Child Health Psychology Research Articles

Thematic Section: Interventions in Child Health Psychology

Thematic Section: Interventions in Child Health Psychology

Clinical psychology in Canada: Challenges and opportunities.

It is a singular privilege to prepare this article, related to the future of in Canada. Consistent with other definitions, clinical psychology is conceived of here as a broad domain of professional (Vallis & Howes, 1996). Within the Canadian context, the Clinical Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) adopted a working definition shortly after its creation in 1991, and this definition was subsequently voted on and approved by the Board of Directors of the CPA in 1993. This definition serves several purposes, including the following: (a) an advocacy document that identified training requirements and provided a discussion point related to competency, (b) a document to begin the process of specialty designation in professional psychology, and (c) public education and awareness of the specific skills and limits of psychologists in practice.Included in the definition was the concept that is a. . . broad field of practice and research within the discipline of psychology, which applies psychological principles to the assessment, prevention, amelioration, and rehabilitation of psychological distress, disability, dysfunctional behaviour, and health-risk behaviour, and to the enhancement of psychological and physical well-being. (Vallis & Howes, 1996, p. 124)This definition incorporates the idea of the scientist-practitioner, who is a professional trained to both conduct and evaluate research, and to engage in professional activities within the scope of practice incorporated into the definition. Clinical psychologists work with individual clients, couples, families, groups, organizations, and systems.1 Some would argue that the domain of comprises five subspecialties, including adult mental health, child (and family) mental health, health psychology, neuropsychology, and forensic psychology, although advocates of the latter three areas may also argue that these are distinct areas of practice, and indeed, the CPA has distinct sections for each of these areas. For the sake of the current article, these five areas of research and practice are considered under the umbrella term of clinical psychology. Admittedly, however, this article was written by an individual with a particular place in the field, which includes a focus on adult mental health. It must be left to others to flesh out recent developments and the future of the other subspecialties of psychology.This article is comprised of four major sections, related to training, evidence-based practice, in practice, and the current and potential roles for in Canada. Each section is in turn divided into critical issues which either currently shape the profession, or which can be reasonably argued to be on, or just over the horizon. Unlike Nostradamus, I profess no ability to predict generations or centuries into the future!Training Issues in Clinical PsychologyThe training of psychologists in Canada has shown relatively steady growth. Universities have recognized that these programs are very much in demand, and that the desire for such training far outstrips the collective ability of universities to provide the training. As a result, the applicants who gain admission to these programs have very strong academic abilities and performance and as a partial consequence, their academic success in graduate school is also uniformly high. The training of psychologists in Canada has benefitted enormously from the process of accreditation. Although the earliest programs in Canada had to seek accreditation from the American Psychological Association, as CPA had no such program, CPA has conducted program accreditation since 1994. The criteria for accreditation have evolved over time, and most notably as a result of the Psy.D. Task Force, which examined the acceptability of the scholar-practitioner model of training as an alternative to the scientist-practitioner model that is more typically seen in degree programs that culminate in the Ph. …

Health Value in Developmental Perspective

The present research is devoted to the explanation models of health related behaviors in child health psychology. The empirical model of Health Value (which consists of cognitive, emotional and motivational elements) is presented. Analysis of Health Value and cognitive representations about factors influencing health is conducted. To study the influence of socio-cultural context on HV, cross-cultural analysis between Russian and American adolescents was performed and revealed differences in structure of cognitive representations about health among adolescents.

Introduction to the special issue: psychological aspects of genomics and child health.

Introduction to the special issue: psychological aspects of genomics and child health.

