1,721,173 research outputs found
Hurricanes and earthquakes.
No full textExamines the effects of hurricanes and earthquakes on children and adolescents, although the authors touch briefly on the limited literature on other natural disasters, such as tornadoes, lightning strikes, and volcanoes. The authors present evidence indicating that many children and adolescents living in heavily damaged areas experience significant disaster-related symptomatology for months after the initial disaster and describe initial versions of manualized intervention materials. These sudden, dramatic, and violent acts of nature can create widespread damage and high levels of exposure to life-threatening trauma and may require long periods of reconstruction and recovery. For children and adolescents caught in severe hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes, these relatively brief displays of natural forces can transform a familiar environment into a jumbled pile of rubble. Normally confident and protective adults may show terror, shock, and fear. In the most unfortunate circumstances, children may witness deaths or serious injuries or be injured themselves. The authors describe early versions of manualized intervention materials for dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes and earthquakes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved
Children experiencing disasters: Definitions, reactions, and predictors of outcomes.
No full textThe authors define disasters, provide statistics about their scope and magnitude, and describe children's and adolescents' typical reactions. In addition, the authors present a conceptual framework for organizing and understanding factors that influence the development and maintenance of disaster-related reactions. This chapter provides an overview of the types of disasters, the primary reactions children display as a consequence of their exposure to disasters, and a general framework for considering the factors that influence the development and maintenance of children's postdisaster reactions. The authors also discuss the main reactions that have been documented in children following disasters and present a model that helps organize and understand children's reactions to disasters. The model incorporates characteristics of the disaster, child, and postdisaster recovery environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved
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Helping children cope with disasters and terrorism
No full textSchool shootings. Devastating earthquakes. Severe floods. Deadly motor vehicle crashes. Terrorist attacks. Many communities and individuals endure these and other extraordinary experiences so horrifying in their effects that we call them disasters. Furthermore, the events of September 11, 2001 highlighted the realities of terrorism for most Americans and underscored the importance of understanding how children and adolescents react to disasters and terrorism. The publication of this volume is especially timely given that the tragedies of September 2001 and subsequent events are still too recent to have yielded an empirical perspective on their impact on children, adolescents, and families. This volume reviews the current state of knowledge regarding children's reactions to disaster and terrorism, and provides the background and conceptualization needed for framing mental health interventions and future research efforts. This volume has two purposes. The first is to provide a systematic review of children's and adolescents' reactions to specific disasters and the factors that contribute to those reactions. The second is to review the current state of interventions that have been developed to address children's and adolescents' mental health needs following disasters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved
Children and disasters: Future directions for research and public policy.
No full textChild-focused disaster research is a relatively new area of study, one that has grown substantially in recent years and will continue to develop in the recent aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. As reflected in this volume, the first generation of studies focused predominantly on documenting children's and adolescents' reactions to disasters and identifying factors that correlate with or predict severe disaster reactions. Studies have begun to examine interventions for youngsters following disasters, although this line of research is still in a preliminary stage. The field has yet to develop empirically supported interventions for children and youth following disasters. A broadened research agenda is needed to advance our understanding of how children are affected by disasters, which youth are most at risk, and when and how to intervene. Key issues addressed in this concluding chapter include the need for researchers and clinicians in the child mental health field to help advance knowledge of the effects of disasters on children and youth and the need to develop and evaluate empirically based treatments for child disaster victims. Researchers and clinicians need to become advocates for children's needs following disasters and to become attentive to public policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved
Exposure to terrorism, stress-related mental health symptoms, and defensive coping among Jews and Arabs in Israel.
