Preventing Violence in Seven Countries: Global Convergence in Policies

Do governments take the measures that are supported by the best scientific evidence available? We present a brief review of the situation in: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our findings show surprisingly similar developments across countries. While all seven countries are moving towards evidence-based decision making regarding policies and programs to prevent violence, there remain a number of difficulties before this end can be achieved. For example, there continue to be few randomized controlled trials or rigorous quasi-experimental studies on aggression and violence. Results from experimental research are essential to both policy makers and researchers to determine the effectiveness of programs as well as increase our knowledge of the problem. Additionally, all noted that media attention for violence is high in their country, often leading to management by crisis with the result that policies are not based on evidence, but instead seek to appease public outrage. And perhaps because of attendant organizational problems (i.e., in many countries violence prevention was not under the guise of one particular agency or ministry), most have not developed a coordinated policy focusing on the prevention of violence and physical aggression. It is hypothesized that leaders in democratic countries, who must run for election every 4 to 6 years, may feel a need to focus on short-term planning rather than long-term preventive policies since the costs, but not the benefits for the latter would be incurred while they still served in office. We also noted a general absence of expertise beyond those within scientific circles. The need for these ideas to be more widely accepted will be an essential ingredient to real and sustaining change. This means that there must be better communication and increased understanding between researchers and policy makers. Toward those ends, the recent establishment of the Campbell Collaboration, formed to provide international systematic reviews of program effectiveness, will make these results more available and accessible to politicians, administrators and those charged with making key policy decision

Multisystemic Therapy: Clinical Foundations and Research Outcomes

Multisystemic therapy (MST) is an intensive family and community-based treatment for adolescents presenting serious antisocial behavior and their families. Using a home-based model of service delivery to overcome barriers to service access and a strong quality assurance system to promote treatment fidelity, MST therapists address known risk factors (i.e., at individual, family, peer, school, and community levels) strategically and comprehensively. The family is viewed as central to achieving favorable outcomes, and mediation research supports the emphasis of MST on promoting family functioning as the key mechanism of clinical change. Importantly, 22 MST outcome studies have been published, many of which are independent randomized clinical trials, and the vast majority, including those conducted in Europe, support the capacity of MST to reduce youth antisocial behavior and out-of-home placements. Such outcomes, combined with the advocacy of many juvenile justice stakeholders, have led to the transport of MST programs to more than 500 sites, including 10 nations in Europe

Comparison of Multisystemic Therapy and Parent Training in the Brief Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect

This study evaluated the relative efficacy of two promising treatments of child abuse and child neglect: parent training and multisystemic therapy. Subjects included 18 abusive families and 15 neglectful families who were randomly assigned to the treatment conditions. Self-report and observational measures were used to evaluate the effects of treatment at three levels that have been associated with child maltreatment: individual functioning, family relations, and stress/social support. Statistical analyses revealed that families who received either treatment showed decreased parental psychiatric symptomology, reduced overall stress, and a reduction in the severity of identified problems. Analyses of sequential observational measures revealed that multisystemic therapy was more effective than parent training at restructuring parent-child relations. Parent training was more effective than multisystemic therapy at reducing identified social problems. The differential influences of the two treatments were probably associated with differences in their respective treatment contexts and epistemologies. © 1987 American Psychological Association

Family functioning and the social adaptation of hearing-impaired youths

This study examined the associations between important aspects of family functioning and the adjustment of hearing-impaired youths. Participants were 75 hearing-impaired youths and their hearing parents. The dependent variables were mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 ratings of child behavior problems and social competence. Independent variables included parental symptomatology, parental ratings of family stress, and family members\u27 perceptions of family cohesion and family adaptability. Demographic characteristics and the youth\u27s degree of hearing loss and mode of communication were used as control variables. Results from multiple regression analyses showed that parental ratings of the youths\u27 behavior problems were linked with parental symptomatology, and that maternal ratings of the youths\u27 behavior problems were associated with low family adaptability. Parental ratings of the youths\u27 social competence were predicted by family stress. Overall, key aspects of family functioning accounted for considerably more variance than did the control variables. The methodological and conceptual implications of the findings are discussed. © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation

Peer relations of hearing-impaired adolescents

Compared peer relations of hearing-impaired adolesents (n = 35) with those of hearing adolescents (n = 35) based on reports from mothers, fathers, and adolescents. Dependent mesures included the emotional bonding, aggression, and social maturity subscales of the Missouri Peer Relations Inventory, the socialized aggression subscale from the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist and the activities and social subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist. Analyses showed that parents of hearing-impaired youths rated their adolescents\u27 friendships as relatively hign in aggression, but hearing-impaired adolescents rated their behaviour with friends as reatively low in aggression. These fingings were interpreated in light of recent reseach regarding the cognitive biases of aggressive hearing children. Mothers of hearing-impaired youths also rated their adolescents\u27 friendships as lower in emptional bonding than did mothers of hearing adolescents. © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation

Predicting changes in children\u27s popularity: The role of family relations

This study evaluated the association between family relations and changes in children\u27s popularity during the school year when controlling for the influence of important third variables. Participants were 24 third-grade children and their parents. Sociometric nominations were used to measure popularity, and multiple self-report and observational measures were used to assess family relations. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that perceptions of positive family relations and observed paternal receptivity to children\u27s proposed solutions on a teaching task were linked with favorable changes in peer acceptance even when the effects of the children\u27s social competence and academic competence were statistically controlled. These findings support the view that positive family relations facilitates the development of children\u27s peer relations. © 1991