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Children with experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) are at risk. Not all children, however, display symptoms, and differences connected to gender and age have been demonstrated. In this exploratory study, children's own reports of symptoms were used. The 41 recruited children, between 7 and 19 years old, were entered into a group program specially directed toward children with experiences of IPV. These children reported experiencing more symptoms overall when compared with non-exposed children. The relationship to the abuser and children's symptoms related differently for boys and for girls. Girls who had continued contact with the abusive father described more mental health problems than did other girls exposed to IPV and more than did boys with continued contact. Among children with experiences of custody disputes or other judicial processes, age rather than gender was connected to differences in self-reported symptoms. Younger children with experiences of judicial processes reported more mental health problems than did those with no experience.

As a basis for theories of psychopathology, clinical psychology and related disciplines need sound taxonomies that are generalizable across diverse populations. To test the generalizability of a statistically derived 8-syndrome taxonomic model for youth psychopathology, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were performed on the Youth Self-Report (T. M. Achenbach & L. A. Rescorla, 2001) completed by 30,243 youths 11-18 years old from 23 societies. The 8-syndrome taxonomic model met criteria for good fit to the data from each society. This was consistent with findings for the parent-completed Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and the teacher-completed Teacher's Report Form (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) from many societies. Separate CFAs by gender and age group supported the 8-syndrome model for boys and girls and for younger and older youths within individual societies. The findings provide initial support for the taxonomic generalizability of the 8-syndrome model across very diverse societies, both genders, and 2 age groups.

This study was the first to examine relations between attachment and religion-spirituality in adults using a developmentally validated attachment assessment, the Adult Attachment Interview. Security of attachment was expected to be linked to a religiosity-spirituality that is socially based on the parental relationships and reflects extrapolation of attachment experiences with sensitive parents to perceived relationships with a loving God. Insecurity of attachment was expected to be related to religiosity-spirituality via emotional compensation for states of insecurity. Participants (N = 84; 40% men; mean age = 29 years) were drawn from religious-spiritual groups. Religiousness-spirituality was assessed with questionnaires. Results generally supported the hypotheses ( ps = 0.05). Estimates of parental loving were linked to socially based religiosity, loving God images, and gradual religious changes occurring at early ages and in life contexts indicating a positive influence of close relationships. Estimates of parental rejection and role reversal were related to New Age spirituality and sudden-intense religious changes occurring in life contexts of turmoil. Current attachment state of mind was generally unrelated to traditional religiosity, but current preoccupation, unresolved- disorganized, and cannot classify states were associated with New Age spirituality.

Background: On October 29, 1998, around 400 young people were gathered in an old warehouse in Goteborg, Sweden, for a discotheque party. A fire erupted and spread explosively. Adolescents were exposed to dreadful scenes inside and outside the building. In all, 63 young people were killed and 213 physically injured. An 18-month follow-up with 275 adolescents (126 girls) who survived the fire, regarding the effects of the fire on symptoms of posttraumatic stress, school adjustment and performance, is reported. Methods: Impact of Events Scale (IES), Clinician Administered Posttraumatic Stress Scale (CAPS) and an interview concerning background factors and issues of public and personal support. Results: The level of posttraumatic stress was generally high, and highest among adolescents with an immigrant background. In all, 25% of the participants met DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. Twenty-three percent of the participants reported having either dropped out of school or repeated a class because of the fire. Students' ratings of how their own school handled the situation, and school absenteeism, were related to ratings of their own performance in school as well as to the level of posttraumatic stress. Conclusions: Traditional talking cures were more sought out by girls than boys. Broad-scale interventions must be complemented with special treatment opportunities for the most severely afflicted. Victims who suffer from high levels of posttraumatic stress need special support for a long period of time to minimise the effects on scholastic achievement and adjustment. Studies of the effects of traumatic events on child and adolescent development should measure school-related effects better than has hitherto been the case.

