Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal最新文献

This study explores the reported experiences of youth in congregate care facilities, focusing on their perceptions of support, relationships, and safety during their time in care. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 young adults, previously placed in group homes or residential facilities in Ohio, to identify themes related to their experiences. Three main themes resulted from the analysis: (1) lack of agency, (2) importance of relationships, and (3) coping and transitioning in congregate care. The findings revealed that participants felt a total lack of control over the decisions made on their behalf, and they felt powerless to advocate for their needs. Furthermore, participants reported a lack of support from facility staff, and they faced barriers in maintaining connections with their families. Despite these challenges, many participants demonstrated resilience and gained positive insights from their experiences in congregate care. This study highlights the need for improved support systems, increased focus on youth self-advocacy, and a better understanding of the complex experiences faced by youth in congregate care settings.

Although the link of depression and self-esteem with disordered eating is well reported in literature, there is insufficient insight into the underlying processes that inform the relationship. The present study examined the mediating effects of comparison of appearance and internalization of appearance ideals in the relationship of depression and self-esteem with disordered eating. The study sample comprised of 381 school-going adolescent girls, aged 13 to 18, from Islamabad, Pakistan. As part of the study, participants were required to complete several measures, including the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire—Short Form, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Physical Appearance Comparison Scale—Revised, and Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire—4. Findings revealed significant relationships between depression, self-esteem, comparison of appearance, internalization of appearance ideals, and disordered eating. Path analyses indicated that comparison of appearance and internalization of appearance ideals partially serially mediated the relationship between depression and disordered eating. Additionally, these two mediators were found to fully serially mediate the relationship between self-esteem and disordered eating. This study implicates the importance of considering depression and self-esteem in predicting disordered eating. Furthermore, findings posited that comparison of appearance and internalization of appearance ideals posed as potential risk factors in aggravating disordered eating. This study extends an opportunity for clinicians and community workers to initiate projects of social welfare such as awareness programs to address eating-related pathologies in educational as well as community settings, specifically amongst the adolescent population.

This study utilizes a large sample of 8th, 10th, and 12th-grade youth in Arizona (n = 34,373). Five cycles of this biannual survey were used to examine the longitudinal trends. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify the key risk factors for past 30-day and lifetime cigarette use. Across all survey cycles, peers played a consistently significant role in smoking behaviors. Those youth with drug-free friends and friends who disapproved of substance use were less likely to engage in smoking behaviors. Further, various community, school, and familial factors were predictive of smoking behavior, though less consistently than peer-level determinants. This study demonstrates that peers consistently play a critical role in cigarette smoking behavior. As such, interventions and future research need to examine further how prosocial peers can be leveraged to reduce smoking behaviors and the associated health outcomes.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a promising anti-poverty strategy in the United States (Hoynes & Patel, 2018). It has protective effects against adverse childhood experiences including child maltreatment (Berger et al., 2017; Biehl & Hill, 2018; Klevens et al., 2017; Rostad et al., 2020), intimate partner violence (Spencer et al., 2020), and parental mental health problems (Boyd-Swan et al., 2016; Evans & Garthwaite, 2014). Despite these positive impacts, approximately one in five families eligible for EITC does not receive it (Internal Revenue Service, 2019). The EITC Access Project involves intensive, one-on-one home visiting (delivered in conjunction with Parents As Teachers) that includes financial empowerment and education surrounding EITC across nine counties in the State of Michigan. Using paired t-tests, this study examines the outcomes of the EITC Access Project including knowledge of, application for, receipt of, and barriers to applying the EITC, and finds initial evidence that it may increase knowledge and uptake of EITC while decreasing neglect.

Risks for child maltreatment have been found to be elevated in rural (cf. urban) areas. While previous research indicates that neighborhood processes can protect against child maltreatment, how such processes may uniquely operate in rural settings remains unclear. The vast majority of research on informal social control processes has focused on urban areas with very few studies examining how such processes in rural areas may uniquely influence responses to child maltreatment. To address knowledge gaps in this area, the present qualitative study examined the perceptions of parents living in a rural Midwestern county. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 caregivers from Livingston County, Michigan, U.S. Regarding informal social control, participants were asked a series of questions regarding how they would intervene in an instance of suspected child maltreatment in their community. Thematic analysis revealed several strengths and barriers to perceiving and intervening in child maltreatment in rural settings, including close social ties, a culture of silence, maltreatment severity, and ecological challenges. These findings highlight potential reasons for which informal social control processes may differ in rural settings. Social workers may bolster child maltreatment prevention efforts in rural areas by acknowledging unique barriers and potential strengths to leverage in such communities. The current study adds to the body of work to understand rural child maltreatment, by exploring the responses to maltreatment within rural contexts; an area that has not yet been examined.

