Developmental deviations in happy victimization across early childhood predict behavioral adjustment in middle childhood

This study examined whether the development of happy victimizing (HV) from early to middle childhood predicted prosocial and aggressive behaviors 3 years later. Participants included 150 children (50% female, M_age at study onset = 4.53 years) and their parents at four annual time points. At each time point, semi-structured interviews were conducted to assess children's emotional expectations after committing hypothetical transgressions. Child and parent reports of children's prosocial behaviors and aggression were provided at the beginning and end of the study. Children who experienced faster declines in HV reported higher prosocial behaviors 3 years later, controlling for initial levels of prosocial behaviors. Children who exhibited increases or lesser declines in HV reported higher aggression at the study end. The development of HV was not related significantly to parent reports of prosocial behaviors and aggression in middle childhood. Findings confirm theorizing on the normative developmental trajectory of HV and suggest that deviations in HV across early childhood may partially explain later behavioral adjustment.     

Interventions in child welfare: A Swedish inventory

In Swedish child welfare, there are no mandatory guidelines on what interventions to use. Local authorities are able to set their own criteria for implementing or designing interventions. We carried out a survey to identify interventions in use in Children's Social Services and Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Care in Sweden. A total of 102 interventions were stated to have been in use, with between 31 and 45 different interventions for each of the four different child welfare populations. Of the 102 interventions, 56 were designed outside Sweden and later imported. Only 27 interventions were supported with some kind of research evidence. About half of the interventions targeted the child. Possible implications for practice and research are discussed.