Childhood sexual and physical abuse are known to have devastating impacts on victims, leading to later struggles with mental health and substance-related problems, among other challenges. Victims who experience pervasive abuse-related thoughts and emotions, such as shame, guilt, and blame, are at increased risk of poor outcomes, including difficulties with emotional regulation, relationships, and social functioning. Scholars and clinicians have argued that working through these cognitive-emotional reactions should be treatment objectives in therapy with impacted individuals. Importantly, sex and sexual orientation groups demonstrate differences in post-traumatic reactions to abuse, and these differences are thought to be revealing of how familial and societal forces can support or impede post-traumatic growth and healing. For example, it is suggested that sexual minority abuse victims face compounding stressors, including words and actions that have the effect of invalidating their sexual identity, which can complicate their processing of abuse-related trauma. We conducted a review of the literature and two series of analyses, using secondary data on adolescent victims of physical and sexual abuse to analyze group differences in levels of abuse-related shame, guilt, blame toward abusers, and blame toward others. The first series examined differences by sex; the second examined differences by sexual orientation. Adolescents who identified their sex as female and/or their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) reported (1) higher levels of abuse-related shame, guilt, and blame, (2) stronger correlations between shame/guilt/blame and abuse severity, and (3) stronger correlations between guilt and blame, in comparison to male and heterosexual respondents. These trends were noted for victims of sexual and physical abuse. The findings converge with prior scholarship suggesting that female and sexual minority abuse victims are at heightened risk for intensified and concomitant abuse-related shame, guilt, and blame; and that abuse-related thoughts and emotions cluster differently across sex and sexual minority groups. We highlight the need for trauma frameworks that incorporate identity, context, and meaning making; and clinical strategies that address compounding stress, shame, guilt, stigma, and invalidation when serving sexual minority abuse victims.

There exist many descriptions of how service-learning benefits higher learning. However, these usually involve large-scale and well-funded projects that are not easily exported. We conducted a secondary analysis of student reflection papers to better understand what was learned from participating in low-cost service-learning projects. Through collaborations with community-based organizations, student learning goals were to enhance aptitudes for research literacy, self-organizing, and teamwork. We also examined factors that encouraged and hindered student learning. Projects were embedded in bachelor of social work courses on community development. Student narratives described: growth and professional development, enhanced awareness of community issues, the importance of community partner engagement, and processes that encouraged teamwork and learning. Some students partnered with previous workplaces; this impacted group dynamics. Narratives highlight students' conscientious effort to facilitate peer learning. Implications for teaching, educational policy, and the place of service-learning within professional programs, are contemplated.

Introduction: Discrepancies between parental and child perceptions of problems and their therapeutic expectations can negatively impact mental health treatment efficacy. Aims: We sought to explore concordance and discrepancy in families receiving brief, client-centered, and strengths-based mental health services, specifically by contrasting parents’ and children’s perceptions of the child’s presenting issues; treatment expectations; and levels of concern pre- and post-treatment. We also examined the psychometric properties of a therapeutic scaling question on the level of concern, by examining associations with scores from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, we examined data from openand closed-ended questions, some used as part of the treatment. This included brief descriptions of perceived presenting issues and treatment expectations, and levels of concern on a scale of 1 to 10. Results: Parent and child descriptions of issues were judged generally congruent 66% of the time. Respectively, minor and major non-congruence was observed 25% and 9% of the time. In terms of treatment expectations, parents were more likely to express a desire to understand the issues and improve communication in the family. Children were more likely to express no expectancies or respond with simple statements (e.g., feel better). Parents initially rated their children’s problems as more severe than did their children. We found that the scaling question demonstrated a modest association with the level of concern from the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Conclusions: Even though most parents and their children broadly agree on presenting mental health issues for which they seek counseling, important differences manifest in how they perceive them and what they want accomplished during sessions. Practitioners need to consider, assess, and accommodate such discrepancies.

