Latency Age Children Research Articles

Inpatient Treatment of Severe Disruptive Behaviour Disorders with Risperidone and Milieu Therapy

To evaluate the therapeutic impact of adding risperidone to milieu therapy of latency-aged inpatients with severe disruptive disorders. The charts of 90 latency-aged patients consecutively admitted to a psychiatry ward were reviewed retrospectively. Fifteen of these patients received risperidone treatment, were nonpsychotic, and did not suffer from pervasive developmental disorder (12 male, 3 female; mean age 9.99 years, SD 1.76). Their scores on the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) were compared at admission, before risperidone treatment, and at discharge. All subjects were diagnosed with a disruptive behavioural disorder. Ten (66.67%) had additional learning difficulties, and 13 (86.7%) had pathological personality traits. The characteristics of the sample suggested borderline pathology or multiple complex developmental disorder. Following a mean of 38 days after admission (SD 22.3), the patients received risperidone for a mean of 46 days (SD 28.2) before being discharged. The mean maintenance dose of risperidone was 1.27 mg daily (SD 0.36). Mean CGAS scores increased from admission (21.9, SD 7.0) to before risperidone treatment (26.8, SD 7.6, P < 0.0001) and to discharge (50.3, SD 5.3, P < 0.0001). Only 2 patients had documented side effects. Low-dose risperidone used adjunctively to milieu therapy led to statistically and clinically significant additional improvement in the functioning of hospitalized latency-aged children with severe behavioural disorders. Low-dose risperidone is a safe and effective adjunct to milieu therapy for treating this population in inpatient settings. Prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.

Children's symptoms in the wake of Challenger: a field study of distant-traumatic effects and an outline of related conditions.

The Challenger space shuttle explosion in January 1986 offered an opportunity to determine what, if any, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and bereavement normal latency-age children and adolescents would develop after a distant, horrifying event. With a structured interview, the authors assessed the symptoms of 153 randomly selected children from Concord, N.H., and Porterville, Calif. Responses were statistically compared between East Coast children, who saw the event on television and who generally cared more about the teacher aboard Challenger, and West Coast children, who heard about it first; between latency-age children and adolescents; and between children seen 5-7 weeks later and those same children seen 14 months later. More than 60% of the subjects feared at least one stimulus related to Challenger within the first 5-7 weeks of the explosion. The East Coast and latency-age groups appeared significantly more symptomatic than did the West Coast and adolescent groups. Over the 14-month study period, most symptoms dramatically faded. However, adolescents' diminished expectations for the future in general increased, and latency-age children's changed approach to space careers held relatively steady. Three East Coast latency-age children met the DSM-III-R symptom requirements for PTSD in 1986; no children met these in 1987. Children's symptomatic patterns after Challenger relate to the patterns for PTSD listed in diagnostic manuals and to three symptoms not in the DSM-IV list. To the authors, distant traumas appear to be one of a newly defined spectrum of trauma-related conditions that include relatively evanescent symptoms and a few longer-lasting ones. These symptoms may affect large numbers of normal children.

Coping with Pediatric Migraine

Strategies used by latency-aged children to cope with pediatric migraine pain are identified in this exploratory study. The following three broad categories of coping and their subtypes emerged from the data: affective, cognitive, and problem-focused coping. Implications for practice, research, and education, particularly regarding the use of spirituality and prevention, are discussed.

"Friends in Need": Designing and Implementing a Psychoeducational Group for School Children from Drug-Involved Families

Despite widespread recognition of the risks that parental drug use pose to children, few resources are available to help such children. Using a developmental intervention approach, the authors designed and tested a model curriculum for use with groups of latency-aged children in schools located in communities where drug use is pervasive. In implementing this curriculum, the authors documented the need that children affected by family drug use have for workable strategies and skills for coping with aversive environments. The responsiveness of group participants to structure, predictability, and affirmation in the groups was remarkable. Measurable changes occurred in classroom behavior and feelings of self-worth. Obstacles to implementing and testing such an intervention are discussed.

