A psychological and educational intervention program for incarcerated youth

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the results of a deliberate psychological and educational intervention with at-risk youth (placed in a detention center) that have been identified as having the potential to benefit from a behavioral program. Design/methodology/approach The program provided systemic behavioral health assessments using trauma-informed care guidelines and then linked the participants to mental health and substance services to increase the children’s access to key health services and reduce the risk of recidivism. The program also provided psychoeducational resources to stakeholders including parents, judges and corrections officers. Comparisons were made between participants receiving the intervention to determine pre and post results. Findings Recidivism rates were also examined. Study participants included 395 at-risk youth between the ages of 13 and 17. In summary, the findings supported the use of this multi-pronged program with juveniles residing in detention centers. Originality/value All work on this research project was completed by the listed authors.

Postural Control in Unipedal Quiet Stance in Young Female Gymnasts and the Effects of Training with Consideration of Transient Behavior of Postural Sway

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to compare postural control between a group of young female gymnasts (n = 15; age: 11.2 ± 1.9 years) and non-trained peers (n = 15; age: 10.9 ± 2.0 years), and (b) to investigate the effect of an 8-week whole body exercise intervention program on postural control in young female gymnasts. Postural control was assessed by recording center of pressure (CoP) movements during unipedal quiet stance. Velocity and amplitude of CoP movement in anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions were considered. In addition to common trial-averaged CoP outcomes, we also considered the transient behavior of CoP movements, by calculating relative differences between the 1st and 2nd, and the 1st and 3rd 10-s intervals within the whole trial (DIF_21 and DIF_31, respectively). The gymnast group had lower total CoP velocity (Cohen’s d = 0.97) and AP amplitude (Cohen’s d = 0.85), compared to their non-trained peers. The gymnasts also had lower CoP AP amplitude DIF21 (Cohen’s d = 0.73), with almost constant values across all intervals. After the training ML CoP velocity was reduced for 13.12% (Cohen’s d = 0.60), while ML CoP amplitude increased (Cohen’s d = −0.89).

Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and its associated risk factors related to Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Ilam province of Iran

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys precede an awareness or intervention program, it addresses a felt need in a population in which that need exists. In an endemic region of cutaneous leishmaniasis disease occurrence, public enlightenment on its preventive and control measures is highly important. Ilam province of Iran is a provincial border town transited annually by pilgrims was reported to have the most cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis ranking highest since 2010 yet no report on KAP survey has been previously conducted.

The Cool Kids as a School-Based Universal Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Anxiety: Results of a Pilot Study

The efficacy of the Cool Kids program has been consistently demonstrated both within Australia and internationally, but limited data are available on the use of Cool Kids as a universal program. The purpose of the study is to evaluate Cool Kids as a universal program for preventing childhood anxiety in the school context. There were 73 Italian children (35 boys and 36 girls, ages 10–13 years) attending the last year of primary school and the first year of middle school who participated in an active intervention based on a school adaptation of the Cool Kids protocol. Results of t-test analyses highlighted a downward trend of anxiety symptoms, especially in total anxiety, somatic anxiety, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety and school phobia at post-treatment assessed by children. Even the score of depression symptoms, measured as a second outcome measure, decreased after the treatment. This study contributes to the evidence base for the Cool Kids program as a universal program for preventing childhood anxiety in the school context. Although these preliminary results show some promise, their replication in future research is necessary given current study limitations.

