Prevention of Childhood Mental Disorders: A Literature Review Reflecting Hope and a Vision for the Future

Mental illness takes its emotional and financial toll on the 7.5 million children presently inflicted with a mental disorder in the United States, their families, and society as a whole. Resources and a vision for preventive research has been limited, but the tide appears to be turning. The following paper reviews the literature on prevention and resiliency related to children's mental disorders and outlines some of the recent recommendations from The Institute of Medicine (1994) in regards to the urgency of their proposed agenda for preventive intervention research in the area of child and adolescent mental disorders. Recommendations and implications for policy makers, researchers, and practitioners are considered.     

A Differential Analysis of Criminal Behavior among African-American and Caucasian Female Juvenile Delinquents

ABSTRACT

This study examined how social control factors might contribute to criminal offenses among African-American and Caucasian adolescent females using Hirschi's 1969 model of social control. Secondary data was used from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Data were used for African-American and Caucasian girls from Wave I, resulting in a sample of 837. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship for attachment and commitment even though it was not in the predicted direction. Involvement and belief were the only statistically significant variables in the predicted negative direction. An interaction was detected between race-by-belief, race-by-involvement, and race-by-commitment, but only race-by-involvement was in the predicted direction. Further research is needed testing this model.     

A review of the empirical status of tranditional modes of interpersonal helping: Implications for social work practice

The empirical status of traditional modes of interpersonal helping are reviewed in terms of client deterioration, spontaneous remission, and immediate and long-term effects. Necessary therapeutic conditions for client change, such as genuineness, nonpossessive warmth, and accurate empathic understanding, are discussed. Variables contributing to the ineffectiveness of traditional modes of interpersonal helping are elaborated in terms of the following: the medical model of mental disease, behavior as symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, labeling and stigmatization, the training of clinical social workers, conflict models of human behavior, academic achievement and fieldwork practice, criteria for the selection of theories of human behavior and induced change, and the relationship between academic performance and effectiveness in the field of clinical practice. The rationale is presented for a new type of social worker, the behavioral social worker, whose profile is reviewed in terms of knowledge base, behavioral skills, and value base.     

Psychosocial Correlates of Methamphetamine Use

Methamphetamine (MA) abuse is a devastating problem that has been sweeping the United States from west to east and has reached epidemic proportion in many areas. Literature on the drug itself, its history, and its effects are reviewed. The current project aimed to examine the psychosocial correlates of MA use using Hudson's Multi-Problem Screening Inventory (MPSI). The MPSI was given to a control group consisting of undergraduate social work students (n = 17) and a group of past-year MA users (n = 15). Differences between users and non-users were examined across the 27 domains of the MPSI, and subscales for which MA users exceeded the clinical cutting score were noted. In addition, the correlation between severity of craving for MA and MPSI scores was examined. MA users differed significantly from non-users on the depression, partner, child and neighbor problems, aggression, fearfulness, ideas of reference, phobias, guilt, disturbed thinking, memory loss, and drug abuse subscales. MA users exceeded clinical cutting scores on all of these scales except child problems; fearfulness; ideas of reference; self-esteem; sexual discord; personal stress; friend, school and coworker problems; and confused thinking. Severity of craving was correlated with MPSI score on all MPSI scales except self-esteem; sexual discord; mother, father, friend, coworker, school and family problems; suicide; non-physical abuse; and alcohol abuse. Interesting findings regarding the control group are also discussed.