Our commentary highlights the authors' conceptual and empirical contributions for understanding the incidence and dynamics of varying types of adoption breakdowns and their impact on adopted youth and their families. Important distinctions are made between legal, residential, and psychological/relational permanence for children. To date, most…

In writing about the Circle of Courage, Martin Brokenleg and his co-authors brought together different professions, racial backgrounds, and upbringing (Brendtro, Brokenleg, & Van Bockern, 2002). While the Circle of Courage philosophy transcends culture, they initially used Native American images and stories to express these ideas. Because…

Interviewed 11 families who had experienced the death of a family member to identify symptomatic behavior of children's anniversary reaction to the death and to differentiate normal, predictable reactions from pathological ones. Results showed that children often experience anniversary reactions which involve remembering rather than reliving. (NRB)

Nine questions about child abuse and neglect are answered in the booklet which is available in English and Spanish. Among facts revealed are the following: there are about 1 million cases of abuse yearly; there are four types of abuse and neglect (physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse); abuse can be recognized by certain…

Runaway children and youth in Canada is the focus of an analysis and review of the literature which explores the following dimensions of the problem: history, prevalence, legislation, socio-psychological explanations, reasons for leaving home, runaway profile, and types of community services needed. (JW)

Identifies psychological and social effects of the economy on the family and on school-age children during periods of high unemployment and general economic distress. Proposals on how school counselors can assist children and their families during economically difficult times are suggested. (NRB)

Presents variables related to child abuse appearing in the research, and points out gaps of knowledge in this area. Social stresses exacerbate underlying personality difficulties and induce psychological problems by placing the individual under stress. Families facing stresses also are frequently involved in child abuse because they contain more…

Psychological abuse of children is known to happen but is seldom publicly discussed. This article deals with some of these issues and describes various ways to help cope with them. (Author)

Argues that cohesion is a measure of supportive interactions and that enmeshment is a measure of psychological control. In a study of children and adolescents, cohesion was associated negatively with both internalizing and externalizing adolescent problem behaviors. Enmeshment was related positively with youth problems, and more strongly with…

About 26% of all children under age 18 live with a divorced or separated parent or with a stepparent. Since divorce is a crucial factor in the lives of millions of children in this country, this issue is devoted to its social, economic, and psychological impacts. (SLD)

Seeks to identify and describe certain familial factors and child characteristics that may impact the likelihood of an incident of childhood sexual abuse occurring, provide a comprehensive demographic portrait of families with a child who has been sexually abused, identify children most vulnerable to abuse, and heighten understanding of this…

Although several theoretical positions deal with the concept of childhood depression, accurate measurement of depression can only occur if valid and reliable measures are available. Current efforts emphasize direct questioning of the child and quantification of parents' observations. One scale used to study childhood depression, the Personality…

In two parts, this paper discusses areas in family disruption, describes children's experiences of loss, and suggests strategies for helping children cope with such experiences. Specifically, part one provides: (1) global, normative summary descriptions of adjustment patterns of children from preschool age through adolescence and descriptions of…

Addresses four questions regarding effective prevention of child psychological maltreatment: (1) What is the nature and scope of the problem? (2) Toward whom should the intervention be directed? (3) In what situations is the problem most likely to be observed? and (4) Which preventive strategies are the most effective? (JBJ)

These papers on child and adolescent sexual abuse address the psychological consequences, psychological assessment techniques, and clinical issues in group therapy with sexually abused girls. In the first paper. H. Elizabeth King discusses the psychological consequences of sexual assault and incest on minors particularly in regard to family…