Showing papers in "Child Care Quarterly in 2011"

Parental Autonomy Support and Student Learning Goals: A Preliminary Examination of an Intrinsic Motivation Intervention

Abstract: In a seven week quasi-experimental study, parents (n = 15) of elementary school students (n = 15) learned autonomy supportive communication techniques that included helping their children set learning goals for homework assignments. Treatment vs. comparison group (n = 30) ANCOVA analyses revealed that the parents in the treatment group perceived their children as becoming more autonomously motivated relative to the comparison group, F(1, 26) = 7.69, p < .05. Children in the treatment group reported increased positive affect toward homework relative to the comparison group, F(1,26) = 5.35, p < .05. Children did not significantly improve on general measures of self reported academic intrinsic motivation or relative autonomy. These preliminary findings suggest that autonomy supportive parenting styles may improve parent’s perceptions of their children’s autonomous motivation and children’s subjective experience of positive affect surrounding homework. In order to draw firmer conclusions about the effects of the intervention, more rigorously controlled studies will be needed in the future.

Teenagers’ Explanations of Bullying

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to explore how teenagers explain why bullying takes place at school, and whether there were any differences in explaining bullying due to gender and prior bullying experiences. One hundred and seventy-six Swedish students in Grade 9 responded to a questionnaire. Mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative methods) were used to analyze data. The grounded theory analysis generated five main categories and 26 sub categories regarding accounts of bullying causes. Results indicated that youth tended to explain bullying in terms of individualistic reasons (bully attributing and victim attributing) than in terms of peer group, school setting, or human nature/society reasons. Girls were more likely to attribute bullying causes to the bully and much less to the victim, compared to boys. Moreover, youth classified as bullies were more likely to attribute the reason for bullying to the victim and much less to the bully, compared to victims, bystanders, and victims/bullies.

Exploring the Feasibility and Benefits of Arts-Based Mindfulness-Based Practices with Young People in Need: Aiming to Improve Aspects of Self-Awareness and Resilience

Abstract: Research in mindfulness-based methods with young people is just emerging in the practice/research literature. While much of this literature describes promising approaches that combine mindfulness with cognitive-behavioral therapy, this paper describes an innovative research-based group program that teaches young people in need mindfulness-based methods using arts-based methods. The paper presents qualitative research findings that illustrate how young people in need (children and youth involved with child protection and/or mental health systems) can benefit from a creative approach to mindfulness that can teach them emotional regulation, social and coping skills, and that can improve aspects of their self-awareness, self-esteem, and resilience.

Teachers’ Reported Use of Instructional and Behavior Management Practices for Students with Behavior Problems: Relationship to Role and Level of Training in ADHD

Abstract: The present study examined general and special education teachers’ self-reported level of in-service training in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a common childhood mental health disorder, and the relationship between teachers’ level of training in ADHD and their reported use of a range of recommended instructional and behavior management approaches for students exhibiting behavior problems. The analyses revealed that the majority of general education teachers (76%), and almost half (41%) of the special education teachers, reported having no or brief in-service training in ADHD. General education teachers with moderate to extensive in-service training in ADHD reported significantly greater use of the recommended approaches (as indicated by their scores on the Instructional and Behavior Management Survey) than general educators with little or no training in ADHD. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The Utility of Clinicians Ratings of Anxiety Using the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS)

