89 research outputs found
Describing Students’ Perceptions of a Structured Journal Club for Learning Evidence-Based Practice Methods
No full textAbstract
Date Presented 4/1/2017
This mixed-methods study explores students’ perception of guided journal clubs, including their overall satisfaction, knowledge base, and presentation skills, to improve competence in using evidence-based practice. These are necessary skills for clinicians to deliver best care.
Primary Author and Speaker: Kimberly Szucs
Additional Authors and Speakers: Brianne Haneman</jats:p
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Fostered Futures: A Campus Support Service for Former Foster Youth
No full textAn often overlooked student population within higher education, former foster youth, is a population that needs support. Students who were formerly a part of the foster care system who have since aged out, are left to navigate higher education institutions on their own. College support services tailored for the needs of these specific individuals are few and far between. This project looks at the currently available research about effective ways to support former foster youth as they look to graduate from college. The effectiveness of college student services for former foster youth is explained using concepts from College Student Services Administration, Adult and Higher Education, and Human Development and Family Studies. The author presents a framework titled Fostered Futures, that outlines a campus support service model that can be adapted to higher education institutions. The project concludes with a call to action with recommendations to implement support systems for former foster youth so they can gradate at the same rate as their peers
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‘Difficult to place’? Understanding child and family level factors affecting placement stability for youth in foster care
No full textIntroduction: Youth in foster care face greater rates of trauma and subsequent mental health challenges (Bruce et al., 2009; O’Neill et al., 2012; Seltzer et al., 2012; etc.) that place increased burden on their caregivers (Daniel, 2011; McKeough et al., 2017), suggesting that these specific groups of youth in foster care may be difficult to place with suitable caregivers. From a child welfare research perspective, discovering ways to support caregivers to better support these youth may help decrease placement stability challenges for youth in care. More research is needed to determine what child and foster caregiver characteristics may contribute to placement stability trajectories for youth with behavioral problems and/or emotional disabilities. The present study aims to examine the interplay of youth mental health, placement stability and the role of the foster family for youth in care using an existing data set. Methods: Data in the parent study were collected on 328 youth (164 sibling dyads) in foster care in an NIMH funded RCT (Kothari et al., 2017) and included information on various behavioral problems and/or emotional disabilities, number of placement changes in the system, feelings of integration in the foster home, relationship to current caregivers, and demographic caregiver characteristics. The present study conducted a secondary analysis of a subsample of this dataset. Results: Results from this investigation suggest that youth who experience more behavioral and/or emotional problems/disabilities (i.e., depression, PTSD, aggression, ADHD, etc.) experience more frequent placement disruptions than youth who have fewer. In preliminary findings, youth identified as difficult to place indicated no differences in youth reported feelings of home integration when compared to youth not identified as difficult to place. Results also suggest that relationship to caregiver (e.g., kinship/stranger) is associated with D2P scores, and caregiver education is associated with D2P scores for older siblings only. Conclusion: Youth in care who experience behavioral and/or mental health problems are more likely to experience placement disruptions than youth who do not, and there are child and family factors that are critical to understand. Future research should continue to explore these factors because these findings have important practice and policy implications
Interview with YA mystery author, Valerie Sherrard
No full textAn interview with Valerie Sherrard, a YA author, which focuses on her process of writing the Shelby Belgarden mystery series.