No full textThe authors conducted a large-scale study of terrorism in Israel via telephone surveys in September 2003 with 905 adult Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCIs). Structural equation path modeling indicated that exposure to terrorism was significantly related to greater loss and gain of psychosocial resources and to greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms. Psychosocial resource loss and gain associated with terrorism were, in turn, significantly related to both greater PTSD and depressive symptoms. PCIs had significantly higher levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms than Jews. Further, PTSD symptoms in particular were related to greater authoritarian beliefs and ethnocentrism, suggesting how PTSD may lead to a self-protective style of defensive coping
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Family support, treatment adherence, and responsibility among adolescents with Type I diabetes
No full textData suggest that family factors are important to treatment adherence for adolescents with diabetes, who are making the transition from greater parental involvement to increasing responsibility for their own diabetes care. One factor linked to better adherence is social support from family members (Shafer, McCaul, & Glasgow, 1986; Hanson, Henggeler, & Burgen, 1987a, 1987b). However, studies relating family support and adherence are limited by methodological problems, and have rarely considered developmental aspects of the relationship between family support and diabetes outcomes. The developmental literature emphasizes the need to consider subfunctions of family support to understand how support relates to specific health outcomes (Cauce, Felner, & Primavera, 1982), yet studies relating family support to adherence have not examined these subfunctions. This study examined the relationships among family support and its subfunctions and adherence and responsibility for diabetes care, with particular attention to developmental aspects of these relationships.Seventy-four adolescents with Type I diabetes completed assessments of general family support, diabetes-specific support, responsibility and adherence. The Diabetes Social Support Interview was used to assess the four conceptual support subfunctions: Tangible, Informational, Belonging, and Emotional support.Results indicated that family support was inversely related to age. Furthermore, as expected, older subjects reported greater responsibility for their own diabetes care and lower adherence levels. Higher levels of diabetes-specific family support were related to better adherence, even after controlling for age. Higher levels of diabetes-specific support were also related to greater parental involvement in diabetes care. Among the subfunctions, Belonging support was the most strongly related to adherence, whereas Tangible support was most strongly related to responsibility. Exploratory analyses suggested that Tangible support may be related to adherence for younger adolescents, whereas Emotional support may be related to adherence in older adolescents.Findings confirm that family support is important to diabetes care, and suggest that the transfer of responsibility may indeed contribute to perceptions of decreased support during adolescence. Results imply that it would be helpful if adolescents' families altered the types of supportive behaviors directed toward their adolescents rather than relinquishing most involvement in diabetes management.</p
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Peer contributions to adolescents' eating, exercise, and weight control behaviors
No full textThe current study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between adolescents' peer crowd affiliation, their own concern about weight and appearance, peers' concern about weight and appearance, and their eating, exercise, and weight control behaviors. Given the rise in rates of obesity as well as the numbers of adolescents engaging in risky methods of weight control, it is important to study factors that might be related to these behaviors. A diverse group of 344 adolescent boys and girls from local public high schools were surveyed at one time point to assess peer crowd affiliation, "own" and "peer" concern with weight and appearance, and eating, exercise, and weight control. Ethnicity and body mass index based on reported weight and height were also used.Results suggest that the relationship between these factors differ for boys and for girls, and therefore each model was examined separately by gender. For all girls' models, level of identification with the Jocks was related to less "own" concern with weight, and level of identification with the Alternatives was related to more "own" concern with weight. For boys' models, level of identification with the Brains was related to more perceived peer concern with weight. "Own" concern with weight was related to less exercise and more weight control behaviors in girls, and related to healthful and unhealthful eating for boys. Perceived peer concern with weight was related to exercise and weight control behaviors for girls, and was related to weight control for boys. A mediation effect was also found suggesting that "own" concern with weight was related to weight control, but only via its relationship to perceived "peer" concern. The models' relationship with ethnicity and body mass index appeared to be more complex than initially hypothesized, perhaps acting as moderators for the model.Overall, although the models did not display ideal fits with the data, they suggest that both peer crowd identification and "own" and "peer" concern with weight uniquely contribute to adolescents' eating, exercise, and weight control behaviors. This information could be used in prevention and intervention programs by more accurately targeting at-risk teens.</p
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Psychosocial and educational factors associated with neurofibromatosis in children and adolescents
