives. Youth organizing has been appreciated for its contributions to youth and community development. The authors use two case studies to trace the more recent emergence of youth organizing as an important force for school reform. The Boston-based Hyde Square Task Force began with a focus on afterschool programming, but its youth leaders now organize to get Boston Public Schools to adopt a curriculum addressing sexual harassment. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Algebra Project began as a peer-to-peer tutoring program but now also organizes to demand greater funding for Baltimore schools. These cases illustrate a broader phenomenon where students reverse the deficit paradigm by acting out of their own self-interest to become agents of institutional change.     

Reshaping the methodological identity of education research: early signs of the impact of federal policy

The purpose of the present article is to assess the impact that recent federal policies have had on education research. Using published journal articles as a data source, the study examines reports on the frequency of use for terms representing federal priorities for education research (experimental, randomization, hypothesis, and quantitative) compared to the frequency of use for terms representing methodologies that are granted a lower priority within federal policy (ethnographic, narrative, postmodern, and qualitative). A comparison between the data for 2001 (pre-policy period) and data for 2005 (policy enactment period) shows increased use of all four terms representing federal priorities, whereas three of the four terms representing nonexperimental research are associated with decreased numbers of articles. Some of the ways in which the findings may be interpreted are discussed and additional analyses that may be conducted to help track the impact of federal policy on education research are described.     

The role of housing in the transition process of youth and young adults: a twenty-year perspective

Lighthouse Youth Services in Cincinnati, Ohio, began placing foster youth, ages sixteen to eighteen, in individual apartments and other living arrangements in 1981 as a way of preparing them for life after foster care. The program has assisted over thirteen hundred youth and their children using scattered-site apartments, shared homes, roommate situations, host homes, and subsidized housing. The agency works with referring agencies to develop a transition plan one youth at a time and allows youth to move along a continuum of housing options depending on their level of functioning and behavior. Aftercare services assist youth for years after they leave custody. This chapter includes some case studies and summarizes the author's observations from running the program for the past twenty years.     

Variations in provider capacity to offer accessible health care for people with disabilities

Since social workers are likely to practice in a range of health care settings, their training focusing on human behavior in the social environment could help providers develop strategies to improve access to care for people with disabilities. In this article, results from a comprehensive survey of providers about access to health care for people with a broad range of disabilities are reported. Results suggest that a minority of providers report difficulty serving people with disabilities. However, dentists and mental health/substance abuse providers are significantly less likely than other providers to report that they provide accessible services to individuals with disabilities. These providers are less likely to report having had training related to mobility impairments, providing mirrors at their facility, having an accessible door, or providing assistance with personal care needs, and are more likely to report that their building poses a barrier for people with disabilities. Social workers are well positioned to take a leadership role in working with providers and patients to improve access to health care for people with disabilities. A social work framework of understanding the individual in a social environment may be the most appropriate perspective for creating innovative strategies for addressing the complex, multidimensional needs of people with disabilities who experience limited access to care.