Home Audio Observations of Parenting-in-Context: Evaluation of an Example Protocol

Observations are a valuable tool for the assessment of parenting. Direct observation of parenting behavior via audio recordings may be among the least intrusive observation methods. However, unobtrusive naturalistic audio observations of parenting behavior, and specifically continuous, longer, observations, are rarely collected. We therefore know little about the acceptability, feasibility, and validity of these types of observations. The current project therefore aimed to develop and pilot a protocol to collect audio data of parenting behavior within its natural context. We collected unobtrusive naturalistic audio observations during two predetermined timeframes: family dinner and bedtime routines. The procedure consisted of three steps: two short home visits and an online interview (approx. 30 minutes). Researchers or research assistants visited participants at home twice to bring and collect the audio recorder. After the recording was processed, one of the researchers scheduled an online interview (via Microsoft Teams) for the evaluation of participants’ experiences of wearing the recording device. We piloted this protocol with 11 families with two to four children between 10 months and 12 years of age. In this document we share the protocol and our pilot findings on the acceptability, feasibility, and validity of the protocol.e

Home Audio Observations of Parenting-in-Context: Evaluation of an Example Protocol

Observations are a valuable tool for the assessment of parenting. Direct observation of parenting behavior via audio recordings may be among the least intrusive observation methods. However, unobtrusive naturalistic audio observations of parenting behavior, and specifically continuous, longer, observations, are rarely collected. We therefore know little about the acceptability, feasibility, and validity of these types of observations. The current project therefore aimed to develop and pilot a protocol to collect audio data of parenting behavior within its natural context. We collected unobtrusive naturalistic audio observations during two predetermined timeframes: family dinner and bedtime routines. The procedure consisted of three steps: two short home visits and an online interview (approx. 30 minutes). Researchers or research assistants visited participants at home twice to bring and collect the audio recorder. After the recording was processed, one of the researchers scheduled an online interview (via Microsoft Teams) for the evaluation of participants’ experiences of wearing the recording device. We piloted this protocol with 11 families with two to four children between 10 months and 12 years of age. In this document we share the protocol and our pilot findings on the acceptability, feasibility, and validity of the protocol.e

Youth care in time of COVID-19: Experiences of professionals and adolescent clients with telehealth

Measures aimed at preventing the COVID-19 virus from spreading restricted all aspects of public life, including possibilities for meeting in-person. Youth care professionals were forced to turn to telehealth tools, such as video calling and e-health methods, to be able to continue support and treatment of children, adolescents, caregivers, and families. This study consists of two qualitative interview studies on the experiences with and transition to telehealth during COVID-19: (1) interviews with youth care professionals (N = 20), and (2) interviews with adolescents who used mental health care support (N = 14). We specifically asked participants about five themes which were selected based on pre-COVID literature on telehealth: (1) tools (i.e., which programs are being used), (2) privacy, (3) methods (i.e., what was the same and what was different compared to in-person sessions), (4) relationship/therapeutic alliance, and (5) effectiveness (i.e., what was their impression of effectiveness of telehealth). The majority of professionals reported that they had very little to no experience with telehealth prior to the pandemic. Both professionals and adolescent clients mentioned benefits and limitations of telehealth. On several themes professionals and adolescent clients mentioned similar barriers in the transition to telehealth during COVID such as limitations of the available hard- and software (theme 1: tools); forced changes in the content and methods of the sessions (theme 3: methods); and difficulties with non-verbal communication (theme 4: alliance). However, whereas most professionals expressed the intention to keep using several aspects of telehealth after restrictions due to COVID are lifted, most adolescent clients expressed they see telehealth as a temporary solution and prefer meeting professionals in person. Their experiences and the barriers and enabling aspects they mentioned may provide important insights in the acceptability and usability of telehealth for youth care organizations, youth care professionals, researchers and higher educational training programs

Sexual and Dating Violence Prevention Programs for Male Youth:A Systematic Review of Program Characteristics, Intended Psychosexual Outcomes, and Effectiveness

