Journalists and Safety Training: Experiences and Opinions

Over the last generation, safety trainings (sometimes known as Hostile Environment and First Aid Training or HEFAT) have been widely embraced by the news industry as a means of preparing journalists to cover conflict, crisis and other potentially dangerous assignments. Yet the effectiveness, relevance and usefulness of such trainings – both generally and in terms of specific content and approaches – have not been independently assessed. For this reason, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, surveyed a wide range of journalists around the world about the safety trainings they attended, the skills they acquired and the gaps between these trainings and their professional needs on the ground. From October 2016 to February 2017, 247 journalists completed the survey, which was conducted by the Dart Center’s research lab housed at The University of Tulsa Department of Psychology. This report, prepared by an interdisciplinary team of researchers in psychology, occupational safety and journalism practice, details the survey results. We make no attempt to evaluate particular commercial or nonprofit safety training providers. Instead, this report examines the various approaches to journalism safety training; how journalists assess their training experiences; and the systematic gaps and other issues suggested by their assessments

A Critical Review of Effective Child Mass Trauma Interventions: What We Know and Do Not Know from the Evidence

Over the last 20 years, numerous interventions have been developed and evaluated for use with children exposed to mass trauma with six publications reporting meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of child mass trauma interventions using inactive controls to examine intervention effects on posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and functional impairment. The current report reviews the results of these meta-analytic studies to examine the status of the evidence for child mass trauma mental health interventions and to evaluate potential moderators of intervention effect and implications for practice. The meta-analyses reviewed for the current report revealed a small to medium overall effect of interventions on posttraumatic stress, a non-statistically significant to small overall effect on depression, a non-statistically significant overall effect on anxiety, and a small overall effect on functional impairment. The subgroup analyses suggest that interventions should be matched to the populations being served and to the context. Additional research is needed to tailor future interventions to further address outcomes other than posttraumatic stress including depression, anxiety, and functional impairment

A Critical Review of Effective Child Mass Trauma Interventions: What We Know and Do Not Know from the Evidence

Over the last 20 years, numerous interventions have been developed and evaluated for use with children exposed to mass trauma with six publications reporting meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of child mass trauma interventions using inactive controls to examine intervention effects on posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and functional impairment. The current report reviews the results of these meta-analytic studies to examine the status of the evidence for child mass trauma mental health interventions and to evaluate potential moderators of intervention effect and implications for practice. The meta-analyses reviewed for the current report revealed a small to medium overall effect of interventions on posttraumatic stress, a non-statistically significant to small overall effect on depression, a non-statistically significant overall effect on anxiety, and a small overall effect on functional impairment. The subgroup analyses suggest that interventions should be matched to the populations being served and to the context. Additional research is needed to tailor future interventions to further address outcomes other than posttraumatic stress including depression, anxiety, and functional impairment

Examining the relationships between prenatal methamphetamine exposure, early adversity, and child neurobehavioral disinhibition.

Methamphetamine use is a growing problem among pregnant women in the United States. Many negative consequences of methamphetamine use have been documented for the users, but little research has examined the long-term association between prenatal methamphetamine exposure (PME) and childhood outcomes. The current study examined the extent to which PME was predictive of childhood neurobehavioral disinhibition (ND), as well as the extent to which early adversity mediated this relationship. A sample of 320 mother-infant dyads (162 PME) was followed from birth through 6.5 years of age. ND was conceptualized as a two factor model consisting of deficits in (a) behavioral and emotional control, and (b) executive function. PME was associated with behavioral and emotional control at 5 years, which was associated with executive function deficits at 6.5 years. Early adversity (birth through year 3) significantly mediated the relationship between PME and ND. Associations with previous research and implications for prevention are discussed

School-Aged Outcomes following Prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure: 7.5-Year Follow-Up from the Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle Study.

ObjectiveTo assess the relationship between prenatal methamphetamine exposure (PME) and behavior problems at age 7.5 years and the extent to which early adversity mediated this relationship.Study designThe multicenter, longitudinal Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle study enrolled 412 mother-infant pairs at 4 sites. Methamphetamine-exposed participants (n = 204) were identified by self-report and/or gas chromatography/mass spectrometry confirmation of amphetamine and metabolites in infant meconium. Matched participants (n = 208) denied methamphetamine use and had a negative meconium screen. At the 7.5-year follow-up, 290 children with complete Child Behavior Checklist data and an early adversity index score were available for analysis (n = 146 exposed).ResultsPME was significantly associated with an increased early adversity index score (P < .001) and with increased externalizing, rule-breaking behavior, and aggressive behavior (P < .05). Early adversity was also associated with higher externalizing behavior scores. Early adversity significantly mediated the relationship between PME and behavioral problems. After adjusting the mediation model for sex, prenatal tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana exposures, and study site, the association of PME with early adversity remained significant.ConclusionsThough PME is associated with behavioral problems, early adversity may be a strong determinant of behavioral outcome for children exposed to methamphetamine in utero. Early adversity significantly mediated the relationship between PME and behavioral problems

School-Aged Outcomes following Prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure: 7.5-Year Follow-Up from the Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle Study

ObjectiveTo assess the relationship between prenatal methamphetamine exposure (PME) and behavior problems at age 7.5 years and the extent to which early adversity mediated this relationship.Study designThe multicenter, longitudinal Infant Development, Environment, and Lifestyle study enrolled 412 mother-infant pairs at 4 sites. Methamphetamine-exposed participants (n = 204) were identified by self-report and/or gas chromatography/mass spectrometry confirmation of amphetamine and metabolites in infant meconium. Matched participants (n = 208) denied methamphetamine use and had a negative meconium screen. At the 7.5-year follow-up, 290 children with complete Child Behavior Checklist data and an early adversity index score were available for analysis (n = 146 exposed).ResultsPME was significantly associated with an increased early adversity index score (P < .001) and with increased externalizing, rule-breaking behavior, and aggressive behavior (P < .05). Early adversity was also associated with higher externalizing behavior scores. Early adversity significantly mediated the relationship between PME and behavioral problems. After adjusting the mediation model for sex, prenatal tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana exposures, and study site, the association of PME with early adversity remained significant.ConclusionsThough PME is associated with behavioral problems, early adversity may be a strong determinant of behavioral outcome for children exposed to methamphetamine in utero. Early adversity significantly mediated the relationship between PME and behavioral problems