Natallia Sianko

How Can Government Protect Mental Health Amid a Disaster

A s we write this article (in July 2010), recent disasters in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean region are at the forefront of public concern. At this moment, the mammoth oil spill resulting from the explosion at British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon off-shore drilling rig may just have been contained, and the course of reparations and recovery remains to be seen. On the eastern side of the Caribbean in Haiti, international organizations are still trying 6 months after a devastating earthquake to restore even the rudiments of the structures necessary for minimally adequate conditions of everyday life. Elsewhere in the world, relief work continues in communities in which hundreds of Chileans and thousands of Chinese lost their lives in massive tremors several months ago. Unfortunately, the reverberations of natural and technological disasters do not end when the immediate threat to physical safety ceases. Of course, the harrowing scenes of Hurricane Katrina about 5 years ago are still fresh in memory, and Katrina’s massive effects on the economy and culture of the Gulf region are still being felt. The cataclysmic losses resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004—more than 200,000 dead and millions homeless—remain graphic reminders of the awesome power of nature and the limited capacity of humankind (including the governments that people have established) to control it. These examples also draw attention to the cumulative effects of exposure to trauma, whether direct or vicarious, as the public learns of other calamities. Even the most casual observer of the news is aware that the response to disasters in recent years has sometimes been woefully inadequate or tragically misdirected. To some extent, of course, this phenomenon simply reflects the scale of the ‘‘megadisasters.’’ However, those experiences also provided stark evidence of problems in the response systems themselves.

Professional Help-Seeking for Adolescent Dating Violence in the Rural South The Role of Social Support and Informal Help-Seeking

Structural equation modeling with three waves of data was used to assess a mediation model investigating the relationship between perceived social support, informal help-seeking intentions, and professional help-seeking intentions in the context of adolescent dating violence. The sample included 589 adolescents from a rural, southern county who participated in a longitudinal study of teen dating violence victimization and perpetration. Results suggest that informal help-seeking intentions are an important link between perceived social support and professional help-seeking intentions. Findings highlight the importance of informal help-seeking and informal help-giving in fostering professional help-seeking for adolescent victims and perpetrators of dating violence.

Can Policy Reform Reduce Seclusion and Restraint of Schoolchildren

I n January 2009, the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) released ‘‘School Is Not Supposed to Hurt,’’ which outlined dozens of reports of physical and psychological trauma caused by the use of restraint and seclusion on schoolchildren. Then in March of the same year, the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) conducted a national survey of parents whose children had been restrained or secluded. In more than 70% of cases of injurious restraint and seclusion at school, COPPA found that parents did not consent to such tactics. In response to growing concerns about detrimental outcomes, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) initiated an investigation into the nature of these restrictive measures. GAO found hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death related to the use of restraint and seclusion during the past two decades. Nine of 10 closed cases involved children with developmental or behavioral disabilities. In most cases, the children were not physically aggressive, their parents did not consent, and teachers were not trained in restraint and seclusion. The 2009 GAO report stirred much debate among professional groups, scholars, educators, and legal experts.

Where Have All the Children Gone? The Effects of the Justice System on America’s Children and Youth

W here Have All the Flowers Gone? Although written 50 years ago to protest American military action in Vietnam, this song raises questions that remain relevant today. Unfortunately, the questions ‘‘Where have all the young men gone?’’ and ‘‘Where have all the young girls gone?’’ much too often elicit answers related to the justice system. The numbers are stunning. According to the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), more than 2 million times each year, law enforcement officers arrest a suspect who is under age 18. The estimated total arrest rate of juveniles aged 10–17 increased steadily between the 1980s and mid-1990s, from roughly 7,500 arrests per 100,000 youth in 1980 to about 9,250 in 1994. By 2000, the arrest rate had declined to a rate below that which was present in 1980. Specifically, arrests for violent crimes decreased nearly 60% from 1994 to 2000. By 2008, the rate had fallen still further to about 6,300 arrests per 100,000 persons aged 10–17. Despite the marked decline in arrests that has occurred since the mid-1990s, the number of youth held in detention increased by more than 70% between 1994 and 2000. Currently, about 100,000 youth are in juvenile jails, prisons, boot camps, and other criminal justice facilities on any given night. At the extreme, nearly 2,500 individuals are serving sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes committed while they were juveniles. Of note, placement of offenders behind bars has been increasing not only for youth but also for adults. In 1990, 1.1 million people—1 in 161 adults—were in jail or prison in the United States. According to a report of the Pew Center on the States, 2.3 million people—1 in 100 adults— were in jail or prison in 2007. Unfortunately, the United States has the disgraceful distinction of being No. 1 in incarceration in both absolute and relative terms. Confinement of so many people comes with a mammoth price tag. In 2007, states spent more than

Differential Adjustment Among Rural Adolescents Exposed to Family Violence

49 billion on corrections, up from

Talking about immigration: community voices on service, research, and policy needs.

11 billion in 1987. According to the Justice Policy Institute (JPI), the average state spends almost

What Should Be Done to Promote Mental Health Around the World

250 per day per youth on postadjudication residential facilities. The cost is many times greater than for multisystemic therapy and functional family therapy, both of which are evidence based and, according to JPI, yield up to

Current trends and challenges in studies of democracy

13 in benefits to public safety for every

Democratic orientations among adolescents in aspiring and established democracies

1 spent. The lack of effectiveness of residential treatment (too often, just plain

Gender Equality and Women’s Mental Health: What’s on the Agenda?

This study examines differences in psychological adjustment in a sample of rural adolescents who have been exposed to family violence. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 580 adolescents and their primary caregivers. The results revealed that over two thirds of the study participants (68.8%) had been exposed to violence in their families. As hypothesized, cluster analysis identified several profiles among adolescents, distinguished by their psychological and emotional functioning: well adjusted (46.2%), moderately adjusted (44.3%), and struggling (9.5%). Discriminant function analysis confirmed the groupings and revealed that family functioning was among the most influential factors explaining adjustment differences. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) further showed that adolescents from each of the three adjustment profiles reported significantly different levels of family social support, parental involvement, and perceived neighborhood safety. Overall, the results confirm heterogeneity of adolescent adaptation in the aftermath of family violence and provide insights into family and neighborhood factors that account for variability in adolescents’ reactions to violence. Implications for future research and practical interventions are discussed.