Sexual and dating violence (SDV) by male youth (<= 25 years)-including sexual harassment, emotional partner violence, and rape-is a worldwide problem. The goal of this preregistered (PROSPERO, ID: CRD42022281220) systematic review was to map existing SDV prevention programs aimed at male youth, including their characteristics (e.g., content, intensity), intended psychosexual outcomes, and empirically demonstrated effectiveness, guided by the principles of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). We conducted searches in six online databases for published, peer-reviewed quantitative effectiveness studies on multi-session, group focused, and interaction based SDV prevention programs for male youth ending March 2022. After screening of 21,156 hits using PRISMA guidelines, 15 studies on 13 different programs, from four continents were included. Narrative analysis showed, first, broad ranges in program intensity (2-48 h total), and few program curricula included explicit discussion of relevant aspects of the TPB. Second, programs' main intended psychosexual outcomes were to change SDV experiences, or related attitudes, or norms. Third, significant effects were found mostly on longer term behaviors and short-term attitudes. Other theoretical proxies of SDV experiences, such as social norms and perceived behavioral control, were sparsely investigated; thus, program effectiveness on these outcomes remains largely unknown. Assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, moderate to serious risk of bias arose in all studies. We present concrete suggestions for program content, such as explicit attention to victimization and masculinity and discuss best practices for evaluation research, including assessments of program integrity, and examining relevant theoretical proxies of SDV

Male Adolescents with Mild Intellectual Disabilities:Normative Sexual Development and Factors Associated with Sexual Risks

This study aimed to (1) describe male mildly intellectually disabled (MID) adolescents’ general romantic and sexual development, education experience with topics on sexuality and relationships, and frequency of undesirable sexual behaviors and experiences; and (2) explore how sexuality related attitudes, self-esteem, sexual knowledge, and resilience to peer pressure link to MID male adolescents’ sexual and dating violence (SDV) perpetration, SDV victimization and sexual risk behavior. We used baseline data from a randomized controlled trial on a program for psychosexual health promotion and prevention of undesirable sexual experiences for MID male adolescents (N = 120, M age = 15.03 years), assessed with self-report questionnaires. We examined cross-sectional associations with correlations and (logistic) regression analyses between sexuality-related attitudes, global self-esteem, sexual knowledge, and resilience to peer pressure with SDV perpetration, SDV victimization and behavioral intentions following sexual rejection. Results indicated that male MID adolescents were romantically and sexually active, and reported unsafe sex, 47.7% experienced SDV perpetration and 33.9% victimization. Positive attitudes towards dating violence were associated with having experienced both SDV perpetration and victimization, and more adherence to heterosexual double standards was related to more negative and fewer positive behavioral intentions upon sexual rejection. Participants who experienced SDV victimization had more sexual knowledge. Self-esteem and resilience to peer pressure were unrelated to SDV. Concluding, male MID adolescents are similarly sexually active to the general population but may need more guidance in the form of timely, tailored prevention and education. We provide concrete suggestions such as focusing on changing attitudes and practicing skills.</p

A Dose of Nature:Two three-level meta-analyses of the beneficial effects of exposure to nature on children's self-regulation

There is growing evidence that exposure to nature, as opposed to a built environment, is associated with better health. Specifically in children, more exposure to nature seems to be associated with better cognitive, affective, and behavioral self-regulation. Because studies are scattered over different scientific disciplines, it is difficult to create a coherent overview of empirical findings. We therefore conducted two meta-analyses on the effect of exposure to nature on self-regulation of schoolchildren (Mage = 7.84 years; SD = 2.46). Our 3-level meta-analyses showed small, but significant positive overall associations of nature with self-regulation in both correlational (15 studies, r = .10; p < .001) and (quasi-) experimental (16 studies, d = .15; p < .01) studies. Moderation analyses revealed no differential associations based on most sample or study characteristics. However, in correlational studies the type of instrument used to measure exposure to nature (index score of nature vs. parent-reported exposure) significantly moderated the association between nature and self-regulation. Stronger associations were found when exposure to nature was assessed via parent-reports than via an index such as by a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Our findings suggest that nature may be a promising tool in stimulating children's self-regulation, and possibly preventing child psychopathology. However, our overview also shows that we are in need of more rigorous experimental studies, using theoretically based conceptualizations of nature, and validated measures of nature and its putative outcomes

Introduction to the Special Issue. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in Clinical and Community Settings: Challenges, Alternatives, and Supplementary Designs

This article provides an overview of the contributions to the special issue on Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in Clinical and Community Settings: Challenges, Alternatives, and Supplementary Designs. The article introduces the challenges of conducting RCTs in dynamic real-world settings and outlines the need to consider alternative and supplementary designs