Abstract: Clinician ratings of anxiety hold the promise of clarifying discrepancies often found between child and parent reports of anxiety. The Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) is a clinician-administered instrument that assesses the frequency, severity, and impairment of common pediatric anxiety disorders and has been used as a primary outcome measure in several landmark treatment trials. However, no data on nonanxious youth have been published. The purpose of this study was to address this gap by examining clinician’s ratings of anxiety on the PARS in a volunteer sample of youth without anxiety disorders (n = 84; ages 7–12; 51% female, 75% Caucasian). The nonanxious sample was comprised of youth with (At-risk; n = 36) and without (Healthy; n = 48) anxious parents. Data were also used to evaluate the reliability (i.e., internal consistency), convergent, and divergent validity of the clinician-rated PARS. In addition, a receiver operating curve analysis was used to determine optimum cut off scores indicative of clinical levels of anxiety by comparing PARS scores between these nonanxious youth and a clinically anxious sample (n = 77) randomized in the Research Units of Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP) anxiety study (RUPP 2001). Results indicated that anxious and nonanxious youth were significantly different on all PARS severity items. Optimum cutoff scores of 11.5 (5-item total score) and 17.5 (7-item total score) discriminated youth with and without anxiety disorders. Cronbach alphas for the Healthy and At-risk sample were .90 and .91 and .75 and .81 for the 5- and 7-item total PARS scores respectively, supporting the measure’s internal consistency among nonanxious youth. PARS total scores were positively correlated with other measures of anxiety (i.e., the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders) for the At-risk but not Healthy subsample. PARS scores were not significantly correlated with depressive symptoms (i.e., Children’s Depression Inventory). Overall, findings support the utility of clinician’s assessments of anxiety symptoms for nonanxious youth. Using the PARS can help facilitate determining whether a child’s anxiety level is more similar to those with or without an anxiety disorder.

A Healing Space: The Experiences of First Nations and Inuit Youth with Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL)

Abstract: The Nimkee NupiGawagan Healing Centre (NNHC) in Muncey, ON provides residential treatment to First Nations and Inuit youth who abuse solvents. As a complement to its culture-based programming, in 2008 the centre began offering weekly equine-assisted learning (EAL) curriculum to its clients in partnership with the Keystone Equine Centre and the Lambton Equine Assisted Learning Centre. This study explores the potential benefit of the EAL program on youths’ healing. We conducted 15 interviews with two intakes of male and female EAL program participants and 6 NNHC and EAL staff, reviewed EAL facilitator and NNHC staff reflections and participants’ EAL journals, and observed the EAL program. It was concluded that youths’ healing was aided through the availability of a culturally-relevant space; from within an Aboriginal worldview this understanding of space is central to individual and communal well-being. This was conveyed in three key themes that emerged from the data: spiritual exchange, complementary communication, and authentic occurrence. This understanding provides insight into the dynamics of healing for Aboriginal youth who abuse solvents, and may be applicable to other programming and populations.

Identity Formation in Adolescents from Italian, Mixed, and Migrant Families

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare identity formation in adolescents from Italian (n = 261), mixed (n = 100), and migrant families (n = 148). Participants completed the Italian version of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale that assesses identity processes in educational and relational domains. Within a variable-centered approach we found that adolescents from migrant families reported significantly higher levels of reconsideration of commitment than did their peers from Italian and mixed families. Similarly, within a person-centered approach, adolescents from migrant families were more represented in the searching moratorium status than their counterparts from Italian and mixed families. Overall, these results indicated that migrant adolescents face more difficulties to define their personal identity.

Defining Group Care Programs: An Index of Reporting Standards

Abstract: Group care programs, while ubiquitous, are not clearly differentiated despite differences in the population served, size, auspices, and program activities, to name a few. Words like group care, residential care and residential treatment are often used interchangeably in policy, research and practice. This paper introduces reporting standards that can be used to promote the availability of descriptive information and build towards a nomenclature and classification system that reflects the variety within the service delivery system. These reporting standards were developed and vetted with input from several national group care scholars. An index of reporting standards has implications for state systems, accreditation and licensing groups, practitioners and researchers.

Assessing Experiences of Children Who Attended a Camp for Children with Cancer and Their Siblings: A Preliminary Study.