Parental Differential Treatment (PDT) of Siblings: Examining the Impact and Malleability of Differential Warmth and Hostility on Children\u27s Adjustment
No full textParental differential treatment (PDT), the within-family differences in parenting experienced by siblings (Rivers & Stoneman, 2008), has been linked to detrimental adjustment outcomes for children (e.g., Conger & Conger, 1994). The primary goal of this research was to more closely examine how differential treatment in two domains of parent-child relations-displays of warmth and hostility- were associated with child outcomes. A secondary data analysis was conducted on a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of a parent training intervention. Participants in this sample were high risk children and families, and they were randomly assigned to one of three groups: an intensive parent training program, the parent training program plus a sibling intervention, or the community control group. Data were collected by multiple methods and from multiple reporting agents. Using baseline data from children (both older and younger siblings), mothers, observers and teachers, this study examined PDT agreement across two or more informants and whether PDT agreement was linked to child outcomes and also explored the extent to which these PDT domains were associated with both older and younger sibling\u27s antisocial behavior. Using data collected at baseline and conclusion of the intervention from multiple informants, the study investigated whether the parenting intervention moderated the effect of PDT and the extent to which PDT was malleable. Agreement across two or more reporting agents of high PDT, especially for PDT-Hostility, was associated with worse outcomes for those children compared to children in the more egalitarian group. This research replicated previous studies in demonstrating that PDT is associated with negative child outcomes in some circumstances even when controlling for other child factors. The results from exploratory analyses in this study do not provide support for the idea that PDT is altered after participation in a parenting intervention; however, the findings do provide some evidence that the intervention moderates PDT. Specifically, negative PDT directed at the older sibling was more likely to be associated with negative outcomes in the absence of the intervention. Potential explanations for these findings are presented, and implications for future research are discussed
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Relational Resources for Foster Young Adults and the Influence of COVID-19 on Access to Mental Health Care
No full textThe number of foster young adults who age out of the foster care system is rising, many of which leave without an adoptive or kinship permanency. This has resulted in foster youth aging out of care without a supportive or consistent relationship with an adult, and limited relational resources to support their transition to adulthood. Having a lasting and supportive relationship, otherwise known as relational permanency, has potential to provide a buffer in mental health due to the disproportionate number of negative events foster youth experience, like the effects of institutionalization or frequent placement changes. Supportive adults that are naturally within a foster youth’s social network can provide helpful resources to launch into adulthood successfully, as well as support better mental health outcomes. Social capital, or the networks of relationships or groups that can be used as a social advantage, has also been shown to have significant impacts on mental health, and could provide a supportive buffer in the unique experiences foster youth endure. COVID-19 disrupted various systems of support for foster youth, and it is unclear the ways the pandemic affected accessibility to key relational resources provided by caseworkers in foster youth’s lives. Guided by an attachment and life course lens woven into a resilience framework, this dissertation includes two distinct yet complementary studies exploring the current state of foster young adult mental health and access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both studies utilized the Opportunity Passport Participant Survey (OPPS) provided by the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2022). Study I (N = 5,689) explored the relationship between institutionalization and number of placements on foster young adult mental health, with relational permanence and social capital as potential moderators. Study I also described the adults these transition-age foster young adults indicate who they turn to most in times of support. Study II (N = 2,509) aimed to identify foster young adult’s stress and access to mental health through the support of their caseworker in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as which types of support they identified as most helpful. Various descriptive, bivariate, and multiple regression analyses were utilized in both studies. Results from Study I demonstrated higher reported relational permanence and higher social capital was predictive of more positive mental health ratings, but neither were found as significant moderators of the effects of institutionalization or number of placements for foster youth. Study II results revealed that those who had difficulty receiving mental health counseling and medication management reported higher stress, where emotional support provided by foster youth’s caseworkers resulted in lower reported stress ratings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, transition-aged foster youth reported that getting their basic needs met were the most helpful types of support, with one-on-one case management closely following. The findings of this dissertation are expected to provide increased insight into some of the growing issues foster young adults face as they transition into adulthood, and ways we can strengthen opportunities for mentorship, and emphasize the use of relational resources in understanding the various systems in play when addressing foster young adult mental health needs
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Carrying Things Home from School : Can a Child-Based School Intervention Affect Parenting Strategies and Home Climate?