Treating children with sexually abusive behavior problems: guidelines for child and parent intervention

Contents Prologue * Part I: Guidelines for Practice * 1. Sexually Abusive Behavior Problems: Definitions and Current Knowledge * Defining Sexually Abusive Behavior Problems * Age-Appropriate Sex Play * Sexually Abusive Behavior * Current Knowledge * Prior Traumatization * Types of Abuse * Effects of Trauma * Dealing with Trauma Effects * Accountability * Social Competence * Empathy * Establishment of Boundaries * The Sexual Abuse Cycle * Summary * 2. A Treatment Approach * Trauma Outcome Process * Individual Characteristics * Family Dynamics * Family Boundaries * Accountability * Prior Traumatization * Interpersonal Relationships * Parenting Skills * Triggers * Awareness and Choice * Self-Victimization * Abuse * Recovery * Using the Trauma Outcome Process in Therapy * Adapting the Trauma Outome Process Children * Using the Trauma Outcome Process with Parents * Summary * 3. Integrated Treatment Planning * Assessment for Integrated Treatment Planning * General Information * Assessment of Sexual Acting Out Behavior * Accountability * Empathy * Family Environment and Supervision * Sexual Information * Treatment Modalities * Contracts for Treatment * Individual Therapy for the Child * Family Therapy * Group Therapy for Children * Group Therapy for Parents * Assessing Treatment Progress * Treatment Planning for Severely Disordered Children * Summary * 4. Parallel Group Treatment * Structure of Group Treatment Program * Young Children's Group * Latency-aged Children's Program * Treatment Topics in Children's Group * Accountability * Empathy * Relationship Skills * Healthy Sexuality * Group Treatment for Parents * Combined Groups * Summary * Part II: Treatment Exercises * Introduction * 5. Accountability * Draw the Offense * Taking Responsibility for Your Problems * Steps and Slides Abuse Cycle * The Hot Seat * Catch that Thinking Error * 6. Empathy * Conversation with the Victim * Letter to the Victim * The Giving Tree * Draw Victim/Own Face * How Would You Feel If ... * Why My Child Didn't Tell Me * Empathic Responses * 7. Coping with Trauma * Basket of Trigger Feelings * What Happened After You Were Abused * Who Is Responsible? * How My Family Has Changed * The * 8. Relationship Skills * Anger Thermometer * Trust Target * Trust Exercises * What Makes a Friend * Wheels of Intimacy * Flight for Effective Communication * Blueprint for Boundaries * 9. Sexuality * Body Respect * The Great Big Stop Sign * A Touch Is a Touch * Relapse Prevention Fire Safety Plan * Communicating Sexual Values * 10. The Power of the Treatment * Collaboration * Epilogue * References * Index

Adoption of a sibling: reactions of biological children at different stages of development.

Responses of biological children to the adoption of a sibling during latency, adolescence, and young adulthood are described. Case vignettes are presented, underlying dynamics are discussed, and a framework for understanding children's behavior is suggested. Reactions of peer groups of latency-age children, and of biological adolescent children in a case of kinship adoption, are examined.

A Developmental and Psychoeducational Approach to Reducing Conflict and Abuse in Little League and Youth Sports: The Sport Psychiatrist's Role