Abstract: Summer camps are commonly implemented as a psychosocial intervention for children with chronic illnesses; however, there have been few published consumer (parent and child) satisfaction evaluations of summer camps. Such evaluations are important both for improving existing services for children and families, as well as to build an empirical understanding of camp interventions. To illustrate the use of a program evaluation methodology within the context of a chronic illness summer camp, a program evaluation was conducted of a camp for children with cancer and their siblings. Results from the evaluation indicated that parents and children were highly satisfied with the camp experience, ranging from the food, staff, facilities, to campers’ activities. Campers reported that the recreation opportunities, peer support, and respite from their lives at home were reasons they appreciated the camp experience. Parents reported that peer support for their children, respite for themselves and their children, and improvements to their child’s behaviors and level of independence were helpful features of the camp experience.

Anger Mediates the Relation Between Violence Exposure and Violence Perpetration in Incarcerated Boys

Abstract: Youth who are exposed to violence are more likely to perpetrate violence. Incarcerated youth are a special population that is at a significantly greater risk for violent offending because of their relatively greater rates of violence exposure. Two important outcomes of violence exposure that may help explain its link with violence perpetration are posttraumatic stress disorder and problematic anger. The primary aim of the current study is to examine whether these important risk factors mediate the relation between two types of violence exposure (i.e., witnessing and victimization) and various types of violence perpetration in a sample of 373 incarcerated male adolescent offenders. A second aim is to test whether another well-established correlate of violence in youth, callous-unemotional (CU) traits (lack of empathy, guilt), adds unique variance beyond violence exposure, anger, and PTSD symptomatology. Findings suggest that anger is a robust predictor of violence and appears to at least partially act as the mechanism through which violence exposure is linked with violence perpetration. CU traits also contribute unique variance, beyond the significant effect of anger, to the statistical prediction of community, but not institutional, violence.

Assessing the Sensitivity and Specificity of the MAYSI-2 for Detecting Trauma among Youth in Juvenile Detention

Abstract: This study investigated the sensitivity and specificity of the most widely used mental health screening instrument in juvenile detention, the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI-2), for detecting trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among detained youth. The MAYSI-2 scales measuring Substance Use, Anger/Irritability, Depression/Anxiety, and Traumatic Experiences contributed to the prediction of PTSD symptoms; however, only Depression/Anxiety contributed to the prediction of associated symptoms for girls. The ROC curves technique indicated that the Traumatic Experiences scale was a moderately accurate predictor of likely Full or Partial PTSD but not superior to the other MAYSI-2 scales. These results suggest further work is needed to develop measures that are sensitive to the experiences of delinquent youth with histories of complex trauma.

Identity Exploration, Commitment, and Distress: A Cross National Investigation in China, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States

Abstract: This study tested cross cultural measurement equivalence of three identity constructs by testing the factor invariance among participants from four nations. Data from measures of identity exploration, commitment, and distress were collected from university students in Mainland China (n = 85), Taiwan (n = 117), Japan (n = 117), and the United States (n = 223) using the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ) and the Identity Distress Scale (IDS). Invariance was not found for the Exploration subscale of the EIPQ, and only partial invariance was found for the Commitment subscale. The Identity Distress Scale did demonstrate invariance across all four samples. Differences varied by degree of Westernization (globalization) of the cultures under study. The results question the cross cultural validity of the EIPQ, particularly the identity exploration subscale. Results are discussed in terms of avenues for improving the cross cultural validity of assessments of identity constructs and implications for interventions that target identity processes to promote positive youth development.

Children’s Attendance Rates and Quality of Teacher-Child Interactions in At-Risk Preschool Classrooms: Contribution to Children’s Expressive Language Growth

Abstract: The present research examines whether children’s daily attendance rates would be predictive of gains in expressive language within the context of high-quality preschool classrooms. The quality of preschool classrooms was assessed by measuring the quality of the teacher’s interactions with the children in his or her classroom. Hierarchical linear models, nesting children within classroom, were used to examine children’s growth in expressive language in two independent samples (n = 129 children in 14 classrooms; n = 160 children in 46 classrooms). Results showed positive relations between daily attendance and language gains for children enrolled in higher quality preschool classrooms. Findings suggest that at-risk children who are rarely absent from high-quality preschool classrooms show accelerated expressive language growth, thus indicating that preschool attendance is an important factor to consider in future research and policy decisions.