No full textSchool interventions have typically focused on academic and psychological outcomes for children, but can children carry positive effects home from school to influence their parents and home environments? Developmental research typically focuses on how parents influence development in their children, but this study flips this lens to ask whether children might influence their parents' development. I examine the influence of children on their parents by using evaluation data from a character development program implemented as a curriculum and a school climate intervention. Because the Positive Action (PA) program intends to increase positive behaviors in students to facilitate better relationships at school, it is possible that children are carriers of these positive behaviors when they return home at the end of the school day. The program encourages peers and school personnel to reward students for positive behaviors to both inspire future positive behaviors and to potentially crowd out opportunities for negative behaviors
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Sibling Coercion & Mental Health among Youth in Foster Care
No full textThe purpose of this observational study was to describe the frequency of coercive behavior among siblings in foster care, a diverse population at high risk for mental health impairment. We examined differences in coercion frequency at the level of the individual child (i.e. age & gender), sibling dyad (i.e. age gap, gender composition, & warmth), and foster care placement (i.e. sibling placement, number of prior placements). Finally, we wanted to know if sibling coercion was related to child mental health diagnosis. A series of descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests indicated that there was a wide range of coercion levels among individual children. Sibling coercion frequency did differ by age, with older children displaying lower levels. Coercion also differed by level of sibling warmth; children who perceived more warmth from their sibling displayed a lower frequency of coercion. Coercion levels also differed by sibling placement with siblings living together displaying a higher frequency of coercive interaction than those living apart. The frequency of sibling coercion was not related to mental health diagnosis. Though the experience of child abuse and living in a home with coercive family members may increase a child’s coercive behavior towards a sibling, our findings show that not all children meet this expectation. Careful attention to specific child and sibling dyad needs are critical to design effective interventions, practices, and policies
Yoga for Sleep, Pain, Mood, and Executive Functioning in Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury
No full textAbstract
Date Presented 4/1/2017
We used a mixed-methods design to demonstrate the benefit of a group yoga intervention for persons with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). Aligned with the holistic principle of occupational therapy, a yoga-based intervention combining mind and body in practice might be an ideal alternative for clients with chronic TBI.
Primary Author and Speaker: Pey-Shan Wen
Additional Authors and Speakers: Ileana Herrin
Contributing Authors: Alain Loret de Mola, Freddy Rodriguez, Brianne Maravel, Luis Benitez, Ivan Cabrera</jats:p
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Maternal Primary Caregiver Criminal Justice Involvement: The Importance of Child Outcomes
No full textA parent’s criminal justice involvement (CJI) can have a lasting impact on their children. Additionally, if these children are involved in Child Protective Services (CPS) they have often faced a form of abuse or neglect and they may be increasingly vulnerable to additional risks. Although a literature base exists that describes patterns of behavior for children when parents are incarcerated, few studies have examined child outcomes when a maternal primary caregiver (MPCG) was arrested. If this arrest occurred early on during sensitive periods for a child’s development, the effects of a MPCG arrest could be particularly impactful. Prior research has demonstrated that children with parents who experience CJI exhibit worse behaviors, worse academic outcomes, and weaker peer-relationships. Yet, how important factors like behavior problems and peer relationships associate with the relation between MPCG arrests and children’s academic achievement is widely unknown. The two studies in this dissertation explore factors that may be contributing or detracting from the relation between MPCG arrest status and children’s academic achievement among two groups of children: children that experienced a MPCG arrest when they were between zero and five years old and children that did not experience a MPCG arrest. Although all children were CPS involved, the additional risk factor of having a MPCG arrested during an important developmental time was hypothesized to be increasingly influential for these children.
Study 1 explored how MPCG arrest status was related to children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problem scores and literacy and math when children were between six and a half and 10 years old (wave one), and examined if child gender moderated these associations. The second research question investigated if behavior problems mediated the association between MPCG arrest status and children’s academic achievement, and if child gender moderated these associations. Results demonstrated that children in the MPCG arrest group scored better academically and behaviorally when children were between six and a half and 10 years old (wave one) and worse academically compared to children without a MPCG who was arrested when children were between eight and 11.5 years old (wave two). Behavior problems did not mediate this relation, nor did child gender moderate the mediation. However, child gender did significantly moderate several relations between MPCG arrest status and children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior scores and between internalizing behavior scores and children’s math skills. Specifically, females in the MPCG arrest group had higher behavior problem scores (worse behavior) for both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at wave one compared to male children in the MPCG arrest group. Female children that then had higher internalizing behavior scores performed better on math at wave two.
Study 2 investigated if MPCG arrest status was related to children’s academic achievement when children were between nine and a half and 13 years old (wave three) and examined if child-rated peer relationship dissatisfaction and child gender moderated these associations. Results revealed that children in the MPCG arrest group scored better in both academic subjects when children were between nine and a half and 13 years old (wave three) but that these associations were not ultimately moderated by peer relationship dissatisfaction. Child gender did significantly moderate the relation between MPCG arrest status and children’s math performance when children were between nine and a half and 13 years old (wave three). Together, the results from these studies expand our understanding of how MPCG arrests during early childhood are related to children’s behavioral, social, and academic outcomes over time. Implications for targeted intervention efforts to aid children that experience parent CJI and recommendations to propel research efforts in this area are discussed
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