National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW): One Year in Foster Care-Wave 1 Data Analysis Report

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families has undertaken the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) to learn about the experiences of children and families who come in contact with the child welfare system. NSCAW is gathering information associated with over 6,200 children from public child welfare agencies in a stratified random sample of 92 localities across the United States.

The first national longitudinal study of its kind, NSCAW is examining the characteristics, needs, experiences, and outcomes for these children and families. The study, authorized under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1961, will also provide information about crucial program, policy, and practice issues of concern to the federal government, state and local governments, and child welfare agencies.

To view the Executive Summary of this report, visit
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/core/ongoing_research/afc/exec-sum_nscaw/exsum_nscaw.html.

The entire report is coming soon to http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/core/ongoing_research/afc/wave.

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Experts Try Fast-Track Fix for Children with Phobias

The National Institute of Mental Health is testing a speedy cure for childhood phobias in a 120-child study. The concept is a version of traditional exposure therapy: the people with phobias are exposed to their worst nightmares until their bodies are too weary to respond with stress. But in this trial with children, the lessons typically experienced over several sessions are conducted in three hours. So far, investigators, from Virginia Tech and Stockholm University in Sweden, claim a 75 percent cure rate at one-year followup.

To view the entire article, visit
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/20/health/psychology/20PHOB.html.

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Recent Advances in Prepubertal Mood Disorders: Phenomenology and Treatment

This review examines advances over the last year in the field of prepubertal mood disorders. Despite significant progress, there remains a striking paucity of data to direct clinical practice in the treatment of prepubertal mood disorders. Data are needed to clarify the risk-benefit ratio in circumstances in which potential side effects are not fully understood and the consequences of not treating may, themselves, be detrimental. Further revisions of the early phenomenology of major depressive disorder and bipolar affective disorder will provide the basis for future treatment trials and further studies of etiology and neurobiology.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/466375

(Medscape is a free service provided by WebMD; registration is required.)

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Parents of Children With Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) May Have ADHD Themselves

Parents of children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are likely to have the disorder themselves and may benefit from treatment, according to the results of a comparison study published in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Based on interviews with the biological mothers, the investigators concluded that ADHD in the children was associated with a 24-fold increase in rates of maternal and paternal childhood ADHD compared with rates in parents of control children.

To view the summary of this study, visit http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/466863

(Medscape is a free service provided by WebMD; registration is required.)

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Juvenile Arrests 2001

This bulletin from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides a summary and an analysis of national and state juvenile arrest data presented in the FBI report “Crime in the United States 2001.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tracks four offenses—murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—in its Violent Crime Index. The juvenile arrest rate for each of these offenses has been declining steadily since the mid-1990s; for murder, the rate fell 70% from its 1993 peak through 2001. This information is an important resource for those working to sustain the nation’s progress in reducing juvenile violence.

To view the bulletin, visit http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/201370/contents.html