Mental Health of Children of Deployed and Nondeployed US Military Service Members: The Millennium Cohort Family Study.

OBJECTIVE: Families experience multiple stressors as a result of military service. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations among service member deployment experiences, family and military factors, and children's mental health using baseline data from the Millennium Cohort Family Study, a study designed to evaluate the health and mental health effects of military service on families, including children. METHOD: This study examined administrative data on deployment status (combat, noncombat, and no deployments), as well as service member- and spouse-reported data on deployment experiences and family functioning in relation to the mental health of children in the family who were aged 9 to 17 years. RESULTS: Most children were not reported to have mental health, emotional, or behavioral difficulties regardless of parental deployment status. For an important minority of children, however, parental deployments with combat, compared with those with no deployment, were associated with a parental report of attention-deficit disorder/attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression as diagnosed by a clinical provider, after accounting for demographics, psychosocial context, and military factors. Children's odds of a parental report of depression were significantly higher in both the combat and the noncombat deployment groups than in the no deployment group. CONCLUSION: These findings extend our understanding of the association between parental deployments and children's mental health, with implications for services and training mental health providers serving military families.

Los psicólogos y el uso de tortura en interrogatorios / Psychologists and the use of torture in interrogations

En este artículo se argumenta que los psicólogos no deben participar en los interrogatorios que hacen uso de la tortura u otras formas de trato cruel, inhumano o degradante. La utilización de métodos de tortura es evaluada primero la luz de los códigos de ética profesional y de la ley internacional. A continuación, se hace una revisión de la investigación sobre los interrogatorios y confesiones falsas y se cuestiona su relevancia para los interrogatorios a base de tortura. Por último, se resume la investigación sobre las consecuencias negativas de la tortura para la salud mental en sobrevivientes y perpetradores. Basados en todo ello, llegamos a la conclusión de que la labor de los psicólogos en la planificación, el diseño, la asistencia o participación de interrogatorios que hacen uso de tortura u otros tratos crueles, inhumanos o degradantes es una violación de los principios éticos fundamentales y una violación del derecho internacional y nacional, a la vez que un modo ineficaz de extraer información fiable. La tortura produce traumatismos severos y de larga duración, así como otras consecuencias negativas para los individuos y para las sociedades que la apoyan. El artículo concluye con una serie de recomendaciones acerca de cómo la APA y otras organizaciones profesionales deben responder a la participación de psicólogos en los interrogatorios que hacen uso de la tortura u otras formas de trato cruel, inhumano o degradante...

This article argues that psychologists should not be involved in interrogations that make use of torture or other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment. The use of torture is first evaluated in light of professional ethics codes and international law. Next, research on interrogations and false confessions is reviewed and its relevance for torture-based interrogations is explored. Finally, research on the negative mental health consequences of torture for survivors and perpetrators is summarized. Based on our review, we conclude that psychologists' involvement in designing, assisting with, or participating in interrogations that make use of torture or other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment is a violation of fundamental ethical principles, a violation of international and domestic law, and an ineffective means of extracting reliable information. Torture produces severe and lasting trauma as well as other negative consequences for individuals and for the societies that support it. The article concludes with several recommendations about how APA and other professional organizations should respond to the involvement of psychologists in interrogations that make use of torture or other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment.

Complex trauma and mental health in children and adolescents placed in foster care: findings from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Many children in the child welfare system (CWS) have histories of recurrent interpersonal trauma perpetrated by caregivers early in life often referred to as complex trauma. Children in the CWS also experience a diverse range of reactions across multiple areas of functioning that are associated with such exposure. Nevertheless, few CWSs routinely screen for trauma exposure and associated symptoms beyond an initial assessment of the precipitating event. This study examines trauma histories, including complex trauma exposure (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, domestic violence), posttraumatic stress, and behavioral and emotional problems of 2,251 youth (age 0 to 21; M = 9.5, SD = 4.3) in foster care who were referred to a National Child Traumatic Stress Network site for treatment. High prevalence rates of complex trauma exposure were observed: 70.4% of the sample reported at least two of the traumas that constitute complex trauma; 11.7% of the sample reported all 5 types. Compared to youth with other types of trauma, those with complex trauma histories had significantly higher rates of internalizing problems, posttraumatic stress, and clinical diagnoses, and differed on some demographic variables. Implications for child welfare practice and future research are discussed.