Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Does information about neuropsychiatric diagnoses influence evaluation of child sexual abuse allegations?
- Authors:
- LAINPELTO Katrin, ISAKSSON Johan, LINDBLAD Frank
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 25(3), 2016, pp.276-292.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This study aimed at investigating if attitudes toward children with neuropsychiatric disorders influence evaluations concerning allegations of child sexual abuse. Law students (n = 107) at Stockholm University, Sweden, were presented a transcript of a mock police interview with a girl, 11 years of age. This interview was based on a real case, selected as a “typical” example from these years concerning contributions from the interviewer and the alleged victim. After having read the transcript, the students responded to a questionnaire concerning degree of credibility, if the girl talked about events that had really occurred, richness of details, and if the narrations were considered truthful and age-adequate. Fifty-four of the students were also told that the girl had been given the diagnoses of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Asperger syndrome. Students who were informed about the diagnoses gave significantly lower scores concerning credibility of the interviewee. To a lesser degree they regarded her narrations as expressions of what had really occurred and considered her statements less truthful. Furthermore, they found that the narrations contained fewer details. Finally, they found the girl less competent to tell about abuse. We conclude that a neuropsychiatric disorder may infer risks of unjustified skeptical attitudes concerning trustworthiness and cognitive capacity. (Publisher abstract)
Thematic review of family therapy journals 2011
- Author:
- CARR Alan
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Family Therapy, 34(4), November 2012, pp.431-451.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
In 2011 there was some expansion of the evidence base for systemic practice with child-focused and adult-focused problems, couples problems and family therapy conducted in medical and military contexts. There were important developments in the areas of integrative systemic practice models, competency-based training and real world research on the cost effectiveness and comparative effectiveness of family therapy. In this article the contents of the principal English-language family therapy journals published in 2011 are reviewed under these headings: child-focused problems, adult-focused problems, couples therapy, medical family therapy, military family therapy, theory, research, training, the new Journal of Couple and Family Psychology and Human Systems twenty-first anniversary.
A review of family-based mental health treatments that may be suitable for children in immigrant families involved in the child welfare system
- Author:
- FAWLEY-KING Kya
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Public Child Welfare, 4(3), July 2010, pp.287-305.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Family-based mental health treatments for immigrants are reviewed and their compatibility for families involved in child welfare system evaluated. Programs reviewed are: Between Two Worlds, Families United, Mental Health for Immigrants Program (MHIP), Strengthening of Intergenerational/Intercultural Ties in Immigrant Chinese American Families (SITICAF). Evidence-based mental health treatments that are effective for maltreated children and their caregivers are then reviewed together with research on the application of these interventions with families in other countries and ethnic minority families living in the United States. Programs reviewed are: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC). Reasons these treatments may or may not be effective for immigrant families are discussed. The last treatment reviewed, The Incredible Years, is an intervention that has been tested with both maltreating and immigrant families. The article concludes with an analysis of how the reviewed treatments could be adapted for different types of immigrant families with child welfare system involvement and suggestions for future research.
Building bridges in Liverpool: exploring the use of family group conferences for black and minority ethnic children and their families
- Authors:
- O'SHAUGHNESSY Ruth, COLLINS Catherine, FATIMILEHIN Iyabo
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 40(7), October 2010, pp.2034-2049.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The first Family Group Conference (FGC) services were introduced to the United Kingdom about 15 years ago. However, there is little national or international research that examines how FGCs are being used with, or viewed by, black and minority ethnic (BME) children and families. This article outlines the evaluation of a FGC project by Building Bridges, a service commissioned to address the psychological and mental health needs of BME children and their families in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The evaluation uses both quantitative and qualitative information to explore the use of the FGC model within diverse communities and contexts. The article concludes that although the model is effective and culturally appropriate, there may be challenges in terms of the range and depth of needs that can be met through the FGC intervention model. In ending, the authors make suggestions for maximising the cultural application of the model and recommendations are made for further research to explore the views of BME families.
Dyadic developmental psychotherapy is not 'evidence-based': comments in response to Becker-Weidman and Hughes
- Authors:
- MERCER Jean, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 15(1), February 2010, pp.1-5.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article refutes a recent claim that Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), a mental-health intervention for children, is an evidence-based treatment (EBT), and that practitioners should not confuse evidence based practice (EBT) with empirically supported therapies - EBTs. A common definition of EBP is ‘integration of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values’, whereas EBTs have been defined by some authors as interventions shown to produce therapeutic change by research using well-designed controlled clinical trials. This paper examines the meaning of the EBT term and the accuracy of the claim, concluding that DDP does not meet the criteria that would allow it to be called evidence-based. Noting other problems with this previous research, and identifying ways in which the original authors could provide better support for their claim, the authors suggest that while DDP may provide potential advantages for some families, more detailed case history is required.