To stress a point made earlier, whether backyard or Little League, the tone of the youth sports experience is greatly influenced by the player and team selection process. All possible steps should therefore be taken to ensure that the draft is held on high moral ground, and that the adult participants, even on the Major Little League level, behave cooperatively rather than competitively. If it is the community's hope that Little League will "build character, and not characters," it must embrace Shields and Bredemeier's work and flood the Draft Room with the four virtues of compassion, fairness, sportspersonship, and integrity. In one attempt to achieve fairness and balance, some leagues enter player evaluations into a data base and allow a properly programmed computer to project equal teams. It might be best, however, to borrow a page from backyard baseball, and make team selection a more cooperative venture. Wolff has proposed such a draft model. He recommends that each child's name be placed on a big blackboard at the beginning of the draft. All assembled give their assessment of each child's baseball ability, and a consensus skill-level number (one through five) is entered next to each player's name. If there are 72 names, and the league wishes to form six teams of 12 players each, dividing up the rated players so that the skill levels balance would assure everyone (coaches, parents, the league, and by extension, the community) that the teams were of relatively equal strength. No coach at this point would know to which team he or she was being assigned, so there would be no motive for "stacking" a given team. Each team would be designated by a letter of the alphabet, and the six letters would be thrown into a hat. The six coaches would then blindly pick a team from the hat. If a coach desired that his or her child play on his or her team, fair adjustments (trades) could be made subject to majority agreement. The three draft models can be summarized as follows: Draft Model 1 Public tryouts Previous year rating Coach makes selections Can be very competitive, lacking in "character" Can result in very unequal teams Draft Model 2 Player evaluations placed into a data base Properly programmed computer projects equal teams Draft Model 3 All names placed on a blackboard Relative merits of players discussed Equal team drawn up and placed into a hat Adjustments can be made for coach's child If practical, this author suggests that coaches not pick a name for the team until the first team meeting or practice, when that task can be given to the children. In a symbolic way, this returns some of the sport to them while encouraging social interaction among new teammates, and helping the coach detect who the leaders are. Names of professional teams in the major sports, especially baseball, are to be avoided, as they fuel longstanding unconscious associations and fantasies, and may subtly tilt all participants toward the professional "win at all costs" mentality. No one draft model is perfect for every town, and even the most ethical attempt to achieve balance among teams can be severely tested by parents who request that their athlete be placed on the same team as another child for social or car pool reasons. Such requests are not inviolate, however. For example, they do not usually dictate placement in school classes, and car pools are frequently disrupted when children, in individual sports such as Tae Kwan Do, reach different ability levels, and so attend practices at different times. Baseball is no longer the national pasttime and, as we approach the millennium, American children have too many other attractive, competing interests and time demands to spontaneously organize a pick-up game. One coach shared with the author that his saddest moment in CAP League came when he arrived at 6 PM at a field that had been "reserved" for his team, and found a group of boys who were playing a pick-up game. The coach's impulse was to set his boys fre

Effect of diagnosis on countertransferential responses to child psychotherapy patients

Examined the impact of patient diagnosis on countertransferental responses to hypothetical latency-aged child psychotherapy patients meeting criteria for Dysthymia, Conduct, and Borderline Disorders. Three subtypes of countertransference (CT) were measured: positive (e.g., nurturant feelings), negative (e.g., boredom), and CT-related activity (e.g., tendency to refer patient to another therapist). All three subtypes were found to vary significantly as a function of diagnosis. Of the three diagnostic groups, Dysthymic patients elicited the highest degree of positive CT; Conduct Disorder patients, the highest degree of negative CT; and Borderline patients, the highest degree of CT-related activity. Neither patient m d therapist gender nor therapist experience was significantly related to any of the CT scores; however, therapist psychological distress was found to be significantly associated with negative CT and CT-related activity for all three diagnoses.

A School-Based Group Intervention to Strengthen Personal and Social Competencies in Latency-Age Children

This study was designed to test the effectiveness of a primary preventive intervention to strengthen the factors associated with personal and social competencies related to resilience in children that prevents future chemical dependency. The theoretical model was structured social group work that combined social and cognitive elements. The sample included 57 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students in three elementary schools; 69 percent were black, Latino, or Asian. In general, the intervention groups performed significantly better than the control groups in cognitive and behavioral areas. Significant increases in internal locus of control, frustration tolerance, and assertive social skills were revealed, as well as a significant decrease in acting-out behavior.

Childhood Depression a Latency-Age Child's Response to Divorce

The following article presents a case study of a latency-age child who experienced childhood depression as a reaction to parental divorce. Three theoretical viewpoints are explored which impact choice of clinical intervention.

Psychosocial Functioning and Treatment Needs of Latency-Age Children from Drug-Involved Families

Though the psychosocial needs of children from alcoholic families are well-documented, the effects of parental use of illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine on the psychosocial development of latency-age children are relatively unexplored. The authors examine the current literature on these effects and, drawing on this literature, propose preventive intervention for children at this developmental stage.