PURPOSE:We sought to understand: families' experience of an overnight pediatric oncology camp open to children with cancer and their siblings aged seven to seventeen (Camp Delight); the considerations that factor into families' decision to attend camp for the first time; and what motivates them to reattend.METHOD:Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with families who attended Camp Delight during or before August 2020. Thematic analysis was performed using a framework developed by four coders and MaxQDA software.RESULT:Six overarching themes were compiled: precipitating experiences, barriers to attending camp, facilitating factors, benefits of camp, pro-return factors, and activities to improve transitioning to camp and reduce uncertainty.CONCLUSION:Child and parent hesitancy, travel cost, and distance to camp represent barriers to attendance. Organizers may mitigate these barriers by partnering with trusted health professionals, communicating safeness and benefits of camps, including siblings, implementing strategies for reducing uncertainty, and increasing accessibility.

Given that few youth with mental health service needs actually seek help, understanding their perceptions of barriers is important. We examined principal individual, community, and systemic barriers to help-seeking, and compared barriers by population density (rural/small city), gender, age, and mental health status. Questionnaires were delivered to Cape Breton High School students. Stigma, lack of education, and awareness about resources emerged as prevalent barriers. Individual level barriers were a greater concern for rural youth; small city youth were more affected by systems level barriers. Finally, an interaction effect was found whereby rural youth with no mental health issues were least likely to report community level barriers as impediments to help-seeking.

Operating in a small urban Canadian location, Change Clinic is a brief counselling service intended for child and adolescent mental health issues. It blends principles from different strength-based and client-centred approaches to counselling (e.g., solution-focused, narrative, and single session therapies). Using the parent-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, changes in child and adolescent mental health difficulties were assessed. Compared to pre-test scores, significant improvements in behavioural, emotional, and hyperactivity problems were observed six months after delivery of the service. Effect size was estimated to be moderate (.62) based on the Added Value Score calculation. Almost three quarters of clients were served in one to two sessions.

OBJECTIVE:This study represents an initial attempt to contrast behavioural and mental health correlates of shame as a result of physical abuse (PA) and sexual abuse (SA). Because they are distinctive forms of injury, it is possible that corollary shame from these injuries follows unique trajectories and ultimately results in different health challenges.METHOD:Self-report data from a survey on the health of youth receiving protective services for reasons of PA and SA was used. It included standardised measures, such as the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children, the Brief Symptoms Inventory, the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index, and the South Oaks Gambling Screen. New measures of abuse-related shame, maltreatment, and substance use were also employed. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine whether level of shame was linked to mental health and behaviour issues, after controlling for level of abuse.RESULTS:Results were similar for shame as a result of PA and SA victimisation. After accounting for shared variance with abuse severity, both measures were linked to a full spectrum of mental health issues, such as depression (SA r2 = 0.30, PA r2 = 0.28), anxiety (SA r2 = 0.27, PA r2 = 0.20), post-traumatic stress (SA r2 = 0.26, PA r2 = 0.19), interpersonal sensitivity (SA r2 = 0.17, PA r2 = 0.22), and psychoticism (SA r2 = 0.19, PA r2 = 0.20), but not to gambling or substance use problems. PA-related shame was associated with suicidality (r2 = 0.05).CONCLUSIONS:Keeping in mind that this was largely a cross-sectional study and that causality cannot be inferred, the results seem to indicate that youth suffering from abuse-related shame are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems, but not to efforts to numb their problematic thoughts and feelings through gambling and substance use. Shame could serve as an early indicator of which child protection recipients are most in need of preventive efforts.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze experiences embedding community service learning into an assignment for a bachelor of social work course. The author used these experiences and their connections with early conceptions of progressive education and community work principles to present a pragmatic and supple community service learning (SCSL) model.Design/methodology/approach - In total, 15 students and four community organizations participated in SCSL. Data consisted of focus groups, participatory observation, evaluations, e-mails, and documents. Naturalistic case study methodology was employed to retrospectively describe a noteworthy teaching and learning experience.Findings - The SCSL model was judged useful for weaving current local realities into course lectures, promoting professional development, and providing community organizations with timely research syntheses. It seemed no more demanding than other teaching experiences. Six features of the model were deemed beneficial: multi-course scaffolding, bottom-up management, asymmetrical student roles, integration of academic and experiential learning, and student involvement in course delivery. Relevant contextual factors included: small class size, maturity of students, and cohesion within cohort.Research limitations/implications - A single teaching experience and a small sample of participants informed this case study. Further research is needed to draw firm conclusions about SCSL's usefulness and generalizability.Practical implications - Acknowledging that it is based on limited evidence, SCSL appears to be a promising model for encouraging knowledge mobilization between universities and community organizations, and providing future professionals with experience in such activities.Originality/value - This paper describes and analyzes the pedagogic value of SCSL, a manageable and adaptable teaching model for busy faculty.