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Added Value Scores: evaluating effectiveness in child mental health interventions
- Authors:
- FORD Tamsin, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 194(6), June 2009, pp.552-558.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Routine outcome monitoring may improve clinical services but remains controversial, partly because the absence of a control group makes interpretation difficult. This study aimed to test a computer algorithm designed to allow practitioners to compare their outcomes with epidemiological data from a population sample against data from a randomised controlled trial, to see if it accurately predicted the trial's outcome. An `added value' score was also developed using epidemiological data on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The study tested whether it correctly predicted the effect size for the control and intervention groups in a randomised controlled trial. As compared with the a priori expectation of zero, the Added Value Score applied to the control group predicted an effect size of –0.03. As compared with the trial estimate of 0.37, the Added Value Score applied to the intervention group predicted an effect size of 0.36. The findings provide preliminary support for the validity of this approach as one tool in the evaluation of interventions with groups of children who have, or are at high risk of developing, significant psychopathology.
Intervention programs for children of parents with a mental illness: a critical review
- Authors:
- FRASER Caitlin, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 8(1), February 2006, pp.9-20.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This review evaluates the quality of the existing evidence for intervention programs for children in families affected by parental mental illness. Five hundred and twenty articles were reviewed, and twenty-six studies were judged to be relevant. The majority of these studies were randomised trials (n=8) and pre-post interventions with no comparison or control groups (n=8). None of the studies measured cost-effectiveness or included customer or carer consultation, and few outlined the theoretical basis for the development of the intervention program. Seven studies were rated as methodologically strong, four as of moderate quality and fifteen as methodologically weak. The authors conclude that this data provides very limited evidence of program effectiveness as determined by well-being or illness outcomes for the child. It is argued that future programs should be rigorously evaluated and widely disseminated, with long-term follow-up of participants.
Clinical, socio-demographic, neurophysiological and neuropsychiatric evaluation of children with volatile substance addiction
- Authors:
- UZUN N., KENDIRLI Y.
- Journal article citation:
- Child: Care, Health and Development, 31(4), July 2005, pp.425-432.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Abuse of organic volatile substances in children has become a social health problem that is increasing in the recent years. Among these substances, toluene is highly preferred by abusers because of its euphoric effect, cheapness and easy availability. There is no published research on the clinical and neurophysiological evaluation of children with short-term volatile substance addiction. In this study, socio-demographic characteristics were questioned in 12 children with a mean age of 15 years and a duration of toluene abuse for a mean of 2.3 years, and the clinical characteristics of central and peripheral nervous system damage caused by volatile substances, particularly by toluene were analysed, and probable neurological disorders were investigated by means of neurophysiological and neuropsychological tests. All tests were compared with a control group. Fifty-eight percent of the children included in the study had pathological findings in the neurological examination. There was pyramidal involvement in 25% and peripheral nerve involvement in 33.3% of the cases. Evaluation of the cognitive functions revealed 33.3% pathology in the 'Short Test of Mental Status' which assesses functions of orientation, attention, learning, arithmetic calculation, abstraction, information, construction and recall. Sensorial polyneuropathy was found in 33.3% of the cases in nerve conduction studies. Somatosensory-evoked potentials revealed pathology in 16.7% of the cases and brainstem-evoked potentials in 50% of the cases. No pathology was observed in electroencephalography and visual-evoked potentials. In this study, neurophysiological and neuropsychiatric tests revealed that toluene causes slow progressive, clinical and subclinical central and peripheral nerve damage. In Turkey, because of cheapness, easy availability and legal use of volatile substances, the clinical extent of systemic and neurological toxicity of volatile substance abuse is increasing. Abuse of volatile substances, a currently increasing social issue, may create important physical problems which can be permanent.
The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES): an instrument worthy of rehabilitation?
- Authors:
- PLACE Maurice, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Psychiatric Bulletin, 29(6), June 2005, pp.215-217.
- Publisher:
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
There have been a variety of instruments developed for evaluating family functioning, but no specific measure has emerged as appropriate for routine clinical use. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) was viewed as a useful tool for a period, but has been less popular of late. This paper looks at its use in families with two very different types of problem to assess its discriminatory ability. Mothers with depression whose children were not showing mental health difficulties reported a very different pattern of family functioning from those whose children were showing chronic school refusal. The FACES is capable of discriminating between different patterns of family functioning. Its ease of administration, and the information it provides, should recommend it for wider use in clinical settings.
Are children's DSM diagnoses accurate?
- Author:
- KIRK Stuart A.
- Journal article citation:
- Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 4(3), 2004, pp.255-270.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The purpose of this paper is to gauge DSM's scientific accuracy, using the prevalent children's diagnoses of attention deficit and disruptive behavior disorders as examples. The author uses the term accuracy to refer to a bundle of questions about the clarity of definitions that distinguish one category from another, the conceptual coherence of these definitions, and the ability of users of the classification system to implement these distinctions consistently in practice. With regard to DSM, he begins with a review of DSM's definitions of children's disorders and their ability to identify and distinguish those children who are disordered from those who are not. He then reviews the extent to which clinicians can use these distinctions reliably. Finally, he looks at some additional problems with the validity of children's diagnoses as defined by DSM.