Sexual victimization and intellectual disabilities among child welfare involved youth.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Youth with intellectual disabilities involved in child welfare systems are at greater risk of sexual victimization than youth who have not been investigated for child maltreatment. This study addresses a gap in the literature regarding older youth with intellectual disabilities who are sexually victimized and pushed to engage in transactional sex while they are transitioning from child welfare systems involvement. It does so by examining risk and protective factors at the individual, micro, exo, and macro systems levels. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: This study included 334 youth ages 18-19.5 from a nationally representative sample of 5,872 child welfare-involved youth. METHODS: Multivariate logistic regression models were used to conduct a secondary analysis of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II to examine relationships between intellectual ability, social support, and community environment and sexual victimization and engaging in transactional sex. RESULTS: Results indicate that 2.5 % of the youth experienced sexual victimization in the past 12 months, and 3.9 % had engaged in transactional sex in the past 6 months. The mean intelligence score for these youth was one standard deviation below average (M = 84.62, SD = 19.60). Being female was associated with experiencing sexual victimization (Odds Ratio = 17.29, p = .025). Higher intellectual ability scores were associated with lower odds of engaging in paid sexual activity (Odds Ratio = 0.92, p = .002). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the need for early identification of intellectual disabilities among child welfare-involved youth, provision of informed social supports and services, and building community connections during transition to prevent sexual victimization.

American Indians' response to physical pain: functional limitations and help-seeking behaviors.

Seventy-five American Indians, ages 25 to 84, representing 14 tribal nations, participated in this study. The historical, cultural, and behavioral responses to physical pain were examined. Data were collected over a 7-month period with a survey instrument that included the Universal Pain Scale, activities of daily living, causes of pain, cultural beliefs, and self-help-seeking behaviors. Also, recommendations for Western biomedical health care professionals are offered to improve services for the American Indian population. Findings demonstrate that culture plays a crucial role in wellness and significantly affects help-seeking behaviors, treatment regimens, responses to pain, and pain management.

School staff perspectives on the challenges and solutions to working with court-involved students.

BACKGROUND: Court-involved students, such as those in foster care and the juvenile justice system, generally experience high incidences of both acute and chronic trauma, adversely impacting their educational well-being and overall academic trajectory. Utilizing perceptions of teachers and other school staff, this study explores the challenges and needs of school personnel working with this student population. METHODS: Participants were school personnel employed at a Midwest, urban, public charter school during the 2012-2013 academic year. Focus groups explored the perceptions of school staff members working with court-involved students to develop a staff training curriculum. Focus groups also were conducted after the training intervention to get feedback from participants and identify remaining challenges. Focus group data were analyzed and results were member-checked with study participants. RESULTS: Findings included 7 major themes (14 subthemes) regarding student behaviors that were challenging for school staff to manage. Themes included trauma-related behaviors, attachment-related behaviors, staff preintervention needs, intervention feedback, and staff postintervention needs. CONCLUSIONS: Teachers and school staff can play a role in the educational well-being of court-involved youth. However, they need trauma-specific knowledge and resources to be effective.

American Indian grand families: a qualitative study conducted with grandmothers and grandfathers who provide sole care for their grandchildren.

A qualitative study was conducted to determine the rationale for 31 American Indian grandparents' who provide sole care of their grandchildren, the impact of historical trauma on their decision making process in accessing services, the value of American Indian Child Welfare policies in addressing care issues, and custody status of the grand families. Indian Outreach Workers, Community Health Representatives, Elder Program Directors, and tribal community leaders were key in the recruitment of participants. The grandparents were informed of the purpose of the study and participated in face-to-face, paper and pencil, individual interviews. The subjects included 29 grandmothers and two grandfathers; age 43-86 years, with 20 who lived off reservation land and 11 who lived on reservation land in Michigan. A phenomenological approach of the "world of the lived experience" informed the design of the study. The researchers recorded the subjects' responses via field notes, conducted a comparison of responses to assess internal reliability, and entered the responses into the qualitative data analysis Nvivo program. Findings included; (1) reasons for providing sole care of grandchildren (2) stressors and rewards of providing sole care (3) grandparents decisions affected by historical traumas which focused on the boarding school issues and the removal of children from their homes due to cultural differences causing a reluctance to seek and access national and state programs (4) grandparents preference was to seek and access services provided by their Tribal Nations, and/or American Indian urban agencies (5) most lacked legal custodial status which is an indicator the grandparents' may have benefited from knowledge of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).