Human Rights and Transnational Culture: Regulating Gender Violence through Global Law

In the current era of human rights activism, the global production of human rights approaches to violence against women generates a wide variety of localization processes. Activists translate between global discourses and local contexts and meanings. Culture is conceptualized in quite different and sometimes contradictory ways in this process. Essentialized ideas of culture inhibit recognition of the potential contributions of local cultural practices and provide justifications for groups to resist these changes. This article shows, with reference to a case study of Fiji, that a more anthropological conception of culture provides a better picture of the localization process and foregrounds the role of activists who translate between global human rights ideas and local grievances

Pilot testing a computerized CBT program in a remote Arctic region: Nunavut youth and youth workers reflect on SPARX

Background: Depression and suicidality amongst Inuit youth is one of the most significant health concerns in Nunavut (Canada), however access to mental health services remains limited (Kirmayer et al., 2000). It is thus crucial to explore innovative intervention modalities for this community. Evidence suggests that Computerized Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (cCBT) may be effective for depressed adolescents and young adults (Andrews et al., 2010; Richardson, Stallard, and Velleman, 2010). SPARX is a form of cCBT that has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in indigenous youth of New Zealand (Merry et al., 2012; Shepherd et al., 2015). This presentation presents qualitative data derived from a recently completed pilot evaluation of SPARX in 25 remote Inuit communities in Nunavut. Method: Participants: A sub-sample of youth participants from the study (12 of a total of 49), who completed the SPARX program, and 8 community workers from Nunavut who had supervised the youth during their SPARX trial. Procedure: Participants completed phone-based focus group interviews about their experiences of SPARX; whether they would recommend the program to others and why they might do so; how they would describe the program to others; any changes they would like to see made to SPARX; and how the game could be rendered more culture-specific. Analysis: Thematic analysis was used to analyze focus group data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results: Feedback from youth who completed SPARX, and youth workers who supervised them, was overwhelmingly positive. Five themes were identified based on youth feedback: SPARX promotes emotional regulation; SPARX skills can be applied to daily life; SPARX should be recommended to peers; SPARX should be modified to be Inuit-specific; SPARX could be improved. Four further themes were identified based on youth worker feedback: Positive changes in youth who had completed SPARX; Need for access to SPARX for all youth; SPARX should be modified to be Inuit-specific; Systemic challenges encountered when administering SPARX should be addressed. Conclusion: SPARX is a novel computer-based program designed to foster resilience and protect against depression. SPARX is showing promise among some of Canada’s most vulnerable youth. There is currently a push for the provision of culturally-sensitive, accessible mental health services. Once culturally adapted, SPARX may be a useful tool for implementation in remote, often marginalized communities

Contemporary transformations seen in the use of human rights

Human rights are increasingly described as in crisis. The rising populist tide that puts nation, religion, and race first poses new kinds of threats to human rights. But are human rights, underpinning the universal order of justice, really on the verge of disappearing

Research & Action Fall/Winter 2013

In this issue: Wellesley Centers for Women Connections grow in Washington, D.C. Recent Findings Fall/Winter 2013 Q&A with Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, Ed.D.: Daughters of Educated Men: School Girls, College Women, and the Ethics of Settlement Life Q&A with Beatrice Achieng Nas, BSC: Nobody is a Nobody, Everybody is Somebody Commentary: Thinking about Trafficking by Sally Engle Merry, Ph.D. Spotlight: New Funding and Projects Fall/Winter 2013https://repository.wellesley.edu/researchandactionreport/1023/thumbnail.jp

Treatment-resistant depression in adolescents: is the addition of cognitive behavioral therapy of benefit?

BACKGROUND: Many young people with major depression fail first-line treatments. Treatment-resistant depression has various definitions in the literature but typically assumes nonresponse to medication. In young people, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the recommended first-line intervention, thus the definition of treatment resistance should be expanded. Therefore, our aim was to synthesize the existing evidence of any interventions for treatment-resistant depression, broadly defined, in children and adolescents and to investigate the effectiveness of CBT in this context. METHODS: We used Cochrane Collaboration methodology, with electronic searches of Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, and the Cochrane Depression Anxiety and Neurosis Group trials registers. Only randomized controlled trials were included, and were assessed for risk of bias. Meta- analysis was undertaken where possible and appropriate. RESULTS: Of 953 articles retrieved, four trials were eligible for inclusion. For one study, only the trial registration document was available, because the study was never completed. All other studies were well conducted with a low risk of bias, although one study had a high dropout rate. Two studies assessed the effect of adding CBT to medication. While an assertive trial of antidepressants does appear to lead to benefit, when compared with placebo, there was no significant advantage, in either study, or in a meta-analysis of data from these trials, that clearly demonstrated an additional benefit of CBT. The third trial showed little advantage of a tricyclic antidepressant over placebo in the context of an inpatient admission. CONCLUSION: Few randomized controlled trials have investigated interventions for treatment-resistant depression in young people, and results from these show modest benefit from antidepressants with no additional benefit over medication from CBT. Overall, there is a lack of evidence about effective interventions to treat young people who have failed to respond to evidence-based interventions for depression. Research in this area is urgently required

Building a Digital Platform for Behavioral Intervention Technology Research and Deployment

While there is demonstrated potential for behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) to improve access to beneficial mental health interventions, there is a continuing need for research to evaluate effectiveness of new and existing applications for specific population groups. This paper reports experience in developing a digital platform to support delivery of an ecosystem of online mental health screening and behavioral intervention technologies to promote the wellbeing of New Zealand youth. Key platform requirements center on identity management, usage and assessment tracking, and implementation of research protocol workflow. A reusable and scalable solution based on Web services is presented in the context of ongoing iterative development and end user studies. The platform is providing consistent research and service delivery support for multiple concurrent threads of the overall youth mental health program

Research & Action Report, Fall/Winter 2008

In this issue: Q & A with Sally Engle Merry Examining Mixed-Ancestry Identity in Adolescents Update on Work to Empower Children for Life Dual-Trauma Couples: Why Do We Need to Study Them? SEED Project Moves Educational Equity and Diversity Forwardhttps://repository.wellesley.edu/researchandactionreport/1013/thumbnail.jp