Used maternal beliefs, emotions, and experiences of Canadian and Swedish mothers to predict hypothetical physical punishment of preschoolers. Found that Canadians were more likely than Swedes to suggest physical punishment and demonstrate stronger support for spanking. Support for physical punishment and rating target misbehaviors as stable predicted Canadians' physical punishment use. None of the models predicted Swedes' physical punishment. (KB)

Children 9 to 13 years old exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) reported on their violence exposure, attachment to both parents, temperament (negative emotionality and emotion regulation), perceived quality of life, and health complaints. Half of the children perceived their quality of life as good and did not have recurrent health complaints. When controlling for socioeconomic status, health complaints were associated with higher IPV exposure and negative emotionality, whereas quality of life was associated with attachment security, higher capacity for emotion regulation, and lower negative emotionality. These results underscore the importance of increasing and supporting the capacity of children exposed to IPV to handle and express their emotions, as well as making school nurses and other primary care practitioners more attentive to IPV as a possible background factor in children's health complaints. Keywords Intimate partner violence * Subjective health * Health complaints * Quality of life * Well-being Attachment * Negative emotionality * Emotion regulation, The family is generally thought of as a safe place where one can recuperate from the ups and downs of the outside world. However, major sources of stress and worry [...]

Children's exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse (CA) is strongly related to later psychological problems. Few studies exist on patients in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) who have been singly or doubly exposed to IPV and/or CA. The overall aim of the current study was to compare self-reported psychiatric symptoms, post-trauma impact, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnoses among CAMHS patients who had been singly or doubly exposed or had reported no family violence (NoFV). We expected to find more severe symptoms in both singly and doubly exposed patients than in the NoFV group and that double exposure was associated with more severe symptoms than single exposure (to IPV or CA). Finally, we expected to find that higher frequencies of exposure to IPV or CA were related to more psychiatric symptoms, greater post-trauma impact, and a higher likelihood of PTSD diagnosis. We compared psychiatric symptoms, post-trauma impact, and PTSD diagnosis in 578 patients aged 9–17 years with NoFV (n = 287), single exposure (n = 162), and double exposure (n = 129). The influence of gender, age, age of onset, frequency, and traumatic interpersonal events outside the family (IPE) were regressed on psychiatric symptoms, post-trauma impact, and PTSD diagnoses. Patients with double exposure had more severe symptoms than the NoFV group, and patients with single exposure had more trauma-related symptoms than the NoFV group. Double exposure was associated with more severe symptoms than single exposure, and frequency (of exposure to IPV and/or CA) and IPE influenced trauma symptoms and psychiatric symptoms, respectively. Exposure to more than one type of violence is associated with more severe symptoms, but other factors such as frequency of violent acts and IPE are important factors to focus on in future studies and clinical assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A school-based model for early detection and intervention among 4-12-year-old children who displayed externalizing behavior problems was developed and examined. The results were encouraging and demonstrated that it is possible to work effectively with many children who display externalizing behavior problems in a nonclinical setting.

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2006.00177.x Byline: ULF AXBERG ([dagger]), KJELL HANSSON ([double dagger]), ANDERS G BROBERG (s.), INGEGERD WIRTBERG ([dagger][dagger]) Keywords: Marte Meo; Coordination Meetings; School-Based Intervention; Externalizing Behavior Problems Abstract: Antisocial behavior is often persistent, and in addition to causing suffering to children and their families, it also poses considerable costs for society. Children who display externalizing behavior in their early years run a high risk of having severe problems later in life. There is a need for treatment methods that may be used in various settings because these children constitute a group that is hard to reach with conventional treatment methods. In addition, the dropout rate from ordinary treatment is often high. In the present study, a systemic school-based model for early detection and intervention among 4-12-year-old children who displayed externalizing behavior problems was developed and examined in a nonrandomized study in the county of Skaraborg in Sweden. The intervention was collaborative and included a combination of the Marte Meo model and coordination meetings based on systemic theory and practice. Treatment effects in the group who had received the intervention were compared with a group who had received treatment as usual in their ordinary school setting. Assessments were carried out before, and 2 years after, the intervention. For the intervention group (N=33), there was a significant decrease in the children's reported symptoms in school and in the home. No decrease in externalizing behavior was found in the comparison group (N=16). There were no dropouts in the intervention group after the intervention had begun. The results are promising; the study demonstrates that it is possible to work effectively with many children who display externalizing behavior problems in a nonclinical setting. Author Affiliation: ([dagger])Department of Psychology, Goteborg University, Child and Adolescent Pediatric Services, Hospital of Skaraborg, Sweden. ([double dagger])School of Social Work, Lund University, Sweden. (s.)Department of Psychology, Goteborg University, Sweden. ([dagger][dagger])Department of Psychology, Lund University, Sweden. Article note: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ulf Axberg, Department of Psychology, Goteborg University, Box 500, SE-405 30 Goteborg, Sweden. Tel: +46-31-773 58 34; Fax: +46-31-773 46 20. E-mail: Ulf.axberg@psy.gu.se