Editorial: Prevention in Child Health Psychology and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology

Prevention science is a cornerstone of the field of public health. Consistent with that view, it is a science seeking to reduce and avoid the development of illness and lifestyle-related health risks (Institute of Medicine, 2002). Prevention is sometimes defined by where its activities take place in the illness process, and at other times by the level of risk in the population of interest. When defined by the illness process, three levels of prevention are commonly referred to. These levels are primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention emphasizes prevention activities taking place prior to the onset of illness, secondary prevention emphasizes prevention activities taking place among those at risk for illness (e.g., enhancing opportunities to prevent illness progression), and tertiary prevention emphasizes prevention activities taking place after illness diagnosis (e.g., preventing or slowing further progression, restoring functioning, and reducing morbidity) (Commission on Chronic Illness, 1957). When defined by population risk, universal prevention emphasizes activities promoting health or decreasing illness for all individuals regardless of their risk status, selective prevention emphasizes activities targeting at risk groups or those showing early illness signs, and indicated prevention refers to activities preventing illness progression among those in the very highest risk categories (Mrazek & Haggerty, 1994). Other forms of prevention include education, counseling, laws, policies, and environmental regulations—all of which are designed to protect public health and welfare (Friis & Sellers, 2004). With these definitions in mind, potential topics falling within the prevention science section of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology are those most likely addressed by one or more national prevention frameworks, such as Healthy People (www.healthypeople.gov) or the Preventive Services Task Force (www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfix.htm), or by organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (www.aap.org), and that seek to promote and improve health in the young. Examples of these topics include social and biobehavioral aspects of alcohol, tobacco, and substance use, mental health, HIV/AIDS, violence, injuries and accidents, pregnancy, suicide, delinquency, sexually transmitted diseases, obesity, diet/nutrition, and physical activity, and topics focusing on prevention theory, methods, and related matters (e.g., structure, process, and content of prevention efforts, as well as discussion of the timing, measurement, duration, reach, moderation, and mediation of prevention). Recognizing that the targets of prevention efforts are often multifaceted and include biological, social, environmental, psychological, and behavioral processes, work that seeks to better define, elucidate, model, and understand these influences and their interactions are especially important.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Child Health Psychology and Public Health: Transdisciplinary Collaborations

Introduction to the Special Issue on Child Health Psychology and Public Health: Transdisciplinary Collaborations

Development of the Diabetes Education, Counseling, Information Delivery and Evaluation (DECIDE) Program: A Health Promotion Intervention For Preadolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

Careful attention to self-care behaviors is crucial to achieving good health outcomes in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Despite the unequivocal research findings that adolescence is a time of poor metabolic control among affected individuals, there have been few prevention efforts geared toward health promotion in this age group. The diabetes education, counseling and information delivery, and evaluation (DECIDE) Program is intended to prevent the deterioration of self-care behaviors often evident during adolescence by intervening during the earlier, more stable time period of preadolescence. This paper describes the foundation for the DECIDE Program and outlines intervention development, current study recruitment, and preliminary program evaluation data. Findings indicate that enrollment into the program is feasible among children and their parents; early feedback suggests that parents and children are also satisfied with their participation. The challenges of conducting randomized controlled trials in health promotion for childhood diabetes are discussed, and ideas are offered for future research directions to improve the integration of child health psychology with public health approaches in this population.

Applying a Behavioral Epidemiology Framework to Research Phases in Child Health Psychology

The purpose of this study was to apply a behavioral epidemiology framework reported in J. F. Sallis, N. Owen, and M. J. Fotheringham (2000) to the field of child health psychology and describe the resulting distribution of research phases. Recent volumes of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology were analyzed and their articles classified as belonging to one of five sequentially-ordered phases of behavioral epidemiology research: Phase 1—relationship between behavior and health; Phase 2—measurement and method; Phase 3—factors influencing behavior; Phase 4—intervention; Phase 5—translation. The results indicate that Phase 3 studies (46%) were the most well-represented in the field, followed by Phase 2 (11%), Phase 1 (9%), Phase 4 (8%), and Phase 5 studies (2%). Compared to the journal Health Psychology, the shape of the research phase distribution of articles published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology was similar. Overall, an encouraging amount of data in the field of child health psychology is being amassed in preparation for behavioral intervention. As research in the field matures, it will likely have a greater impact on public health via chronic disease prevention and control and health promotion interventions.

The legacy of Lizette Peterson-Homer in pediatric psychology (1951-2002).