Examining Associations Between Narcissism, Behavior Problems, and Anxiety in Non-Referred Adolescents

Abstract: The present study examined associations between narcissism (total, adaptive, and maladaptive), self-esteem, and externalizing and internalizing problems in 157 non- referred adolescents (aged 14 to 18). Consistent with previous research, narcissism was positively associated with self-reported delinquency, overt aggression, and relational aggression. Maladaptive narcissism showed unique positive associations with aggression and delinquency variables, while adaptive narcissism showed unique negative associations with anxiety symptoms. In general, self-esteem was negatively related to internalizing and externalizing problems. An interaction effect was observed for self-esteem and narcissism in predicting overt aggression. Specifically, at high levels of self-esteem narcissism was significantly associated with overt aggression, whereas it was not at low levels of self- esteem. The current results add to the growing body of research on the role of narcissism in the development of adjustment problems in youth.

Universal Prevention of Anxiety and Depression in a Recreational Camp Setting: An Initial Open Trial

Abstract: Anxiety and depressive disorders may pose a long-term, deleterious impact on youth, prompting a need for early and effective prevention of such concerns. A growing body of research has examined universal prevention programs targeting these emotional disorders in childhood. While most universal prevention programs are offered within the school setting, there is also a rationale for developing and investigating prevention programs within novel settings, including a recreational context. This initial investigation utilized the Emotion DetectivesPrevention Program (EDPP), a universal prevention protocol focusing on anxiety and depression symptoms within a recreational summer camp. The aims of this pilot study were to assess the EDPP’s feasibility and participant satisfaction following its initial administration in a camp setting. Forty children (ages 7–10 years, 70.7% male) were recruited from an existent recreational sports camp and participated in a non-randomized, open trial of the EDPP. The EDPP, a 15-session program, presents cognitive-behavioral strategies in a manner that emphasizes strategy applicability across a range of emotional experiences. Participating children reported a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms at post–prevention. No significant change in depression symptoms or other emotion regulation indices were reported. Moderate to high participant satisfaction was indicated. The EDPP appears to be a feasible program for the prevention of child-reported anxiety symptoms in a camp setting. Given the novelty of the prevention context, issues inherent in the conduct of research in a recreational camp setting and future directions for research in this setting are discussed.

Shifts in Attachment Relationships: A Study of Adolescents in Wilderness Treatment.

Abstract: This study examined shifts in adolescents’ attachment relationships with parents and peers during a 7-week wilderness therapy program. Ninety-six adolescents, aged 14–17, completed three quantitative measurements evaluating attachment relationships with mother, father and peers pre and post treatment. Adolescents reported improved attachment relationships in terms of decreased anger and increased emotional connection towards parents. Results also showed adolescents’ more troubled attachment relationships in terms of trust and communication with parents by the end of treatment. Adolescents reported similarly mixed results in both a positive and negative direction regarding peers. These findings indicate the complexity of parent–adolescent relationships particularly considered in the context of out-of-home care and point to the importance of continued exploration in this area.

Childhood Abuse and Adolescent Sexual Re-Offending: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Recent research indicates that adolescents who have sexually offended are more likely than other adolescents to have a history of sexual and physical abuse. However, it is unclear whether abuse predicts re-offending among these adolescents. To examine this relationship, a meta-analysis was conducted which included 29 effect sizes drawn from 11 published and unpublished studies involving 1542 sexually abusive adolescents. The results indicate a significant but small relationship between history of sexual abuse and sexual re-offending (O.R. = 1.51, p < .05). In contrast, sexual abuse did not significantly predict general re-offending, although there was significant heterogeneity across studies. The relationship between physical abuse and recidivism (sexual and general) was non-significant. Due to methodological shortcomings in this area, such as limitations in methods of determining abuse history and the scarcity of research, the ability to make conclusions about the relationship between abuse and adolescent sexual recidivism is limited. As such, the discussion outlines how new studies can address these shortcomings and advance knowledge.

