Children's fears have received scholarly attention for well over 50 years. A considerable amount of literature has focused on such fear variables as fear intensity and fear prevalence scores and age and gender differences. We used meta-analysis to systematically review the findings related to gender differences in children's fear intensity scores and fear prevalence scores and to examine the moderator effect of sample, year of study, and type of instrument on gender differences. Research studies that used the Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC) or an updated version of the FSSC, were included in this meta-analysis. The findings from 58 intensity and 17 prevalence studies suggest that females have 11.4% higher total fear scores than males and females have 7.2% more fears than males. Results of sub-group analyses indicate that moderator variables of sample, year of publication, and type/version of FSSC cause significant variability in gender differences.

Today's role-related issues in the school counseling literature are similar to the concerns from 100 years ago. To examine roles, Burnham and Jackson (2000) reported significant discrepancies between the acutal practice of school counselors and the ideal roles identified in the literature, prior to the publication of the ASCA National Model. This replication study reexamines the status of school counselor roles twenty years later and includes roles addressed in the ASCA National Model. Overall, school counselor participants reported, on average, engaging in individual counseling for 35.37% of their time, 20.63% of their time in small groups, 34.67% of time in classroom guidance, and 36.37% of time in nonguidance duties. Additional rates of role engagement are described along with offering comparisons between the present study and Burnham and Jackson's (2000) findings. Implications for the school counseling professions are discussed.

Purpose This paper aims to examine for differences in potentially productive fear versus all other fear scores comparing adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities versus their typically developing peers without intellectual disabilities while statistically controlling for chronological age. Design/methodology/approach The authors examined for differences in potentially productive fear scores versus all fear scores comparing adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities versus their typically developing peers without intellectual disabilities. Findings Results of the current study highlight the importance of examining and statistically acknowledging the form of the relationship between age and fear. As previous research has indicated the relationship of age with fear, this form of the relationship should be acknowledged in subsequent analyses. Results also present a conceptualization of fear with some fears being considered as potentially productive fears as it relates to independent living. Research limitations/implications As previous research has indicated the relationship of age with fear, this form of the relationship should be acknowledged in subsequent analyses. Finally, results present a conceptualization of fear with some fears being considered as potentially productive fears as it relates to independent living as an outcome. Practical implications The current study presents a conceptualization of fear with some fears being considered as potentially productive fears as it relates to independent living as an outcome. Originality/value Results support that potentially productive fears can be considered fears that can be used to promote learning that leads to independent living outcomes such as safety and security.

Counselors are obligated to work effectively with diverse groups, yet stereotyping and biases can impede counselors’ efforts. Understanding implicit processes in social cognition among counselors is important because implicit stereotyping and biases can negatively influence counselors’ work. Investigation of cognitive processes through electroencephalography (EEG) can illuminate implicit tendencies that potentially lead to microaggressions toward clients. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that graduate students in mental health fields would show indicators of stereotyping in a priming experiment that measured stereotyping implicitly. Both neural (N400 event-related potential component) and behavioral (reaction time) measures were used as indexes for stereotyping. The results showed neural and behavioral markers of stereotyping toward Black men and White women in a sample of graduate students in mental health fields composed of mostly White women. Implications for counseling practice and research are discussed.

Researchers conducted a qualitative, phenomenological investigation of the clinical supervision experiences of nine early career school counselors using semi-structured interviews. Researchers discovered six themes and related subthemes regarding clinical supervision experiences, including (a) challenges, (b) support, (c) knowledge, (d) self-efficacy, (e) improved professional identity, and (f) improved counseling services. Implications for school counselors, counseling supervisors, and counselor educators are discussed.

OBJECTIVES:The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify which sociodemographic factors may be associated with breastfeeding intention and breastfeeding self-efficacy among pregnant women.METHODS:Pregnant women at a medical center in Alabama completed a cross-sectional survey. The Prenatal Rating of Efficacy in Preparation to Breastfeed Scale (PREP to BF) was used to assess prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy. A valid 3-item breastfeeding intention scale and the Fetal Health Locus of Control Scale also were used. Nonparametric tests were used to assess differences in breastfeeding intention, locus of control subscales, and PREP to BF scores by history with breastfeeding, planned mode of delivery, and sociodemographic factors.RESULTS:The participants in the final analysis (N = 124) had a mean prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy score of 299.5 (±92.33), with a range of 0 to 390. Significantly lower scores related to intention and PREP to BF were found among Black women (P ≤ 0.05), those with a high school education or less (P ≤ 0.019), single women (P ≤ 0.028), and those who had no breastfeeding experience (P ≤ 0.035).CONCLUSIONS:Identifying pregnant women with low breastfeeding self-efficacy and intention and recognizing the effects of social and cultural influences on breastfeeding are vital. Healthcare providers can engage in meaningful dialog to address ways to increase social support, communication, goal-setting skills, and overcoming mental and emotional barriers.

