Kelly L. Wester

Violence exposure, psychological trauma, and suicide risk in a community sample of dangerously violent adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To examine violence exposure, violent behaviors, psychological trauma, and suicide risk in a community sample of dangerously violent adolescents by comparison with a matched community sample of nonviolent adolescents. METHOD Anonymous self-report questionnaires were administered in the 1992-1993 school year to students in grades 9 through 12, in six public high schools located in Ohio and Colorado (N = 3,735). From this sample, 484 adolescents (349 males, 135 females) who reported attacking someone with a knife or shooting at someone within the past year (i.e., dangerously violent adolescents) were drawn. Four hundred eighty-four controls were also selected and matched on gender, age in years, ethnicity, area of residence, and family structure. RESULTS Dangerously violent adolescents reported higher levels of exposure to violence and victimization than did matched controls. Dangerously violent females were more likely to score in the clinical range of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, anger, and dissociation than were control females and violent males; they also had significantly higher levels of suicide potential. CONCLUSIONS Students who have been known to commit violent acts should be adequately assessed for violence exposure and symptoms of psychological trauma, with special attention given to the suicide potential of violent females.

A New Measure of Interpersonal Exploitativeness

Measures of exploitativeness evidence problems with validity and reliability. The present set of studies assessed a new measure [the Interpersonal Exploitativeness Scale (IES)] that defines exploitativeness in terms of reciprocity. In Studies 1 and 2, 33 items were administered to participants. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that a single factor consisting of six items adequately assess interpersonal exploitativeness. Study 3 results revealed that the IES was positively associated with “normal” narcissism, pathological narcissism, psychological entitlement, and negative reciprocity and negatively correlated with positive reciprocity. In Study 4, participants competed in a commons dilemma. Those who scored higher on the IES were more likely to harvest a greater share of resources over time, even while controlling for other relevant variables, such as entitlement. Together, these studies show the IES to be a valid and reliable measure of interpersonal exploitativeness. The authors discuss the implications of these studies.

Violence, coping, and mental health in a community sample of adolescents

The current study examined the coping strategies, exposure to violence and psychological trauma symptoms of violent adolescents compared to less violent and nonviolent adolescents in a community sample. An anonymous self-report questionnaire was administered to students in six public high schools (grades 9–12). The 10% most violent adolescents were identified and compared to their less violent and nonviolent peers. A total of 3724 students represented 68% of adolescents in all targeted schools. Ages ranged from 14 to 19 years; 52% were female; and 35% were African-American, 34% Caucasian and 23% Hispanic. Analyses revealed that violent adolescents compared to their less violent and nonviolent peers employed more maladaptive coping strategies, were exposed to higher levels of violence and reported higher clinical levels of psychological trauma symptoms. Maladaptive coping was also significantly associated with psychological trauma symptoms and violent behavior, even after controlling for the influence of demographic factors. The findings support the importance of appropriate identification, assessment and referral services for adolescents in nonclinical settings, and the role that coping strategies play in contributing to adolescent mental health and well-being.

Self-Injury and Postvention: Responding to the Family in Crisis:

Postvention actions are commonly employed after completed suicides and suicide attempts but can be adapted to assist affected family members in dealing with other types of crisis. The authors adapt a postvention model to be applied to systemically working with families who have a member engaging in self-injurious behavior. Recommendations for counselors who work with youth who self-injure and their families are provided.

Responsible Conduct of Research Measure: Initial Development and Pilot Study

Although much discussion has been focused on research misconduct (RM) and questionable research practices, to date no self-report measures exist to examine this phenomenon. To help fill this void, the authors developed the Responsible Conduct of Research Measure (RCRM) through multiple pilot study waves involving researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. Preliminary results reveal adequate validity and reliability. The authors discuss limitations of the study as well as some possible directions for future research on this topic.

Opening space for client reflection: A postmodern consideration

It is suggested in this article that perhaps during those occasions in which some distance exists between ourselves and our problems in life, we might experience an opportunity for reflective thinking. It is also suggested that opportunities for reflective thinking might be of benefit to clients in counseling. This article reviews selected literature addressing reflective thinking and it reviews selected literature that would seem to provide a perspective on facilitating “space” for reflective thinking during family counseling.

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: Exploring the Connection Among Race, Ethnic Identity, and Ethnic Belonging

This study examined race and ethnic identity in relation to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Participants included freshmen at 2 universities, who were predominantly female. Final inferential statistics examined differences across Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian American, and Multiracial students, finding African Americans and Asian Americans having significantly lower NSSI engagement than all other racial groups, and no other significant differences across groups. After controlling for depression and anxiety, a sense of ethnic belonging was significantly related to NSSI engagement. Cultural implications exist for working with college students who self-injure.

AARC Standards for Multicultural Research

Purpose The impetus for creating the Standards for Multicultural Research is based upon the idea that multicultural competence continues to evolve as research and evidence-based practices inform the profession of counseling. These standards aim to address research that focuses on multiculturalism as well as general multicultural considerations in research. The goal is to promote cultural intentionality, inclusion, and responsiveness. As such, the development of these standards is an attempt to address the potential obstacles, challenges, and rewarding aspects of developing and producing research that is multiculturally competent. Consequently, this document will provide minimum and current standards of practice. Professional counselors, counselor educators, and counseling researchers are continually encouraged to utilize these standards and seek out best practices related to research and multiculturalism. Finally, this document is expected to be updated over time, as ideas around multiculturalism evolve and influence the nature of research practices in professional counseling and counselor education.

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in the Schools: A Tiered Prevention Approach for Reducing Social Contagion:

Despite rising rates and prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and growing awareness in schools of NSSI social contagion, little discussion has taken place regarding ways to prevent and react to this prevalent issue occurring among youth in a school. The authors address how to prevent social contagion using a tiered response to intervention including primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary care. This article discusses each level of prevention and provides school counselors with intervention methods that have the potential to reduce or even avert social contagion among youth in school settings.

Development and Evaluation of Assessments for Counseling Professionals

ABSTRACT It is imperative that counselors understand how to critically evaluate assessments before using them to make clinical decisions. This evaluation can be conducted through integrating the 5 sources of validity. Each source of validity is discussed, along with methods to appraise psychometric quality, throughout this special issue.