The Prevention of Social Aggression Among Girls

This study represents the first systematic attempt to examine a theory‐based program designed to reduce girls' social aggression and increase positive leadership among peers. Fifth‐grade girls from six public schools were randomly assigned within classrooms to the social aggression prevention program (SAPP) and the comparison reading clubs. A school‐based small group program, the SAPP was demonstrated to have a positive impact for all students in the domain of social problem solving. For students with high baseline social problems, teachers reported positive changes in SAPP participants' prosocial behavior. In addition, the content of the program was critical: reading club participants improved their reading achievement at greater rates than SAPP participants. Targeting female students in a program focused on resolving social conflicts from multiple perspectives may be an important addition to broader, multilevel initiatives to prevent aggression and promote leadership in schools.     

基于复杂网络的投资组合优化研究

本文基于复杂网络的局部聚类系数改进了传统的全局最小方差投资组合模型。首先通过股票对数收益率的相关系数矩阵构造股票关联网络,然后计算股票关联网络的局部聚类系数,最后通过全局最小方差模型确定最佳投资组合。将改进后的模型应用于A股市场,经过夏普比率、信息比率和欧米茄比率的对比分析得出改进后的投资组合模型在样本外的表现优于传统的全局最小方差投资组合模型。     

Nondeliberative Crisis Intervention in Disaster Zones: Social Group Work Using Guided Artwork with Child Survivors

ABSTRACT

Sudden disasters cause devastating loss and trauma. Social groupwork can help heal and empower survivors through the use of nondeliberative practice forms. The authors describe a social group work model using guided artwork activities with child survivors of disasters such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and the 2014 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The authors also examine the features of nondeliberative theory exemplified through work with artful media in this groupwork context. Features include the use of analogs, representational problem solving, and feedback that takes place in a lived, experiential dimension.     

‘A Chance to Stand Back’: Parenting Programmes for Parents of Adolescents

Parenting interventions were an important feature of New Labour’s policies to combat social exclusion. This paper critically examines parenting programmes for families with adolescents, assessing national and local policy aims against the perspectives of women who took part in a parenting course, which was the subject of a local evaluation. The paper argues that, while there were important positive outcomes for the participants, the high levels of unmet need which women reported reflect important disparities between the aims of the intervention, the level of service provision, and the needs and concerns of mothers and grandmothers.     

国内外阅读障碍研究对比分析与国内研究前景展望

阅读障碍亦称诵读障碍或拼写障碍,是一种与脑部相关的学习障碍。阅读障碍研究集心理语言学、心理学、认知科学、医学等诸多学科于一体,是近年来国内外学术界的研究热点之一。梳理国内外阅读障碍的研究团队发展状况,分析国内外阅读障碍研究在诊断、表征、成因以及干预四个方面的异同,探讨国内阅读障碍研究的发展前景,对促进本领域的深入研究大有裨益。     

Computation of an efficient and robust estimator in a semiparametric mixture model

In this article, we propose an efficient and robust estimation for the semiparametric mixture model that is a mixture of unknown location-shifted symmetric distributions. Our estimation is derived by minimizing the profile Hellinger distance (MPHD) between the model and a nonparametric density estimate. We propose a simple and efficient algorithm to find the proposed MPHD estimation. Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to examine the finite sample performance of the proposed procedure and to compare it with other existing methods. Based on our empirical studies, the newly proposed procedure works very competitively compared to the existing methods for normal component cases and much better for non-normal component cases. More importantly, the proposed procedure is robust when the data are contaminated with outlying observations. A real data application is also provided to illustrate the proposed estimation procedure.     

Community Wise: The Development of an Anti-Oppression Model to Promote Individual and Community Health

Communities with histories of oppression have shown great resilience, yet few health interventions focus on structural oppression as a contributor to health problems in these communities. This article describes the development and active ingredients of Community Wise, a unique behavioral health intervention designed to reduce substance use frequency, related health risk behaviors, and recidivism among individuals with a history of incarceration and substance abuse residing in distressed and predominantly African American communities. Community Wise, developed through the collaborative efforts of a board of service providers, researchers, consumers, and government officials, is a 12-week group intervention that aims to address behavioral health problems by raising critical consciousness in distressed communities.     

Can Psychosocial Intervention Improve Peer and Sibling Relations Among War‐affected Children? Impact and Mediating Analyses in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Social resources are considered important protectors in traumatic conditions, but few studies have analyzed their role in psychosocial interventions among war‐affected children. We examined (1) whether a psychosocial intervention (teaching recovery techniques, TRT) is effective in improving peer and sibling relations, and (2) whether these potentially improved relations mediate the intervention's impacts on children's mental health. Participants were 428 Palestinian children [10–13 (mean = 11.29, standard deviation SD = .68)‐year‐old girls (49.4 percent) and boys (50.6 percent)], who were cluster‐randomized into the TRT and wait‐list control groups. They reported the quality of peer (friendship and loneliness) and sibling (intimacy, warmth, conflict, and rivalry) relations, and posttraumatic stress, depressive and psychological distress symptoms, as well as psychosocial well‐being at baseline (T1), postintervention (T2), and six month follow‐up (T3). Results showed gender‐specific TRT intervention effects: Loneliness in peer relations reduced among boys and sibling rivalry reduced among girls. The TRT prevented the increase in sibling conflict that happened in the control group. The mediating hypothesis was partially substantiated for improved peer relations, and beneficial changes in sibling relations were generally associated with improved mental health.     

“She Finally Smiles … for Real”: Reducing Depressive Symptoms and Bolstering Resilience Through a Camp Intervention for LGBTQ Youth

ABSTRACT

While summer camps are a recognized evidence-based strategy for building social and emotional skills among youth (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2009), no known studies have evaluated the effects of camp programming for LGBTQ youth in the United States. This pilot study evaluates a novel program (Brave Trails) for LGBTQ youth ages 12 to 20, using a pre-post camper survey (N = 56) and a post-camp parent survey (N = 54). Results show campers experienced increases in identity affirmation and hope and a reduction in depressive symptoms. Regression analyses found changes in identity affirmation predicted reductions in depressive symptoms and increases in resilience. Additionally, campers’ experience of key camp programming features predicted changes in depressive symptoms. Findings from the parent survey were consistent with camper survey results. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.