Young mothers in foster care and their children face educational, financial, and social challenges. Maternity group homes (MGHs) offer one intervention to mitigate poor outcomes. Yet, information about the experiences of mothers transitioning from MGHs is limited. Using Kool’s Theory of Adolescent Identity Development, this study examines mothers’ transitions out of MGHs and the role of formal and informal support in helping meet their family’s needs. Mothers with experience living in an MGH (n = 25) participated in telephone interviews describing their experiences in MGHs and transitions to independence. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis to understand mothers’ use of formal and informal supports after MGH exit. Analysis revealed that although mothers perceived “doing it alone,” they relied on informal and formal supports. This paradox makes sense in the context of mothers’ lives. Complicated, unpredictable, and friction-laden relationships with family, friends, and acquaintances constitute mothers’ informal supports. Although mothers felt they could count on family, they described periods of homelessness, family violence, and hopelessness. Similarly, formal relationships with child welfare professionals varied and often dissipated without warning. Mothers held mixed views on government assistance although these resources consistently provided critical means for survival. Implications: Consistent with Kool’s theory, study findings suggest mothers lacked supportive relationships and critical resources that shaped identity development. Implications for assisting mothers transitioning include supporting mothers through public assistance benefits before and after MGH exit; universal basic income as they gain independence, and guidance in establishing healthy relationships.

10% of children worldwide live in households without a biological parent, and 5.4 million children live in residential care institutions. This study describes a participatory, child-informed process of developing a multidimensional measure of child subjective well-being tailored towards the priorities of children who have lived in residential care. Eight focus groups were held with n = 49 adolescents reunified with family after living in residential care in Kenya and Guatemala and six focus groups were held with n = 29 young adults who had lived in residential care during childhood. After analysis of the focus groups, and using the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Wellbeing Tool as a foundation, the resulting tool contained 43 survey questions. Member checking, translation, and cognitive interviewing were conducted. The survey was administered to N = 180 young people in Kenya and Guatemala who were reunified with family after living in residential care or at risk of entering residential care. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the measure had three salient factors with good convergent validity and internal consistency: care and safety (12 items), basic needs (13 items), and leisure and freedom (7 items). This study contributes a new, psychometrically validated survey measure that can be used to assess the well-being of children connected to residential care, as well as a replicable model for creating contextualized quantitative measures via child participation that can inform policymaking on children’s care in low- and middle-income countries.

This study aimed to explore the impacts of family and peer support on hope of Syrian refugee adolescents. The study also examined the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in this relationship. The participants consisted of 378 (164 females, 214 males) Syrian refugee high school students. The data were collected through the Dispositional Hope Scale, the Multidimensional Social Support Scale, the Academic Self-efficacy Scale, and a demographic information form. A structural equation modeling and a mediation analysis based on bootstrapping technique were performed. Findings showed that family support had a significant direct effect on hope of Syrian refugee adolescents. In addition, family support indirectly affected hope of Syrian refugee adolescents via academic self-efficacy. Increase in family support led to an increase in academic self-efficacy, and high academic self-efficacy contributed to higher hope. On the other hand, the direct effect of peer support on hope and academic self-efficacy of Syrian refugee adolescents were not significant. This study pointed out that family support is more critical than peer support to improve academic self-efficacy beliefs and hope in refugee adolescents. Social workers may benefit from these findings in their practices with refugee adolescents who feel hopeless because they play critical roles in facilitating the adaptation process, improving the well-being, and addressing social or educational problems of refugees.

Purpose

Research has demonstrated a link between out-of-home foster care and subsequent juvenile justice involvement. Understanding factors that may contribute to dual system involvement for young people who entered foster care is essential for disrupting this relationship.

Method

We used population-based linked administrative records to examine the prevalence of juvenile delinquency court petitions among individuals placed in out-of-home foster care in Los Angeles County from birth to age 18. By integrating records from child welfare and probation, this analysis of individuals born between 1998 and 2001 and who lived in the county’s out-of-home foster care system (N = 29,434) showed that 2,554 (8.7%) had encountered a juvenile delinquency court petition prior to turning 18.

Results

Regression results showed an increased rate of dual system involvement among young people in foster care who experienced unstable living conditions, periods of absence from care, commercial sexual exploitation, or group homes. Instability in living situations (staying in care for more than a year, with three or more homes or placements; RR = 1.31; CI = 1.16, 1.48) and history of group home care (RR = 1.43; CI = 1.25, 1.64) were significantly associated with a heightened rate of dual system involvement. As shown in the gender-stratified models, the magnitude of associations between dual system involvement and foster care experiences differed by gender.

Discussion

The current study aligns with prior studies showing a relationship between residential instability and group homes to subsequent delinquency court involvement. Findings set a baseline so future work can explore if policies aiming to reduce reliance on group care are associated with changes in the likelihood of dual system involvement.

Abstract

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is an established therapy known for its clinical utility for individuals with a current or history of suicidal behaviors, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), borderline personality disorder, and other disorders. Modification to serve adolescents and their families/caregivers (DBT-A) has similarly produced positive outcomes. This review explores the impact on treatment outcomes from time-modified DBT-A, which are still largely understudied. Utilizing PRISMA methodology, the review covers research from January 2000-July 2022, when the review was initially conducted, and examines 23 eligible studies. Findings review indicate that time modified DBT-A skills groups yield positive outcomes for adolescents when deemed clinically appropriate, alleviating common barriers youth face (e.g., time restraints, attention/engagement).