It is well-established that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) increases risk for later substance abuse. However, less is known about the mechanisms by which CSA increases risk of substance abuse, including problem drinking. Research points to negative emotions as potential explanatory links between CSA and problem drinking, and suggests that pathways may differ for men and women. In the current study, we examined three potential mechanisms (anger, anxiety, and depression symptoms) by which CSA increases vulnerability for alcohol problems in a sample of youth receiving child welfare services (N = 301). Path analyses revealed that relations between CSA and problem drinking were partially mediated by anger symptoms in male adolescents. In female adolescents, links between CSA and problem drinking were fully mediated by anxiety and anger symptoms. These findings highlight similarities and differences in how CSA increases vulnerability for alcohol problems in male and female adolescents. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Maladaptive processing of self-conscious emotions (shame, absence of guilt) and externalized attributions (blame) are thought to impair social functioning and contribute to problems with anger and aggression. However, researchers generally focused on dysfunctional traits (i.e., shame-, guilt-, and blame-proneness) rather than emotions and attributions that are generated by traumatic events, such as childhood abuse. Using self-report data from a larger study of adolescents receiving child protective services, we explored correlates of physical abuse–related shame, guilt, blame toward the abuser, and blame toward others. In bivariate analyses, shame and blame were found to be interlinked and associated with different forms of abuse, emotional neglect, hostility, and pent-up anger, but not with outwardly expressed anger and physical aggression. Female gender and emotional abuse emerged as the strongest contributors in two continuation ratio ordinal regression models predicting shame; physical abuse did not contribute predictive power to one model, and severe physical abuse offered only a marginal contribution to the other. In a third model, neither shame, nor absence of guilt, nor a Shame × Guilt interaction term was found to contribute to the prediction of aggression; male gender was a marginal predictor. Child welfare planners and practitioners should consider the impact of interconnected emotions and attributions related to maltreatment, particularly emotional abuse. If left untreated, these often-invisible injuries might lead to problems later in life.