Lizette Peterson-Homer was an exceptional clinical researcher, dedicated teacher and mentor, and supportive colleague and friend to many in pediatric psychology. Her innovative applications were coupled with strong methodological standards in creating a superb portfolio of contributions to the field. Lizette’s premature death on July 18, 2002, was a loss for the discipline of psychology and particularly for the field of pediatric psychology. By way of facts on her vita, Lizette received her B.S. degree from Utah State University in 1973, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Utah working with Donna Gelfand and Don Hartmann. Upon award of her doctorate in 1978, she started as an assistant professor at the University of Missouri– Columbia, where her rise through the professorial ranks culminated in the award of the Byler Endowed Chair in 1998 and Curator’s Professor in 2001. Lizette had also received recognition from her university for the excellence of her contributions in 1988 through the Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research and Creativity in the Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Frederick A. Middlebush Endowed Chair for a five-year appointment. Over her career she produced an extraordinary number of articles and chapters, and presented at a large number of national and international conferences. In particular, Lizette was an invited plenary speaker at the Florida Conference on Child Health Psychology and the Kansas Conference in Clinical Child Psychology where she presented on her conceptualizations about children’s healthy development and effective interventions to enhance the lives of children and their families based on empirically founded clinical research. She was a frequently sought-after consultant on a range of issues, and gra-

Parents' Beliefs About ADHD: Implications for Assessment and Treatment

L., & Strauss, C. C. (1985). Teacher ratings of attention problems in children experimentally classified as exhibiting attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24, 613–616. Lahey, B., Schaughency, E., Hynd, G., Carlson, C., & Niever, C. (1987). Attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity: Comparison of behavioral characteristics of clinic referred children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 718–723. Lahey, B. B., & Willcutt, E. G. (2000). Validity of the diagnosis and dimensions of attention–deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Manuscript submitted for publication. Marshall, R. M., Hynd, G. W., Handwerk, M. J., & Hall, J. (1997). Academic underachievement in ADHD subtypes. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 635–642. McBurnett, K., Pfiffner, L. J., & Frick, P. J. (2001). Symptom properties as a function of ADHD type: An argument for continued study of sluggish cognitive tempo. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 207–214. Milich, R., Balentine, A. C., & Lynam, D. R. (2001). ADHD/Combined Type and ADHD/Predominantly Inattentive Type are distinct and unrelated disorders. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 8, 463–488. Nigg, J. T., Blaskey, L., Huang, C., & Rappley, M. (2000). Executive functioning and ADHD DSM–IV subtypes. Manuscript submitted for publication. Pelham, W. E., & Fabiano, G. (In press). Treatment of attention deficit disorder: The impact of comorbidity. Child Psychology and Psychotherapy. Tannock, R. (1998). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Advances in cognitive, neurobiological, and genetic research. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39, 65–99.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Focus on Child Health Psychology

Introduction to the Special Issue: Focus on Child Health Psychology

Reducing infant immunization distress through distraction.

Infant procedural distress is largely understudied, and there is a dearth of empirically supported interventions in the child health psychology literature. This study examined nurse-directed distraction for reducing infant immunization distress. Ninety infants and their parents were randomly assigned to a distraction condition (i.e., nurses used stimuli to divert infants' attention) or a typical care condition. Outcome measures were an observational scale, parent and nurse ratings, and infant heart rate. Results indicated that infants engaged in distraction and that distraction reduced their behavioral distress; however, ratings and heart rate were inconclusive. Analyses of procedural phases indicated that infants exhibited elevated distress immediately prior to and during an injection, but this distress was fleeting.

Frontiers in Child Health Psychology: Introduction to the Special Issue

Frontiers in Child Health Psychology: Introduction to the Special Issue

Cognate Literature Guide Series: Publishing Child Health Psychology

Cognate Literature Guide Series: Publishing Child Health Psychology

Book Reviews

Journal Article Book Reviews Get access Advances in Child Health Psychology Edited by James H. Johnson and Suzanne Bennett Johnson. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1991, 384 pp., $39.95 (hard cover), $19.95 (paperback). Elizabeth S. Bishop Elizabeth S. Bishop Arbor Psychological Consultants, Ann Arbor, MI Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Volume 18, Issue 3, June 1993, Pages 421–422, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/18.3.421 Published: 01 June 1993

Review of Advances in Child Health Psychology.

