Tali Raviv

An Indirect Effects Model of the Association Between Poverty and Child Functioning: The Role of Children's Poverty-Related Stress

The authors tested a theoretical model positing that poverty has an indirect effect on child and adolescent functioning through childrens poverty-related stress. Path analyses with a multiethnic sample of 164 children aged 6 to 18 revealed that the stress associated with poverty, such as economic strain, family conflict, violence/trauma, and discrimination, is an important component of the experience of poverty for children. Poverty-related stress was associated with a wide range of correlates, including internalizing and externalizing syndromes, DSM-IV diagnostic symptoms, physical health, and deviant behavior such as pregnancy, legal problems, substance abuse, and school dropout. Most models fit equally well for adolescents and preadolescents, suggesting that poverty is stressful for children as young as 6. African American childrens functioning was less strongly associated with poverty-related stress than was the functioning of Hispanic and Caucasian children. Implications of poverty-related stress as a potential mechanism of povertys pernicious effect on child functioning are discussed.

Coping with Terrorism: Age and Gender Differences in Effortful and Involuntary Responses to September 11th

This study examined age and gender differences and similarities in stress responses to September 11th. Adolescents, young adults, and adults reported using a variety of strategies to cope with the terrorist attacks including acceptance, positive thinking, and emotional expression. In addition, involuntary stress responses such as physiological arousal, rumination, and emotional numbing were common. A number of age trends emerged, showing increases across the three groups in emotion-based coping strategies and decreases in some forms of disengagement coping. In addition, rumination decreased with age, whereas intrusive thoughts were more prevalent in the older groups. Females in both the adolescent and young adult samples reported using emotion-based strategies more than males, and these strategies were related to better functioning for females only. In addition, males reported higher levels of disengagement responses; and these responses were related to worse functioning, but only for females. The utility of using the Responses to Stress Questionnaire (Connor-Smith, Compas, Wadsworth, Thomsen, & Saltzman, 2000) to examine coping and involuntary stress responses in reference to terrorism and across a wide age range was examined. Implications for coping theory and empirical research are explored.

Cumulative risk exposure and mental health symptoms among maltreated youth placed in out-of-home care

OBJECTIVE Maltreated children placed in out-of-home care are at high risk for exhibiting symptoms of psychopathology by virtue of their exposure to numerous risk factors. Research examining cumulative risk has consistently found that the accumulation of risk factors increases the likelihood of mental health problems. The goal of the current study was to elucidate the relation between cumulative risk and mental health symptomatology. METHODS The study consisted of a sample of 252 maltreated youths (aged 9-11) placed in out-of-home care. RESULTS Analyses confirmed the high-risk nature of this sample and identified seven salient risk variables. The cumulative risk index comprised of these seven indicators was a strong predictor of mental health symptoms, differentiating between children who scored in the clinical range with regard to mental health symptoms and those who did not. Finally, the data supported a linear model in which each incremental increase in cumulative risk was accompanied by an increase in mental health problems. CONCLUSION This is the first known study to examine cumulative risk within a sample of youths in out-of-home care.

Testing the Adaptation to Poverty-Related Stress Model: Predicting Psychopathology Symptoms in Families Facing Economic Hardship

This study tested the Adaptation to Poverty-related Stress Model and its proposed relations between poverty-related stress, effortful and involuntary stress responses, and symptoms of psychopathology in an ethnically diverse sample of low-income children and their parents. Prospective Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses conducted with 98 families (300 family members: 136 adults, 82 adolescents and preadolescents, 82 school-age children) revealed that, consistent with the model, primary and secondary control coping were protective against poverty-related stress primarily for internalizing symptoms. Conversely, disengagement coping exacerbated externalizing symptoms over time. In addition, involuntary engagement stress responses exacerbated the effects of poverty-related stress for internalizing symptoms, whereas involuntary disengagement responses exacerbated externalizing symptoms. Age and gender effects were found in most models, reflecting more symptoms of both types for parents than children and higher levels of internalizing symptoms for girls.

Predictors of responses to stress among families coping with poverty-related stress

Abstract This study tested how poverty-related stress (PRS), psychological distress, and responses to stress predicted future effortful coping and involuntary stress responses one year later. In addition, we explored age, sex, ethnicity, and parental influences on responses to stress over time. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses conducted with 98 low-income families (300 family members: 136 adults, 82 school-aged children, 82 adolescents) revealed that primary control coping, secondary control coping, disengagement, involuntary engagement, and involuntary disengagement each significantly predicted future use of that response. Primary and secondary control coping also predicted less maladaptive future responses to stress, while involuntary responses to stress undermined the development of adaptive responding. Age, sex, and interactions among PRS and prior coping were also found to predict certain responses to stress. In addition, child subgroup analyses demonstrate the importance of parental modeling of coping and involuntary stress responses, and warmth/nurturance and monitoring practices. Results are discussed with regard to the implications for preventive interventions with families in poverty.