DANE, Barbara O. and Carol LEVINE, eds., AIDS AND THE NEW ORPHANS: Coping with Death

DANE, Barbara 0. and Carol LEVINE, eds., AIDS AND THE NEW ORPHANS: Coping with Death. West Port, CT: Auburn House, 1994, 158pp., $17.95 softcover. Since the AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) appeared on the scene in late 1970s, it has been treated often as a political and moral issue because it was initially viewed as a disease of the gay and lesbian people who were suspected to be intravenous drug users, and in many ways outcasts. The most disappointing aspect of this situation has been that for several years the people who suffered from this disease, which still remains incurable, were stigmatized and their suffering continues. In AIDS and the New Orphans. by Dane and Levine, the authors fill a void by putting together recent research in nine articles by scholars who have focused their recent attention on grief, death and bereavement. These include not only those who contacted AIDS but also those whose loved ones are also infected or suffered from the death of the loved ones, thus leaving behind orphans who have no one to care for. Thus the title of the book, The New Orphans. To accomplish this end, of exploring the coping strategies of the new orphans, Dane and Levine obtain support from other contributors to the book. Dane introduces the subject of grieving in the time of AIDS, death and bereavement with relevant history and extent of the disease supported by figures with cross-national, racial and ethnic comparisons, and the number of U.S. children and youth involved in the bereavement process. To an extent surprising and also gratifying for an edited book, that the authors of the nine contributions were quite self-disciplined in addressing the issues of coping with death, in many instances illustrating distress and grief through case reports. By seeking to analyze, Dane focuses on the concept of death in Western culture suggesting that the denial of AIDS death is culturally constructed. Such a denial is further necessitated because AIDS death is especially stigmatizing. She challenges the antiquated view that fear of death has no meaning to children; on the contrary, children are capable of a wide range of grief responses. In the next chapter, Kenneth Doka examines the role of religion and spirituality and their relationship to AIDS and resultant grief in the lives of the children. The following two chapters by Karolynn Siegel and Barbara Freund and by Luis Zayas and Kathleen Romano, explore the natural reactions and feelings of unfairness marked by guilt and anguish among latency-age children and adolescents, respectively. Although the book does not include chapters on all major minority groups, it does includ a chapter on the Latino community by Esther Chachkes and Regina Jennings, and another on Black American communities by Penelope Johnson-Moore and Lucretia Phillips. …

Children's memories in the wake of Challenger.

The Challenger spacecraft explosion of Jan. 28, 1986, offered an opportunity to study the memories of normal latency and adolescent children of different emotional involvements following one sudden and distant disaster. How would children of various levels of concern express their memories? And if studied over time, how would these narratives change? Would there be developmental differences? And would there be false details of memory? The authors set out to compare the memories of 153 children from Concord, N.H. (who watched the explosion on television), and Porterville, Calif. (who heard about it). The structured-interview responses of involved and less involved children; latency-age versus adolescent children; and those seen initially (5-7 weeks after the explosion) versus those same children seen later (at 14 months) were statistically compared. The vast majority of children's memories of Challenger were clear, consistent, and detailed, with highlighting of personal placement, who else was there, and personal occurrences linked to the event. Those children who were less emotionally involved demonstrated significantly less clarity, consistency, and correct ordering of sequences and were less likely to remember personal placement, other people who were there, and related personal incidents. About 30% of all children in this study misunderstood something about Challenger and incorporated these misunderstandings into their memories as false details. Latency-age children continued to harbor false details for 14 months, as opposed to the adolescents. Childhood memories of the Challenger space shuttle explosion appeared predictable, were related to patterns of memory that have been observed following single, unrepeated traumas, and reflected age and stage differences.

Perceptions of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and its treatment among children and adolescents

Little is known about how children and adolescents conceptualize psychiatric disorders and psychiatric treatment. In the current study, children and adolescents diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were interviewed about their understanding of ADHD and the medication used to treat their disorder. The participants were all taking Ritalin and ranged in age from 5 to 16 years. With increasing age, children improved in their ability to name their condition and the medication. Latency-aged children often did not perceive Ritalin as helpful while adolescents recognized some value in taking medication. Some of the adolescents were also able to describe medication side effects. The implications of these findings for patient education are discussed.