The Sad, the Mad and the Bad: Co-Existing Discourses of Girlhood

Abstract: Three significant, prevailing and overlapping narratives of teenage girls have dominated North American popular consciousness since the early 1990s: the sad girl, victimized by male privilege and misogyny of adolescence and beyond; the mad grrrls who rejected this vulnerability through music and media; and the bad girls of much current popular debate, those girls who are bad because they are conniving and/or because they are violent. This article reviews these three discourses by locating them within their historical contexts, including conceptualizations of the ‘girl’ from feminist poststructuralist perspectives. Literature from the field of girlhood studies provides the basis from which the discourses of growing up female are explored.

Comprehensive Challenges for the Well Being of Young Children: A Population-based Study of Publicly Monitored Risks in a Large Urban Center

Abstract: This population-based study investigated the unique and cumulative relations between risks that are monitored by public surveillance systems and academic and behavioral outcomes for an entire cohort of third graders in a large, urban public school system. Using integrated, administrative records from child welfare, public health, housing, and education for a population of over 10,000 students, this study documented the disproportionate prevalence of early risks that included low birth weight or preterm birth, inadequate prenatal care, teen mother, high lead exposure, low maternal education, child maltreatment, and homelessness. Multiple logistic regression analyses demonstrated that low maternal education (i.e., mothers without a high school degree) had the strongest association with third grade reading and math achievement, attendance, and school suspensions, controlling for child demographics, poverty, and all other risks. Classroom behavior was significantly influenced by familial and social risks (i.e., teen mother, low maternal education, homelessness, and maltreatment), but not biological risks (i.e., preterm or low birth weight and high lead). The cumulative number of risk experiences was significantly related to both academic and behavioral outcomes and was most strongly associated with school attendance problems. Implications of the study for national child welfare and educational policy are discussed.

Psychological Empowerment and Child Welfare Worker Outcomes: A Path Analysis

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate how work environment and psychological empowerment related to worker outcomes in public child welfare. These relationships were examined by testing a conceptual model in which psychological empowerment mediated the relationships between work environment variables (quality of supervision and role ambiguity) and worker outcome variables (emotional exhaustion and intentions to remain employed in child welfare). Responses from 234 public child welfare front-line workers in a southeastern state were used to test the proposed mediating model. The results of the study revealed that quality of supervision and psychological empowerment were directly related to workers’ intentions to remain employed in child welfare. An indirect relationship between quality of supervision and intentions to remain through the mediating variable of psychological empowerment was found. Quality of supervision was also indirectly related to worker emotional exhaustion through the mediating variable of psychological empowerment. While the work environment variable role ambiguity was not directly related to the outcomes emotional exhaustion or intentions to remain, indirect relationships through the mediating variable of psychological empowerment were found.

Parents’ Selection Factors When Choosing Preschool Programs for Their Children with Disabilities

Abstract: Parents, including parents of children with disabilities, are often challenged to find preschools that meet their families’ various needs and desires. Research on preschool quality is prevalent, but these studies rarely consider how parents perceive quality. This descriptive study asked what parents value most when choosing a preschool for their child with disabilities. Results showed that while parents and experts value many of the same elements, parents value additional elements as well. Many parents felt their current preschool was their only option. When parents’ responses were categorized as structural, process, and familial elements of quality, no definitive preference was found. The conclusion shares implications and avenues for further research.

Symptom Persistence in Seriously Emotionally Disordered Children: Findings of a Two-Year Follow-up after Residential Treatment

Abstract: Residential treatment is arguably the most costly and intensive part of the children’s mental health system. Yet, research suggests that a subset of the emotionally disordered children and youth admitted to intensive tertiary care treatment facilities fail to demonstrate symptom reductions upon discharge, with many continuing to deteriorate in their adjustment during the follow-up period. This study reports on the factors that characterize the children and youth that, while showing marginal benefit from residential treatment, continue to show community conduct problems at a two-year follow-up period. The results are discussed in the context of how knowledge of these factors can help inform future treatment and research directions.

