One size does not fit all:A systematic review of training outcomes on residential youth care professionals' skills

Despite the importance of training residential youth care professionals to increase their professional competences and, by doing so, enabling them to cope with the many stressors encountered during their work – such as the serious behaviour problems of the adolescents with whom they work – little attention has been paid so far to the influence of training on the behaviour and skills of residential professionals. This study aims to gain greater insight into the effects of training on the skills of these professionals. We conducted a systematic literature review using the PsycINFO, Eric, SocIndex and Academic Search Premier databases. Within the twelve studies retrieved, the outcomes of nine different training programmes were examined. These nine training programmes include The Solution Strategy (TSS), (Professional) Skills for Residential Child Care Workers (PSRCCW/SRCCW), Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (for Youth Care Workers) (TCIYCW/TCI), Child Teacher Relationship Training (CTRT), a Brief Training Program (BTP), Social Skills Training (SST), Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP), Mental Health Training (MHT), and a Brief Training Manual (BTM). Our results demonstrate that positive changes in professional skills can be obtained after a training course. TSS (in both studies), PSFCCW, SRCCW, TCI, CTRT, BTP, SST, BASP and BTM programmes are associated with positive outcomes at the individual or organisational level. However, two studies also found negative outcomes related to decreases in the perceived recognition of youth care workers’ value to the agency and a decrease in the knowledge and skills that they learned through training after six months (TSS [Hickey, 1994] and PSRCCW). In addition, other outcomes were also found. The most common ‘other’ outcome was a variable training effect on the professionals’ skills. Although we did find positive (and some negative) training outcomes on the professionals’ skills, none of the studies specified the training elements which caused these changes. More thorough empirical studies using an experimental or repeated case study design are needed to identify effective training elements which could further improve the effectiveness of interventions targeting youths in residential youth care

Professionalizing Care Workers: Outcomes of a ‘Motivational Interviewing’ Training in Residential Youth Care

Behavioral change in adolescents is often an important aim of residential youth care, but difficult to achieve. Care workers can increase the intrinsic motivation of adolescents to change their behavior by applying Motivational Interviewing (MI). The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a difference in workers’ performance vis-à-vis adolescents before and after an MI training course. To measure this difference, we coded transcripts of audio recordings of one-on-one conversations between adolescents and workers, using the MITI 4.2.1 and MISC 2.5. We compared the transcripts made before the MI training course with the transcripts made after the training course. The results show that the 13 workers made significantly more use of MI adherent behaviors after the training course. Moreover, a trend toward using fewer MI non-adherent behaviors after the training was observed. The results suggest that workers are able to evoke more ‘change talk’ with adolescents after a training course. In conclusion, after attending a training course, workers are able to engage in conversations that are more in line with the MI-spirit. However, these are still not “real” MI conversations yet. We recommend to train workers more intensively in how to apply MI

The antisaccade task as an index of sustained goal activation in working memory: modulation by nicotine

The antisaccade task provides a laboratory analogue of situations in which execution of the correct behavioural response requires the suppression of a more prepotent or habitual response. Errors (failures to inhibit a reflexive prosaccade towards a sudden onset target) are significantly increased in patients with damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and patients with schizophrenia. Recent models of antisaccade performance suggest that errors are more likely to occur when the intention to initiate an antisaccade is insufficiently activated within working memory. Nicotine has been shown to enhance specific working memory processes in healthy adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We explored the effect of nicotine on antisaccade performance in a large sample (N = 44) of young adult smokers. Minimally abstinent participants attended two test sessions and were asked to smoke one of their own cigarettes between baseline and retest during one session only. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Nicotine reduced antisaccade errors and correct antisaccade latencies if delivered before optimum performance levels are achieved, suggesting that nicotine supports the activation of intentions in working memory during task performance. The implications of this research for current theoretical accounts of antisaccade performance, and for interpreting the increased rate of antisaccade errors found in some psychiatric patient groups are discussed