IntroductionA growing body of research demonstrates that cognitive behavioural treatments are effective for treating youth aggression and related problems (1), their efficacy further established in meta-analyses (2, 3). In a review of juvenile justice programs (4), Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) was determined to be the most cost effective, providing an estimated cost-benefit ratio of between 45:1 and 20:1. However, mixed findings have also been reported (5). Furthermore, Armelius and Andreassen (2) concluded that the capacity of cognitive behavioural treatments to reduce anti-social behaviour was modest, and contributed to a reduction of roughly 10% in past-year recidivism. Given the public costs associated with these problems (6) and the savings expected with helping even a fraction of youth, continued research on promising treatment options is imperative.One alternative is to adopt a multilevel approach and incorporate prevention activities, youth/parent skills training, family counselling, and school/juvenile justice policy changes. Ecological (7) and transactional (8) models provide useful frameworks for understanding the need for such approaches, positing the root causes of persistently aggressive behaviour to be issues of not only temperament or genetic makeup, but also breakdowns in family, peer, and community relations. Thus, programs for the treatment of youth behaviour problems should involve their social environment (1). The downside of multilevel programs is that they require considerable resources and complicated collaborations between government, police, schools, and social services.Family-centred programs (9) represent an appealing compromise, as they address issues at three levels (youth, parent, and family), but are more economical and manageable than comprehensive ecological approaches. Results of meta-analyses are encouraging (10, 11). Interventions targeting younger children are preferred because the family is more likely to be intact, and patterns of dysfunction are less likely to be ingrained (12). However, this is not always possible, and a more prudent policy would be to intervene whenever the family is ready to accept help. Moreover, treatment of families with adolescent children was found to be effective (9, 10, 13).In this paper, we describe Family TIES, a unique program that combines family skills training, ART®, and the principles of family therapy, and report the findings of an internal investigation. Family TIES is a voluntary program delivered within a comprehensive social service agency to families struggling with youth anger and aggression problems. An objective of the investigation was to examine whether participants experienced significant changes in emotion, behaviour, and family functioning, from the beginning of the program to 5-7 weeks after the last session. Because there is no comparison group, this study cannot serve as an assessment of treatment effects. However, the design does allow an estimation of the magnitude of change in families and whether a more sophisticated evaluation is merited.A major benefit of this research is that Family TIES is an agency program. Thus, other child protective and youth offender service networks could reasonably expect to be able to successfully implement such a program. This issue of external validity is particularly relevant. Youth aggression treatment evaluations are often conducted on demonstration projects, which tend to generate larger effect sizes than institution-based evaluations (3). This is not surprising, as university-based projects tend to unfold in enviable conditions, e.g., supervision by leading experts and suitable funding.The relatively low-cost (approximately $24,000 USD) project described here is part of a growing trend toward university-public sector research collaboration. In response to a request from the host organization to evaluate their program, university-based researchers led the study, with practitioners and managers offering data gathering and other assistance. …

The profound injuries caused by child maltreatment are well documented in the neurological, attachment, cognitive, and developmental literature. In this review paper, we explore the potential of early childhood education (ECE) as a community-based resilience intervention for mitigating the impacts of child abuse and neglect and supporting families in difficulty. There is clear empirical evidence that providing quality ECE to disadvantaged and vulnerable families in conjunction with other services (e.g. parenting education) is associated with positive outcomes. Challenges facing ECE centres, such as integrating children with behavioural, cognitive, and socio-emotional difficulties, are considered. Examples of successful programmes are presented.

First Nations (Native American) children are greatly overrepresented in the Canadian child welfare system, and disproportionality in the substantiation of maltreatment contributes to this overrepresentation. This study explores the factors driving disproportionality in the substantiation of maltreatment and, more specifically, neglect. Data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (2008) are used in multivariate analyses which examine the relationship between the substantiation of maltreatment/neglect and worker assessments of case, child, household, and caregiver characteristics. These case factors fully explain disproportionality in maltreatment substantiation for First Nations and non-Aboriginal children; the disproportionality reflects underlying differences in the case, child, household and caregiver characteristics identified in First Nations and non-Aboriginal investigations. However, case factors do not fully explain disproportionality in substantiation of neglect-only investigations. Further analysis indicates that the weight that workers assigned to caregiver substance abuse, housing problems, and presence of a lone caregiver when substantiating neglect also differed for First Nations and non-Aboriginal children. Discussion of these findings explores possible explanations for these differences, and links to broader discussions around definitions of neglect and the role of substantiation in child welfare decision making processes.

Although a relationship between harshness of childhood physical abuse and later aggression is well documented, researchers have rarely examined this association using information from the victim’s perspective. Also, no study has controlled for the possibility that victims of harsh abuse are aggressive because they often require more invasive child protection services (CPS), and thus experience greater disruptions to their home situation. A sample of maltreated adolescents completed the Childhood Experiences of Violence Questionnaire, and a year later, answered questions on aggression. Controlling for other subtypes of maltreatment, number of moves, length of CPS involvement, and household situation, we found that frequency of physical abuse and frequency of severe physical abuse were predictive of aggressiveness. These associations remained statistically significant for females but not for males. Indicators of maltreatment chronicity, age of onset, and poly-victimization were not associated with aggression.