Review of Advances in Child Health Psychology.

Developments in Child Health Psychology

Developments in Child Health Psychology

Child Health Psychology (Book)

Child Health Psychology (Book)

Child health psychology.

Contents: Preface. Introduction. Section I: Prevention and Lifestyle. D.K. Routh, Prevention and Life Style in Child Health Psychology. M. Roberts, D. Fanurik, Rewarding Elementary School Children for Their Use of Safety Belts. B.W. Tuckman, J.S. Hinkle, An Experimental Study of the Physical and Psychological Effects of Aerobic Exercise on School Children. J. Michela, I. Contento, Cognitive, Motivational, Social, and Environmental Influences on Children's Food Choices. L.A. Epstein, R. Koeske, R.R. Wing, A. Valoski, The Effect of Family Variables on Child Weight Change. Section II: Personality and Emotional Behavior. K.A. Matthews, Personality and Emotional Behavior. D.R. Southard, T.J. Coates, K. Kolodner, F.C. Parker, N.E. Padgett, H.L. Kennedy, Relationship Between Mood and Blood Pressure the Natural Environment: An Adolescent Population. T.A. Wills, Stress and Coping in Early Adolescence: Relationships to Substance Use in Urban School Samples. D.M. Murray, K. A. Matthews, S.M. Blake, R.J. Prineas, R.F. Gillum, Type A Behavior in Children: Demographic, Behavioral, and Physiological Correlates. K.A. Matthews, C.M. Stoney, C.J. Rakaczky, W. Jamison, Family Characteristics and School Achievements of Type A Children. Section III: Developmental Aspects of Illness Perception. D. Burbach, L. Peterson, Children's Concepts of Physical Illness: A Review and Critique of the Cognitive Developmental Literature. Section IV: Perspectives on Acute Illness in Children. B.G. Melamed, Current Approaches to Hospital Preparation. T. Zastowny, D. Kirschenbaum, A. Meng, Coping Skills Training for Children: Effects on Distress Before, During, and After Hospitalization. L. Dahlquist, K. Gil, F.D. Armstrong, D. DeLawyer, P. Greene, D. Wuori, Preparing Children for Medical Examinations: The Importance of Previous Medical Experience. J.P. Bush, B.G. Melamed, P.E. Greenbaum, P.L. Sheras, Mother- Child Patterns of Coping with Anticipatory Medical Stress. L. Peterson, S.M. Toler, An Information Seeking Disposition in Child Surgery Patients. Section V: Perspectives on Chronic Health Problems of Children. B. Stabler, Perspectives on Chronic Childhood Illness. S. Hauser, A. Jacobson, D. Wertlieb, B. Weiss-Perry, D. Follansbee, J. Wolsdorf, R. Herskowitz, J. Houlihan, Children With Recently- Diagnosed Diabetes: Interactions Within Their Families. S.L. Hanson, J.W. Pichert, Perceived Stress and Diabetes Control in Adolescents. S.B. Johnson, J. Silverstein, A. Rosenbloom, R. Carter, W. Cunningham, Assessing Daily Management in Childhood Diabetes. G. Geffken, S. Johnson, D. Walker, Behavioral Interventions for Childhood Nocturnal Enuresis: The Differential Effect of Bladder Capacity on Treatment Progress and Outcome. D. Czajkowski, G. Koocher, Predicting Medical Compliance Among Adolescents with Cystic Fibrosis.

Training in pediatric psychology: survey results and recommendations.

Little specific information is available on the types of experiences that are important for training in pediatric psychology. To address this need, the membership of the Society of Pediatric Psychology (SPP) was surveyed regarding their views on the structure and content of training. A total of 160 completed forms were received, representing a return rate of approximately 32%. Survey results suggested that training in pediatric psychology should (a) encompass course work and applied experiences in developmental and clinical child psychology, behavioral assessment and intervention, and child health psychology; (b) move from broad-based activities occurring early in graduate training, to more specialized experiences later on (internship and postdoc); (c) consider viewing postdoctoral training as a necessary step in the preparation of pediatric psychologists. Distinctions between pediatric psychology and clinical-child and health psychology are discussed with respect to training needs.