Responding to Peer Victimization: A Sense of Control Matters

Abstract: Peer victimization is a salient stressor for children, and the ways children respond to peer victimization is thought to influence whether the victimization increases or decreases over time. In a sample of middle school students (n = 311, 89% Caucasian, 57% female, mean age = 10.8 years, SD = .70), the current study examined social and cognitive factors that predicted children’s coping responses over time. Findings indicated that appraised control moderates the associations between social and cognitive factors and coping responses. For example, appraised control reduced the likelihood of avoidant responses, especially when children had attitudes supporting the use of aggression. Findings suggest that increasing children’s sense of control when responding to bullies will not have uniformly positive effects however. Thus, interventions must also take care to promote more positive responses while empowering children.

Cross-Cultural Investigation of the Link between Identity Processing Styles and the Actual Work of Identity in the Career Domain.

Abstract: The current study investigated and compared the associations between identity processing styles and the actual work of identity formation in the career domain in two national contexts, the US and Turkey. Identity styles represent individuals’ orientations to identity work, and were measured by the Identity Processing Styles Q-Sort (IPSQ). The actual work of identity indicates engagement in exploration and commitment activities at multiple levels; and was measured by an adapted version of the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS). In the current study, the actual work of identity was examined in the career domain only. The effects of gender and work status while in school on identity formation process in two national contexts also were examined. Results of the current study showed that the associations between identity processing styles and the actual work of identity are consistent across the two contexts, except that there is a stronger relation between informational style and identity work in Turkey; the impact of gender and work status on the actual work of identity also differed across contexts. The similarities and differences across the American and Turkish samples are discussed within the framework of broader contextual differences.

Trauma Exposure and PTSD in Justice-Involved Youth

Abstract: This special issue of Child and Youth Care Forum includes four original research reports that build on the field’s knowledge of trauma stress exposure and PTSD in justice-involved youth. Utilizing diverse methodologies, study authors report unique results investigating important questions related to screening and assessment of justice-involved populations, the potential linkage between violence exposure and violence perpetration, and the complex relationships between trauma exposure in childhood and specific problematic offending behaviors. Each article includes specific clinical implications and recommendations for future research to provide useful information to juvenile justice administrators, mental health professionals, and researchers involved in the care and management of trauma exposed youth within the juvenile justice system. This introduction provides an overview of how empirical studies of the nature and sequelae of traumatic stress exposure are currently a focus for research and services in the juvenile justice field, highlighting how the articles in the Special Issue exemplify the progress to date, and promise for the future, of several lines of research involving psychometrics, health and correctional services, and clinical epidemiology.

Traumatic Experiences and Juvenile Amenability: The Role of Trauma in Forensic Evaluations and Judicial Decision Making

Abstract: The legal files of 144 juveniles charged as adults in one Pennsylvania county were reviewed to investigate whether trauma-related information was included in evaluations of amenability to treatment and how that information related to legal decisions to keep youth in criminal court or decertify them to the juvenile system. Potentially traumatic experiences (PTEs) were noted in more than 71% of evaluations. Youth with any PTE documented were more likely to remain in criminal court, have more prior arrests, report regular marijuana use, and have mental health diagnoses associated with offending behaviors. Youth with direct (versus witnessed) exposure to PTEs were more likely to have been placed out of home and to be diagnosed with other mental health disorders. However, only 6% of the evaluations specifically recommended treatment for trauma-related issues, and documentation of PTEs was not associated with the ultimate legal decision except in cases involving severe injury.