Background: Breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding intention are two modifiable factors that influence rates of breastfeeding initiation. Research Aims: (1) To develop a scale to measure prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy, and (2) test its psychometric properties by determining the internal consistency and reliability, and (3) assess the relationships between prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding intention. Methods: Cross-sectional prospective one-group survey design was used. A convenience sample of pregnant patients attending an obstetrics and gynecology clinic (N=124) completed a survey at the recruitment site that assessed demographics, breastfeeding intention, and breastfeeding self-efficacy theory constructs. Retest surveys (n=14) were taken home and returned to the researcher by mail after completion. Results: Cronbach’s alpha for the 39-item scale was .98 (test) and .97 (retest) with an item-to-total correlation range of .54 to .78. A four-factor solution for the scale was retained. Test-retest indicated each factor was significant and highly correlated: Individual Processes (.88, p < .001), Interpersonal Processes (.893, p < .001), Professional Advice (.919, p < .001), and Social Support (.880, p < .001). Overall prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy score was highly correlated (.610,p <.001) with breastfeeding intention scores. Conclusions: The Prenatal Rating of Efficacy in Preparation to Breastfeed Scale is a valid and reliable measure of a prenatal women’s self-efficacy in preparation to breastfeed. Measuring the level of self-efficacy could alert prenatal women and health professionals to individual skill sets.

Although research on children’s fears is available, there is a gap in the literature concerning the fears of children with disabilities. We used the Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-AM; Burnham, 2005) to examine age, racial, and gender differences of 404 children (ages 7–20), including 50% with disabilities and 50% without disabilities. Significant fear differences were reported across gender, age, race, and disability. For example, children with intellectual disabilities had more fears related to safety. Both younger and older children with moderate to profound disabilities had significantly more fear than their peers without disabilities. This study broadened the examination of fears in children with moderate, severe, and profound disabilities.

Counseling and non-counseling duties were investigated. The Assessment of School Counselor Needs for Professional Development (ASCNPD; Dahir & Stone, 2003, 2004) was used to examine the practices of 1,244 school counselors to determine the prevalence of the activities among school counselors. Principal component analysis indicated a two-factor structure for the ASCNPD related to “counseling duties” and “noncounseling duties.” Additional analyses using MANOVA revealed significant grade level differences and urban and rural school differences. Results and implications related to counseling roles and role confusion are discussed.

Upon completion, the participants will be able to state the correlation between prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding intention among pregnant women.

The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on measured levels of resilience and empathy in professional nurses with evidence of compassion fatigue and other stress related problems. Lowered levels of resilience, compassion fatigue and decreased empathy are significant predictors of burnout in nurses. Enhanced levels of resilience are associated with improved empathic responses and overall emotional well-being. Nurses who work in high stress environments often exhibit compassion fatigue and post-traumatic stress disorders that may reduce their ability to function effectively. Because tDCS has been used successfully in a number of chronic disease conditions, it would seem that there is potential for it to be useful in a broader context. The treatment with tDCS may be a potential strategy for improving resilience and eliminating chronic stress responses. A timed series counterbalanced research design was used for the study. Participants completed 18 sessions of tDCS over a six week period. They also completed a resilience, compassion fatigue, stress and empathy scale before and after each tDCS administration. A repeated measure analysis was used to determine if tDCS had an impact on scale scores. The analysis showed that tDCS amperage had significant positive effects on empathy. On the outcomes of resilience, compassion fatigue and stress, tDCS did not produce any significant changes. This research provides a new approach to compassion fatigue, an old problem with caregivers. Notably, when implemented with individuals experiencing problems that involve apathy or indifference, tDCS is a non-effortful intervention that offers a pathway that may improve symptoms and does not require extensive outlays of physical or mental energy.

This study, undergirded by family systems theory, examined the extent to which parent and family‐level factors correlate with adolescent obesity and depressive symptoms. We also considered whether these variables predict unique variance in adolescent obesity and depressive symptoms. The participants were a convenience sample of 77 racially diverse, predominantly early adolescents (aged 12 to 17) and their parents. Results from a series of linear and logistic regression analyses indicated that three of the study factors (parental weight history, family resources and adolescent weight history) significantly contributed to the variance in adolescents' body mass indexes and only one of the study factors (parental depressive symptomatology) significantly contributed to the variance in adolescents' rates of depressive symptomatology. These preliminary findings clarify how parent and family system factors might inform family and school‐based intervention and treatment efforts for adolescent health outcomes.Practitioner points Family environment (measured in this study as family conflict and cohesion) should continue to be evaluated as a risk factor for obesity and depressive symptoms in racial and ethnic minority and non‐minority families. Family therapists as well as other practitioners (for example, primary care providers) should assess for family conflict when adolescents present with physical and psychological distress and disturbances. Family therapists and other practitioners could be more effective if they established whether adolescent patients and their family members have the resources (for example, knowledge, financial ability and skills) needed to live a healthy lifestyle, as well as the coping strategies for maintaining their physical and psychological health.

Little is known about how self-reported fears differ among racially diverse school-aged populations. Given this gap in the literature base, we examined the extent to which self-reported fears differed among White American, African American, and Hispanic youth (Grades 2–12), using the American Fear Survey Schedule. The study sample included 1,033 youth (Mage = 12.56; SD = 3.02) from two southeastern states. Group differences on self-reported fear scores were analyzed using descriptive discriminant analysis. The results revealed statistically significant differences in five select fears among our racially diverse study sample. Gender differences—with girls reporting greater rates of fears than boys—were evidenced in our study sample as well. Fear differences among the sample included highest animal and death and dying fears for the African American youth, highest school-related fears for White youth, and the least fears—family-related concerns by the Hispanic youth. Another finding was the prominence of fears related specifically to crime, robberies, guns, weapons, and violence. Implications are discussed and potential directions for future research in the schools are presented.