Supporting foster and kinship carers to promote the mental health of children

The majority of children and young people removed from the care of their parents by the state of Victoria, Australia, reside in foster or kinship care. These children have experienced a broad range of adverse conditions and are up to 4 times more likely to experience problems with mental health than their mainstream peers. This paper draws on the perspectives of foster and kinship carers, describing the disconnection between their role as mental health advocates and their interest in early intervention in a field which is dominated by crisis and the historic marginalisation of foster and kinship carers. Thirty‐one foster and kinship carers across greater metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this study through interviews and focus groups. Participants demonstrated a practical understanding of mental health and an ability to identify a range of conditions that have an adverse impact on the mental health of children and young people in their care. The paper concludes that there is a lack of systemic support and even a range of barriers that affect the capacity of foster and kinship carers to promote the mental health and well‐being of the children and young people in their care.     

Variations in the Life Histories of Incarcerated Parents by Race and Ethnicity: Implications for Service Provision

ABSTRACT

Incarcerated parents have complex life histories that often remain unresolved during incarceration, can continue to create barriers to prosocial success on release, and present similar intergenerational challenges for their children. This study examines the life histories of incarcerated fathers and mothers from the Pacific Northwest and how their experiences vary based on race and ethnicity. Five areas examined were exposure to trauma, child welfare involvement, mental health and substance abuse problems, juvenile justice and adult criminal justice involvement, and intergenerational criminal justice involvement. The sample comprised 359 incarcerated parents, and their racial/ethnic composition was 59% White, 14% African American, 11% multiracial, 8% Native American, and 7% Latino. Few differences were found across racial and ethnic groups. Mothers appeared more similar to each other across groups than fathers. Results illustrated similarities yet some surprising differences with national trends on key study variables. Implications for future research and intervention and prevention are discussed.     

Involvement in the Juvenile Justice System for African American Adolescents: Examining Associations with Behavioral Health Problems

While researchers have found that African American youth experience higher levels of juvenile justice involvement at every system level (arrest, sentencing, and incarceration) relative to their other ethnic counterparts, few studies have explored how juvenile justice involvement and number of contacts might be correlated with this broad range of problems. A convenience sample of 638 African American adolescents living in predominantly low-income, urban communities participated in a survey related to juvenile justice involvement. Major findings using logistic regression models indicated that adolescents who reported juvenile justice system involvement versus no involvement were 2.3 times as likely to report mental health problems, substance abuse, and delinquent or youth offending behaviors. Additional findings documented that the higher the number of juvenile justice system contacts, the higher the rates of delinquent behaviors, alcohol and marijuana use, sex while high on drugs, and commercial sex. These findings suggest that identifying and targeting youth who have multiple juvenile justice system contacts, especially those in low-resourced communities for early intervention services, may be beneficial. Future research should examine whether peer network norms might mediate the relationships between juvenile justice involvement and youth problem behaviors.     

大学生内部称谓语使用情况调查——以湖南理工学院为例

大学生内部称谓形式丰富,来源广泛,是校园文化、强势媒体、地域文化、传统文化、外来文化共同作用的结果．大学生内部称谓的选择存在群体差异,与文理科、性别、年级等有一定的相关关系。称谓选择的心理动机可以分为无所谓、从众、讲求理据、创新求异等类型。     

心理健康与大学生全面发展

从大学生心理健康存在的问题及心理健康在大学生全面发展中的意义,说明了大学生心理健康与全面发展的关系,强调了大学生心理健康工作的重要性。并提出如何增进和维护大学生心理健康,促进大学生全面发展。     

瑜伽运动对女大学生身心健康的影响

运用文献资料法、调查法、实验法和数理统计法对定期参加瑜伽运动的高校女大学生进行调查研究,提取其实验前后身体形态、身体机能、身体素质、心理健康四个方面的多项数据,探讨了瑜伽运动对高校女大学生身心健康的影响。研究结果表明：瑜伽运动可以改善高校女大学生身体形态、提高肺活量、降低安静时心率、改善身体机能,并能提高身体柔韧性和平衡能力,使其整体心理健康水平呈显著性提高。瑜伽运动是提高女大学生身体健康水平的有效手段之一,是新兴的有待进一步开发的重要课程资源。     

多元文化心理咨询模式与本土化心理咨询模式

寻找适合中国人的心理咨询模式,一直是心理咨询的目标。对近年流行的两种咨询模式——多元文化心理咨询模式和本土化心理咨询模式进行综合评价,并将两者从产生背景、基本思想、研究课题等方面进行比较,很有现实意义。     

女大学生心理亚健康状态的诊断与辅导

世界卫生组织的一项全球性调查结果显示,全世界真正健康者仅占人口总数的5％;有75％是“亚健康”者,年龄多在20-45岁。聚类分析结果表明,女大学生中心理正常的只有37．6％,而处于边缘状态的女生却超过了半数,表明50％以上的女大学生处于心理亚健康状态。心理学工作者只有通过心理测量来筛查、心理亚健康状态的表征、个别访谈等方法诊断出处于心理亚健康状态的女大学生,才能帮助女大学生及时觉察并正确认知心理亚健康状态．掌握有效的调适方法,摆脱亚心理健康．形成健康的心理。     

河南省农村外出务工人员心理健康状况调查与分析

近年来,农民工问题成为社会研究的热点问题,他们的心理健康问题也越来越多地受到人们的关注。本文采用精神症状自评量表（SCL-90）对河南的抽样调查资料进行测评。结果显示。农民工的心理健康不仅在不同性别、不同婚姻状况以及务工时间长短方面与正常人存在差异．而且不同地区之间农民工的心理健康状况也有着显著差异。     

The Mental Health Advantage of Immigrant‐Background Youth: The Role of Family Factors

Children of immigrant background, despite problems with acculturation, poverty, and discrimination, have better mental health than children of native parents. We asked whether this is a result of immigrant families' characteristics such as family structure and relations. Using a new comparative study on the integration of immigrant‐background youth conducted in England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden (N = 18,716), particularly strong associations with mental health (internalizing and externalizing problems) were found for family structure, family cohesion, and parental warmth. Overall, half of the advantage in internalizing and externalizing problems among immigrant‐background youth could be accounted for by our measures of family structure and family relations, with family cohesion being particularly important.