Does community violence exposure predict trauma symptoms in a sample of maltreated youth in foster care

Previous studies find that childhood exposure to family and community violence is associated with trauma symptoms. Few studies, however, have explored whether community violence exposure (CVE) predicts trauma symptoms after controlling for the effects associated with family violence exposure (FVE). In the current study, CVE and FVE were examined in a sample of 179 youth with a recent history of maltreatment. CVE was associated with trauma symptoms after controlling for FVE, but FVE was not associated with trauma symptoms after controlling for CVE. In addition, negative coping strategies (e.g., self-harm, interpersonal aggression) partially mediated the association between CVE and trauma symptoms. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for interventions aimed at addressing the needs of children exposed to violence.

Forgiving the September 11th terrorists: Associations with coping, psychological distress, and religiosity

Abstract Two studies examined how non-interpersonal forgiveness (when there is no social relationship between the transgressor and forgiver) related to coping and involuntary responses to stress, psychological distress, and religiosity. Three to six weeks after September 11th, 2001, forgiveness had non-linear associations with other responses to the terrorist attacks. Among college students (N=488), those who were trying or had forgiven (pro-forgiveness) the terrorists reported less involuntary engagement, more primary and secondary control coping, and more meaning finding than those who were unsure about forgiveness (ambivalent) and those who did not believe the perpetrators should be forgiven (anti-forgiveness). Ambivalent students reported the most distress, even after controlling for religion. Anti-forgiveness students reported less religiosity than ambivalent and pro-forgiveness students. Most findings were consistent among middle schoolers (N=154), particularly regarding psychological distress and responses to stress. Also, forgiveness of strangers for acts against ones community functioned separately from religion.

Attention Problems Mediate the Association Between Severity of Physical Abuse and Aggressive Behavior in a Sample of Maltreated Early Adolescents

Empirical evidence has accumulated documenting an association between childhood physical abuse and aggressive behavior. Relatively fewer studies have explored possible mediating mechanisms that may explain this association. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether caregiver- and youth-reported attention problems mediate the association between physical abuse severity and aggressive behavior. A sample of 240 maltreated early adolescents (ages 9-11) and their caregivers were interviewed within 14 months of being removed from the home. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that caregiver- and youth-reported attention problems were partial mediators of the association between physical abuse severity and aggressive behavior. These associations were significant even after controlling for children’s intellectual functioning, sex, age, and severity of other maltreatment types. Possible explanations for the detrimental impact of physical abuse on behavior are discussed, along with the implications of the current study’s results for interventions aimed at reducing early adolescent aggressive behavior.

Foster Care and Child Well-Being: A Promise Whose Time Has Come

Children in foster care, and those who have emancipated from care, experience high rates of cognitive, academic, physical, social, emotional and behavior problems and are more likely to experience negative outcomes. The federal Administration on Children, Youth and Families recently called for increased attention to child well-being outcomes, expanding the focus beyond the traditional child welfare outcomes of safety and permanency. Adopting a child well-being framework, this chapter aims to briefly review the history of foster care in the US, review the efficacy of programs designed to promote well-being for youth in foster care, discuss the challenges of adapting existing evidence-based programs for this population, and finally review some adaptations of evidence-based programming for youth in foster care. We conclude that although there have been some programs that have demonstrated efficacy in improving social, emotional, and behavioral well-being in maltreated children and adolescents in foster care, there are not nearly enough evidence-based interventions to meet the significant needs of these youth and their families.

Implementing the Bounce Back trauma intervention in urban elementary schools: A real world replication trial

The current study provides the first replication trial of Bounce Back, a school-based intervention for elementary students exposed to trauma, in a different school district and geographical area. Participants in this study were 52 1st through 4th graders (Mage = 7.76 years; 65% male) who were predominately Latino (82%). Schools were randomly assigned to immediate treatment or waitlist control. Differential treatment effects (Time × Group Interaction) were found for child-reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and parent-reported child coping, indicating that the immediate treatment group showed greater reductions in PTSD and improvements in coping compared with the delayed group. Differential treatment effects were not significant for depression or anxiety. Significant maintenance effects were found for both child-reported PTSD and depression as well as parent-reported PTSD and coping for the immediate treatment group at follow-up. Significant treatment effects were also found in the delayed treatment group, showing reductions in child-reported PTSD, depression, and anxiety as well as parent-reported depression and coping upon receiving treatment. In conclusion, the current study suggests that Bounce Back is an effective intervention for reducing PTSD symptoms and improving coping skills, even among a sample experiencing high levels of trauma and other ongoing stressors.