Evidence linking problematic violence outcome expectancies (VOEs) to aggression comes mostly from research in which hypothetical scenarios and experimenter-suggested expectancies were used to measure VOEs. In this study, self-generated VOEs were elicited by asking a sample of Child Protective Services recipients to write what they thought would happen if they behaved aggressively, and whether they would like this outcome. A unique coding strategy was devised to allow for statistical analyses. Self-reported aggression was measured 1 year later. Aggressive adolescents were more likely to elicit expectancies related to minimising the event (e.g., nothing, we'll laugh) and physical retaliation by the victim. Aggressive and nonaggressive youth reported roughly the same amount of liked and not liked responses, and a comparable diversity of expectancies. Results point to the need for further refinement of social information processing models, because the VOEs of aggressive youth seemed to be guided by a harsh view of the social world.

Analyzing data from a representative sample of 20,739 U.S. college student-athletes, this study sought to determine whether certain student-athletes were more prone to frequent or problem gambling behavior. Relative to other studies of college students, a lower percentage of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) student-athletes reported gambling (males 62.4%, females 43%) and having gambling problems (males 4.3%, females 0.4%), but a high prevalence of weekly gambling was reported (males 13.0%, females 3.3%). Male student-athletes in high profile sports (e.g., baseball, football) were more likely to report a gambling-related problem compared to their counterparts in other sports (e.g., track field, volleyball). Sports wagering remains a cause for concern. Only a very small number of student athletes reported major infractions such as attempting to alter the outcome of a game or sharing inside information. Future research should investigate why certain student-athletes are more prone to develop gambling problems.

The study of resilient children has overturned many deficit-focused models concerning the ontogenesis of children raised in adversity. This study explored the relationship between risk and protective factors, resilience, and youth gambling behavior. More specifically, this study examined the relative contribution of various risk and protective domains in relation to problem gambling behavior and examined whether youth identified as resilient (high risk exposure-high internalized protection) were as likely as those identified as vulnerable (high risk exposure-low internalized protection) to engage in excessive gambling behavior. The sample consisted of 1,273 students ages 12 to 19. The findings demonstrated that risk and protective factors each provide a unique contribution to the prediction model of gambling problems. Resilient and vulnerable youth differed significantly in their self-reported gambling severity. As well, resilient youth were not statistically distinguishable from low-risk exposure groups in terms of their gambling severity. Findings are interpreted with respect to resilience and prevention research.

Data from five recent studies using self-reports were merged to explore gender differences in the characteristics of adolescent problem gambling, including comorbidity with other youth problems. The sample consisted of 2,750 male and 2,563 female participants. Male problem gamblers were more likely than females to report signs of psychological difficulties while females were more likely to note behavioural problems as a consequence of their gambling problems. Males and females with severe gambling problems had remarkably similar prevalence rates of depression, substance use and weekly gambling. In the non-problem gambling group, depression was more likely to afflict females whereas substance use and frequent gambling were more prevalent among males.

This study investigated whether the prevalence of weekly and problem gambling among youth varied according to cultural affiliation. A convenience sample of 1,265 Quebec high school students aged 12–18 was divided into three linguistic groupings: Anglophone (English), Francophone (French), and Allophone (other). Results revealed that the Allophone grouping contained the highest proportion of youth who gambled on a weekly basis and who reported gambling problems, followed by the Anglophone, and finally the Francophone groupings. Acculturation difficulties were associated with problem gambling. Few meaningful between-group differences were found with respect to factors related to problem gambling (i.e., comorbidity with other risk factors, coping, family functioning and resiliency). The results are discussed with respect to the influence of cultural background on gambling behavior.