Identity Development in the Learning Sphere Among Japanese First-Year University Students

Abstract: Identity development in the learning sphere is an important identity-defining issue for Japanese adolescents during the transition from high school to university. The present study reports a preliminary feasibility evaluation of an intervention program designed to facilitate identity formation in the learning sphere. 179 Japanese university freshmen were enrolled in a 5-week intervention program focusing on cooperative learning, aimed at developing their own ideas and styles about learning. Four identity statuses in the learning sphere were formulated, and changes in status during the program were examined. Changes into more developed statuses were more frequent than changes into less developed statuses. The results also showed that students helped each other to develop their identity in five ways. These results suggest the effectiveness of the intervention program. Implications for promoting adolescent identity development are discussed.

International Perspectives on Identity Development

Abstract: The purpose of this special issue of the Child and Youth Care Forum is to showcase alternative perspectives and/or experiences in regard to identity development in other countries around the world. From each of the studies in this special issue we see that there are a number of different ways to study and understand identity development By examining identity development outside the US we hope to generate new ideas and new perspectives that will broaden our view of how identity develops in multiple contexts, not only in order to generalize our theories to non-American contexts, but also to be able to apply their findings to related circumstances within this country. It is hoped that such cross pollination of ideas will work toward a deeper understanding of how we can foster positive identity development in all our youth, worldwide.

Positive and Negative Childhood and Adolescent Identity Memories Stemming from One’s Country and Culture-of-origin: A Comparative Narrative Analysis

Abstract: The initial cognitive ability to coordinate experience into a hierarchically organized, multi-episode narrative occurs in youth, beginning a narrative record of ego identity development that continues throughout the life span (Habermas and Bluck in Psychological Bulletin 126:748–769, 2000; Habermas and de Silveira in Developmental Psychology 44:707–721, 2008). The following case studies explore how two high-functioning women integrate potentially conflicting bicultural identity expectations in adulthood by causally connecting identity memories stemming in youth from their country and culture-of-origin to their current life values and structures. It is hypothesized that the co-constructivist nature of meaning-making, described by Erikson (Insight and responsibility. Norton, New York, 1964; Identity and the life cycle. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 1980) as the ego, personal and socio-organismic features of ego synthesis, includes inter-related factors of personal and cultural others which affect both individual and future generational bicultural identity integration.

Guidelines for Empirical Papers on Group Care Programs

Abstract: The Child and Youth Care Forum (CYCF) publishes a relatively large number of papers on youth served in residential or group care programs (in 2010, almost one-third, or 9 out of 32, of the papers were on group care). Across these papers the content of program description has varied widely. In this issue of CYCF, Lee and Barth note that knowledgebuilding about group care’s effectiveness and outcomes has been hindered by a lack of uniformity in the description of a program as well as its goals and outcomes. The basic point they make is simple but very important, and it is that a particular label may not always identify similar programs or intervention models. Residential or other group care programs may differ fundamentally on several levels but often share the same or similar label for widely differing programs, which may promote misunderstanding of the value of an individual program. Lee and Barth argue that providing clarity for external stakeholders (e.g., parents and youth) is essential and that more comprehensive and standardized program descriptions are needed to improve the research and interpretation of findings on group care programs. Reporting descriptive information about programs consistently will also facilitate systematic reviews by ensuring clearer comparison of the results from research studies. In their paper in this issue, Lee and Barth propose Group Care Reporting Standards, for which such characteristics as program goals, population served, and therapeutic components are detailed explicitly in reports on group care programs for youth. These standards specify the information that should be included in empirical papers that describe group care programs or outcomes of youth served in these programs. Lee and Barth emphasize the importance of transparency with regards to the program’s desired outcomes, population, location, size, model or theory of change, activities, staffing, and several other characteristics. This content is to be included in the methods section (or elsewhere as appropriate). Authors interested in submitting original research that include data from youth receiving group care services should therefore include all of the details noted by Lee and Barth, as relevant, in their manuscripts (See Table 1). Reviews of the literature should also attend to each of these issues (See Lee and Barth, this issue). The idea of reporting standards