Shamra Boel-Studt

Parental consent in adolescent substance abuse treatment outcome studies

No systematic review has focused on parental consenting procedures used in adolescent substance abuse treatment outcomes research. To address this gap, we examined parental consenting procedures in adolescent outcome studies (n = 34) published between 1980 and 2007. Although parental consent was required in 89% of adolescent treatment outcome studies we reviewed, consenting procedures were not routinely reported. We argue that parental consenting procedures should be routinely reported as a methodological feature of adolescent treatment outcome studies and, given concerns about sample bias in adolescent risk behavior research when parental consent is required, encourage outcomes researchers in this area to prospectively study the impact of consenting procedures on both the study participation rates and substance use reporting.

Individual and familial risk and protective correlates of physical and psychological peer victimization

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between youth characteristics, parenting behavior, and family violence and risk of physical and/or psychological peer victimization using a sample of 856 adolescents aged 10-17. Additionally, we examined whether the relation between parenting behaviors and victimization was moderated by age and gender. Data for this study were drawn from the first wave of the Developmental Victimization Survey. The results revealed unique associations between youth and familial correlates and odds for experiencing physical, psychological, and both types of victimization. Gender was found to be a statistically significant moderator of the relation between parental monitoring and odds of experiencing both physical and psychological peer victimization. Implications for bully prevention and intervention are discussed.

A Review of Trends, Research, and Recommendations for Strengthening the Evidence-Base and Quality of Residential Group Care

ABSTRACT Although the appropriate use of residential group care remains a subject of longstanding debate, most child welfare stakeholders, including practitioners, researchers, and advocacy groups, acknowledge that for some youth high quality group care is an essential intervention. In this article we review trends and issues related to the use of residential group care. We further review findings from outcomes research and recommendations put forth by scholars and national groups with expertise in residential care focused on building the empirical evidence-base and improving the quality of residential care for children and adolescents involved with the child welfare system.

A Quasi-Experimental Study of Trauma-Informed Psychiatric Residential Treatment for Children and Adolescents:

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a trauma-informed approach that was adapted for psychiatric residential treatment (PRT) for children aged 5–17. Methods: Data were extracted from case files of 100 youths who received traditional PRT and 105 youths who received trauma-informed PRT (TI-PRT). Outcome measures included change in functional impairment, physical restraints and locked seclusion room incidents, length of time in care, and discharge placement type. Results: Results of a repeated measures analysis of variance demonstrated that youth who received TI-PRT experienced greater improvements in functional impairment. Results of a zero-inflated Poisson showed that youth in TI-PRT had fewer seclusion room incidents. Finally, the average length of time in care was significantly shorter for the TI-PRT group. Discussion: The results support trauma-informed PRT as a promising approach for helping youth achieve greater stability in functioning and for addressing issues of long-standing concern in residential care settings.

Physical family violence and externalizing and internalizing behaviors among children and adolescents

Family violence has been associated with various negative outcomes among children and adolescents. Yet, less is known about how unique forms of physical family violence contribute to externalizing and internalizing behaviors based on a child’s developmental stage. Using data from the Illinois Families Study and administrative Child Protective Services data, we explored the relation between 3 types of physical family violence victimization and externalizing and internalizing behaviors among a sample of 2,402 children and adolescents. After including parent and family level covariates in Poisson regressions, we found that a unique form of family violence victimization was associated with increased externalizing behaviors among children at each age group: exposure to physical intimate partner violence (IPV) among children ages 3–5, exposure to the physical abuse of a sibling among children ages 6–12, and child physical abuse among adolescents ages 13–18. No form of physical family violence was significantly associated with internalizing behaviors for children in any age group. Including exposure to the child maltreatment of a sibling is crucial when attempting to contextualize children’s responses to family violence and providing comprehensive services in an effort to enhance the well-being of all children in a family.

Mixed Methods Study of the Effectiveness of Intensive Family Finding Services with Youth in Congregate Care

ABSTRACT Helping youth in congregate care form healthy relationships and achieve stability is an ongoing concern among child welfare stakeholders. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the effectiveness of a family finding intervention with youth with a history of congregate care placement and to explore factors related to the achievement of relational and physical permanency. Results from a logistic regression indicated that for youth previously in congregate care, intensive family finding increased the odds of achieving relational permanency, but not physical permanency. Qualitative analyses identified several themes surrounding successes and challenges to achieving relational and physical permanency.

Child and family-level correlates of direct and indirect peer victimization among children ages 6–9

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and child and family-level correlates of direct and indirect victimization by peers among children ages 6-9. Four hundred and twenty-five children were included in the final sample. Data for this study were drawn from the first wave of the Developmental Victimization Survey. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations between childrens demographics, anxiety, depression, anger, parent-child relationship, and exposure to family violence and childrens experience of direct or indirect victimization by peers. The results showed that increased depression scores and exposure to family violence were associated with increased risk for direct and indirect victimization by peers. Black children were more likely to experience direct victimization and less likely to experience indirect victimization compared to White children. Childs race significantly moderated the association between parental criticism and indirect victimization. Childs gender did not significantly moderate these associations. Implications for developmentally specific prevention and intervention approaches that are grounded in a social-ecological framework are discussed.

Integrating a Trauma-Informed Care Perspective in Baccalaureate Social Work Education: Guiding Principles

Over the past decade, there has been substantial growth in empirical evidence supporting that proper assessment and treatment of trauma using evidence-based practices can effectively reduce a wide range of symptoms in both children and adults. Given the complex nature of trauma treatment, trauma-based educational programming in social work is most commonly found at the graduate level. Yet, to date, there has been little discussion calling for the inclusion of trauma content in BSW education. In this paper, we examine the current state of trauma-content inclusion in social work education, and offer a guiding framework for integrating core trauma content into the BSW curriculum that is based on the core principles of trauma-informed care.