No full textExamined child and parent report measures of psychosocial, behavioral, and educational functioning in 44 youngsters (ages 10 to 18) with Neurofibromatosis (NF) not preselected for learning or behavior problems. Also reviewed medical and school records and obtained child and parent report measures tapping components of the Disability-Stress-Coping Model including family environment, social support, attitudes toward NF, and hope. Overall, children with NF were reported to have elevated internalizing behavior problems (i.e., somatic complaints and anxiety/depression), social problems, and attention problems, although significant variability in behavioral functioning was noted. Children in special education placements tended to display more internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses based on the Disability-Stress-Coping Model suggested that lower NF severity and greater family cohesion were predictive of fewer internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. While parents reported generalized social adjustment and social competence problems, most children reported no problems beyond significantly limited positive interactions with peers. However, children in special education placements tended to report more negative interactions with peers. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses yielded different models of predictors for different aspects of social adjustment, identifying age, classmate and friend social support, and attitudes toward NF as important factors. Finally, school performance problems were significant and common for the present sample, in which one half of the children were in special education. Limitations and strengths of the present study, as well as suggestions for further research, are discussed.</p
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Multicultural effectiveness training for Hispanic immigrants
No full textThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a multicultural intervention designed for Hispanic immigrants. Two hundred immigrants from Central and South America and the Caribbean participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: treatment or control. The treatment consisted of participation in Multicultural Effectiveness Training-Revised, a psychoeducational curriculum designed to increase multiculturalism and reduce the stress associated with the acculturation process. It was hypothesized participants in the treatment group would report greater levels of acculturation, family functioning, and social support than participants in the control group. It was also hypothesized participants in the treatment group would report lower levels of depression, anxiety, and immigrant stress than participants in the control group.Results indicated the treatment group reported higher levels of acculturation than the control group, but only as reflected by one measure of acculturation. Results also revealed that the treatment group reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, and immigrant stress than the control group. Additionally, treatment group participants reported greater perceived social support than control group participants. Finally, no differences were noted between the groups in the realm of family functioning.</p
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The role of social anxiety in the sexual involvement of ethnically diverse adolescents with chronic medical conditions
No full textEarly sexual involvement has been a continued concern in the United States. The present study examined factors related to sexual intercourse in a population of low-income, ethnically diverse adolescents with chronic medical conditions. The primary goals included: (a) assessing whether adolescent social anxiety moderates the relationship between friend sexual intercourse and adolescent sexual intercourse and (b) evaluating whether adolescent social anxiety moderates the relationship between adolescent dating and adolescent sexual intercourse. Secondary goals involved examining relationships between age at diagnosis and other risky behaviors with sexual intercourse. Seventy-one 15--20 year-old adolescents with a variety of chronic medical conditions completed the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, Friends' Risk-Taking Behavior Questionnaire, Dating Questionnaire, selected questions from the Reproductive Health History Questionnaire, and some demographic information. Age differences were observed for rates of sexual intercourse. Fifteen to seventeen year-olds were less likely to have had sexual intercourse than 18--20 year-olds. Therefore, all hypotheses were analyzed by separately age group. For 15--17 year-olds, it was observed that for adolescents with higher social anxiety, friend sexual intercourse was related to adolescent sexual intercourse. No association was found for adolescents with lower social anxiety. Additionally, analyses revealed that adolescents who had dated recently were more likely to have had sexual intercourse. For 18--20 year-olds, it was shown that friend sexual intercourse and adolescent dating mediated the relationship between adolescent social anxiety and adolescent sexual intercourse.Adolescents with higher social anxiety were less likely to date and less likely to have friends who had had sex; in turn, less dating and fewer friends who had had sex were associated with lower rates of sexual intercourse. With respect to secondary analyses, no significant association was found between age at diagnosis and sexual intercourse. Regarding the associations with other risky behaviors, prevalence rites in the current sample were low and few relationships were observed with sexual intercourse. Overall, the current study highlights the differing impact of social anxiety on sexual intercourse by age and provides information for health care professionals concerning "at risk" assessment of sexual activity. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.</p
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