Securing the Downside Up: Client and Care Factors Associated with Outcomes of Secure Residential Youth Care

Although secure residential care has the potential of reducing young people's behavioral problems, it is often difficult to achieve positive outcomes. Research suggests that there are several common success factors of treatment, of which the client's motivation for treatment and the quality of the therapeutic relationship between clients and therapists might be especially relevant and important in the context of secure residential care. The objective of the present study was to explore the association of these potential success factors with secure residential care outcomes. A repeated measures research design was applied in the study, including a group of adolescents in a secure residential care center that was followed up on three measurements in time. Interviews and questionnaires concerning care outcomes in terms of adolescents' behavior change during care were administered to 22 adolescents and 27 group care workers. Outcomes in terms of adolescents' treatment satisfaction were assessed by the use of questionnaires, which were completed by 51 adolescents. Adolescents reported some positive changes in their treatment motivation, but those who were more likely to be motivated at admission were also more likely to deteriorate in treatment motivation from admission to departure. Treatment satisfaction was associated with better treatment motivation at admission and with a positive adolescent-group care worker relationship. The results suggest that outcomes can be improved by a more explicit treatment focus on improving the adolescent's treatment motivation and the quality of the adolescent-care worker relationship during secure residential care

Service engagement in interventions for street-connected children and young people: a summary of evidence supplementing a recent Cochrane–Campbell review

Abstract Background This paper builds on a Cochrane–Campbell systematic review of interventions that reduce harms and promote reintegration in street-connected children and young people focusing on intervention outcomes. The aim of the present analysis is to explore questions raised in the systematic review over the potential role of service engagement in mediating outcomes of relevant interventions. Objective The paper summarises engagement-related findings from quantitative intervention evaluations with street-connected populations of children and young people, as reported by study authors. It seeks to contribute to theoretical and methodological understandings of service engagement with street-connected youth populations and to highlight gaps in current knowledge. Methods Drawing on the original search for the Cochrane–Campbell review, we rescreened search results in our database and included quantitative findings if relevant to our current research questions, regardless of study design. Additionally, we sought new study publications from authors whose work was included in the original systematic review. The discussion explores relevant data from five studies included in the original systematic review, ten studies excluded from the review, and two studies published after the completion of the review. Results The measures of service engagement in the included studies focused on treatment attendance, ‘level of engagement’, and service satisfaction. Evidence on the impact of service engagement on other outcomes in interventions for street-connected children and young people was limited. Available data on the predictors and impact of service engagement were mixed and appear not to provide robust support for common hypotheses in the relevant context

Mother and Adolescent Reports of Associations Between Child Behavior Problems and Mother-Child Relationship Qualities: Separating Shared Variance from Individual Variance

This study contrasts results from different correlational methods for examining links between mother and child (N = 72 dyads) reports of early adolescent (M = 11.5 years) behavior problems and relationship negativity and support. Simple (Pearson) correlations revealed a consistent pattern of statistically significant associations, regardless of whether scores came from the same reporter or from different reporters. When correlations between behavior problems and relationship quality differed, within-reporter correlations were always greater in magnitude than between-reporter correlations. Dyadic (common fate) analyses designed for interdependent data decomposed within-reporter correlations into variance shared across reporters (dyadic correlations) and variance unique to specific reporters (individual correlations). Dyadic correlations were responsible for most associations between adolescent behavior problems and relationship negativity; after partitioning variance shared across reporters, no individual correlations emerged as statistically significant. In contrast, adolescent behavior problems were linked to relationship support via both shared variance and variance unique to maternal perceptions. Dyadic analyses provide a parsimonious alternative to multiple contrasts in instances when identical measures have been collected from multiple reporters. Findings from these analyses indicate that same-reporter variance bias should not be assumed in the absence of dyadic statistical analyses

The Susceptibility of Trypanosomatid Pathogens to PI3/mTOR Kinase Inhibitors Affords a New Opportunity for Drug Repurposing

In our study we describe the potency of established phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) and mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) kinase inhibitors against three trypanosomatid parasites: Trypanosoma brucei, T. cruzi, and Leishmania sp., which are the causative agents for African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniases, respectively. We noted that these parasites and humans express similar kinase enzymes. Since these similar human targets have been pursued by the drug industry for many years in the discovery of cellular growth and proliferation inhibitors, compounds developed as human anti-cancer agents should also have effect on inhibiting growth and proliferation of the parasites. With that in mind, we selected eight established PI3K and mTOR inhibitors for profiling against these pathogens. Among these inhibitors is an advanced clinical candidate against cancer, NVP-BEZ235, which we demonstrate to be a highly potent trypanocide in parasite cultures, and in a mouse model of T. brucei infection. Additionally, we describe observations of these inhibitors' effects on parasite growth and other cellular characteristics

Sexual Relationships in Hispanic Countries: a Literature Review

This is a pre-print of an article published in Current Sexual Health Reports. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-020-00272-6Purpose of Review: Sexuality is a complex dimension for which culture seems to play an important role, particularly in countries that are more traditional. This review summarizes the knowledge about sexual relationships in Hispanic countries, considering sexual debut, attitudes, behaviors, and satisfaction. Recent Findings: In line with the literature reviewed, the sexual double standard seems to be continuing to influence sexual relationships. Some countries show more open expressions of sexuality based on the level of gender inequality or sexualized context, and within countries, variables such as religious commitment, family characteristics, and access to resources may play important roles in sexuality. Summary: Future research, policies, and interventions should consider these specific characteristics, including these forms of expression of sexuality, in the adjustment of cross-cultural and cross-national strategies

The Judgment of Future Suicide-Related Behavior: Helpline Counselors\u27 Accuracy and Agreement

Background: Judging whether a youth is at risk for suicide-related behavior (SRB) is considered an extremely challenging task. There are only few studies of helpline counselors, and little is known about their ability to accurately determine the level of risk for SRB. Aims: To examine whether helpline counselors can agree on judgments of risk for SRB, and whether their judgments are consistent with youths’ actual behavior in a 6-month period following intake. Methods: 34 helpline counselors, recruited from three helplines, were studied. Information was collected on their judgments of risk for SRB for each of 45 youths over a 6-month period following initial intake. Results: Contrary to expectations, the counselors had a high rate of agreement (k = .56), and their risk judgments could be used quite successfully (80.0% correct classification) in identifying youths who later engaged in SRB. Conclusions: Unlike most other groups represented in the decision-making literature, helpline counselors agree and are accurate in their judgments of risk for SRB. Our findings suggest that it might be beneficial to apply some of the procedures used to train helpline clinicians to other types of clinicians. Further studies of helpline clinicians are suggested