Youth Who Have Lived in Alternative Care in Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe: Mental Health and Violence Outcomes in Nationally Representative Data.

Objective: We explore whether having previously lived in alternative care (foster, kinship, and/or residential care) is linked to sexual risk-taking, mental health, and experiencing violence in Nigerian, Zambian, and Zimbabwean youth ages 13-17 living in households with or without their biological parents, and assess the utility and limitations of existing data. Method: This study is a secondary analysis of nationally-representative Violence Against Children Surveys (N=6,405). Logistic regressions examined the effect of alternative care experience on the odds of poor outcomes, controlling for covariates including parental care status, orphanhood, and household assets. Results: In both bivariate and multivariate analyses, having lived in alternative care in the last five years was associated with lowered odds mental distress (OR=0.25, 95% CI: [0.10, 0.61], p=.002), and higher odds of sexual risk taking (OR=1.70, 95% CI: [1.11, 2.59], p=.014), caregiver physical abuse (OR=1.81, 95% CI: [1.30, 2.50], p<.001), caregiver emotional abuse (OR=1.75, 95% CI: [1.20, 2.54], p=.004), and peer violence (OR=1.57, 95% CI: [1.09, 2.26], p=.015). It was not associated with suicidality, self harm, or sexual assault after controlling for covariates. Conclusion: Youth who have lived in alternative care in the last five years may benefit from programs that address violence, self-harm, and sexual risk taking behavior, even if they are now in families. To better understand children outside parental care, national data collection efforts should distinguish between residential and family-based care.

Inclusive education in a refugee camp for children with disabilities: How are school setting and children's behavioral functioning related?

Many refugee children face challenges accessing education, but refugee children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to exclusion from school environments as well as social settings. Mainstreaming is considered a best practice but may not always be feasible given the limited resources available in refugee camps. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which school setting (i.e., special needs vs. mainstream classrooms) is associated with changes in children's prosocial behaviors (i.e., social skills and ability to get along well with peers) and behavioral difficulties, accounting for disability status. In Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, researchers collected two waves of data (approximately 2.5 years apart) for students enrolled in special needs schools (n = 78) and students who had transitioned from special needs schools into mainstream classrooms (n = 51). Children's average prosocial scores decreased between wave 1 and wave 2, but scores from children in special needs schools decreased at a lower rate indicating potential protective factors in these settings. While children's average total difficulties decreased over time, children's difficulties in special needs schools decreased at a faster rate, also indicating potential protective factors. Neither severity of disability nor gender significantly predicted change in prosocial or difficulties scores. In the context of a refugee camp, mainstreaming alone may not fully address the needs of children with disabilities. Specific factors seen in special education settings, such as individualized services, accessible accommodations, and infrastructure supports, must be considered as a means of creating inclusive educational environments.

Emotional Benefits and Barriers of Psychological Services Scale: Initial construction and validation among African American women.

The current study used the Health Belief Model to develop a measure that assessed the emotional benefits and barriers of professional psychological services in an African American women sample. Data from 251 African American women recruited from online organizations from across the United States (n = 164) and a Midwestern university psychology subject pool (n = 87) were used for exploratory factor analysis. Results revealed a 2-factor structure of the Emotional Benefits and Barriers of Psychological Services (EBBPS) Scale: Life Enhancement and Concerns about Distress, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed with data from 208 African American women who were recruited from a Midwestern university psychology subject pool (n = 81), Mturk (n = 104), and online organizations across the United States (n = 23). Results confirmed the EFA 2-factor model and demonstrated superior fit compared with a unidimensional model as well as a 3 factor model. Both factors exhibited excellent internal consistency. Construct validity was supported given that EBBPS factors were correlated with theoretically related constructs, like psychological help-seeking attitudes, intentions to seek counseling, and cultural identity, as well as uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated constructs, like psychological distress. These findings support the utility and cultural relevance of the EBBPS with African American women. (PsycINFO Database Record