Boys in Space: "Star Trek," Latency, and the Neverending Story

centerpiece while providing the basis for a theoretical template. In his exploration of ST fandom, Henry Jenkins unapologetically invokes his institutional authority to lend legitimacy to his status and confronts popular stereotypes of Trekkies as nerdy guys with glasses and rubber Vulcan ears, 'I Grok Spock' T-shirts stretched over their bulging stomachs.2 Jenkins thus recuperates fandom, transmuting it to the more academic rubric of textual poachers, a critical paradigm resting upon a Marxist critique in which fans, institutionally marginalized and socially decentered, become participants in a rich, nomadic, subversive subculture defying the limitations of the manifest narratives and the capitalist regimes which control them. Although the breadth of Jenkins's work is impressive and resists homogenization of the diverse facets of fan culture, he may be exaggerating the fans' independence. Whether one is a poacher or not, surely it escapes no one's notice that these fans, reinvoking authoritarian institutional hierarchies in their own organizations,3 are being actively courted by an entertainment industry mindful of the consumer dollars in their bulging pockets. Speaking at the formal reception of a retrospective exhibition on the original series at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., on February 26, 1992, a Paramount representative, flanked on either side by the original series actors, congratulated the enthusiastic reception attendees (most of whom were parents with their latency-aged children in tow) for their unfailing vision and faithful participation in the ST phenomenon, appealing to them to pass on this legacy to their children. Three days later, Robert Justman, ST's original associate producer and supervising producer for The Next Generation's (TNG) first season, spoke at a special, day-long seminar on

LA '94 Earthquake in the Eyes of Children: Art Therapy with Elementary School Children Who Were Victims of Disaster

This paper discusses art therapy interventions with latency age children who were victims of the Los Angeles earthquake in 1994. The author worked with 25 children at the site of an elementary school in the area hardest hit by the earthquake and offers clinical observations about issues most relevant to the trauma, symptomatology, and defenses exhibited by children during treatment. In the course of therapy children were encouraged to tell their earthquake story in words and in pictures, to explore their current and repetitive thoughts, and to work through their feelings toward the resolution of the trauma. The use of art was instrumental in accessing children's internal processes and helping them return to normal functioning.

A Group Intervention for Young Children in Addictive Families

It is estimated that six and a half million children under the age of eighteen live with an alcoholic parent. These children are at risk for emotional, behavioral and cognitive disorders. Despite the general acceptance that addiction is a family problem, the limited number of interventions from a children's perspective remains noteworthy. This article explores the value of a psychoeducation group for latency-age children from addictive families. It gives particular attention to the concepts that have proved valuable in working with these children in an outpatient setting and how these may counteract the risk factors of growing up in an alcoholic family.

Coping with pediatric migraine: Differences between copers and non-copers

The differences among pain-coping behaviors of latency-aged children with pediatric migraine are examined. Using scores from The Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983) and school absenteeism, eight children were categorized as either adaptive or maladaptive copers. Results of this exploratory study indicated that copers utilized a greater repertoire of coping behaviors, relied more heavily on resignation, anticipatory, and prevention coping, exercised more autonomy, and viewed themselves as healthier and more competent than did the non-copers. Implications for differential diagnosis, strategies of intervention, and future research are discussed.

Brief Behavioral Treatment for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

7 latency-age children received brief behavioral therapy for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The intervention included reinforcing appropriate behaviors and punishing negative behaviors, skills training, and parental education. There were significant decreases in impulsivity at home and school after intervention. These results suggest that brief behavioral interventions might decrease impulsivity in ADHD children over the short term, but the sample was small and heterogeneous, so replication on a larger sample is required.

Clinical interventions with latency-age children of high conflict and violence.

Children who live in divorced families where conflict is high are often witness to intermittent or frequent verbal or physical aggression between their parents. A theoretical framework and a group treatment model with case vignettes are presented for understanding and intervening with latency-age children of such parents.