Increasing Self-Confidence in Students from Different Universities through Exercises in Body Technique and Dance Therapy

Objectives of this article refer to ways to increase self-confidence in students from different universities in Transylvania manifested by the values of self-depreciation, infatuation and self-esteem. These are realized through the use of complex exercises on music in the form of dance-therapy and body technique. Purpose: elaboration of an action strategy to modify the self-depreciation, self-esteem, infatuation. Hypothesis: by introducing the exercises of body technique and dance-therapy, the aim is to modify the components of the ASSI psychological test: self-depreciation, infatuation and self-esteem Material and Methods: statistical processing was performed with the program Stats Direct v.2.7.2. The graphical representation of the results was done with the Excel application (from the Microsoft Office 2010 package). The tests used are: ASSI and an intervention program based on exercises in body technique and dance therapy. The subjects participating in the experiment with a duration of 6 months by 200 students at the Technical University Cluj-Napoca, and the extension from Baia-Mare and from the Academy of Music "Gheorghe Dima" from Cluj-Napoca. The period: of development was between October 2019 and March 2020. The results: of this study are due to the intervention program through exercises in body technique and dance therapy performed by the experimental group compared to the control group. In the case of A-SN it is a good correlation but of the opposite direction, which means that if (A) self-depreciation decreases then (SN) self-esteem increases. In the case of I-SN it is an acceptable correlation and of the same meaning, which means that if (I) the infatuation increases and (SN) the self-esteem increases, were observed statistically significantly significant differences between the two times (p <0.001). Conclusions: Statistically significant differences were observed in the indicators of the ASSI tests (self-depreciation, self-esteem, infatuation) which indicates, that our intervention program in the preliminary study had a positive and measurable impact on students in terms of improving self-depreciation and infatuation, as well as increasing self-esteem.

Preventive Group Training Improves Children’s Outcomes after Divorce: A Dutch Quasi-experimental Study

Worldwide, many children experience parental separation and divorce. This has a significant impact on their well-being, and emotional and behavioral functioning, and calls for prevention. To assess the effects of the Children of Divorce Intervention Program in the Netherlands (CODIP-NL) on 6- to 8-year-olds, we performed a quasi-experimental effect study. The study compared children receiving CODIP-NL (intervention: I, n = 104), children not receiving CODIP-NL but having divorced parents (divorced control: DC, n = 37), and children belonging to non-divorced families (non-divorced control: NDC, n = 138). Outcomes pertained to children’s positive functioning, emotional and behavioral problems, and well-being. We assessed pre- to post-test differences in change in mother-reported outcomes between the intervention and control groups, and pre- to post-test differences in group leader reports. The intervention led to increases in mother-reported positive functioning (d = 0.97 I vs. DC; d = 1.04 I vs. NDC), and well-being (d = 1.00 I vs. DC; d = 0.84 I vs. NDC). Mother-reported child emotional and behavioral problems decreased after participation (total difficulties, d = 0.73 I vs. DC; d = 0.49 I vs. NDC). Group leader-reported pre- to post-test differences (p ≤ 0.001) pointed in the same directions. Findings support further implementation of CODIP to support children’s positive functioning and well-being, and to decrease emotional and behavioral problems after their parents’ divorce.

Factors That Prevent Mosquito-Borne Diseases among Migrant Workers in Taiwan: Application of the Health Belief Model in a Church-Based Health Promotion Study

Background: Southeast Asian countries have long been considered epidemic areas for mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs), and most imported cases of infectious diseases in Taiwan are from these areas. Taiwanese migrant workers are mainly of Southeast Asian nationality, and of these, 22% are Filipino. Migrant workers’ knowledge of MBDs and self-protection behaviors are beneficial to disease prevention and treatment. This study aims to understand the effectiveness of a health education intervention (HEI) for Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan and explores the factors affecting preventive practices. Methods: The study was conducted between May to September 2018. Participants were recruited from two Catholic churches in Taichung City. A professional delivered a 30 min HEI in person, and a structured questionnaire was used to acquire and assess participants’ knowledge, health beliefs, and preventive behaviors for MBDs before and after the intervention. Results: A total of 291 participants were recruited. The intervention program showed a positive impact on the migrant worker’s knowledge and the perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and preventive practices. Knowledge, perceived severity, and perceived barriers were factors influencing preventive practices in Filipino migrant workers. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that we can direct our efforts towards three areas: improving foreign migrant workers’ awareness of diseases, emphasizing the severity of the disease, and eliminating possible hindrances in the future. As one example, migrant workers could be proactively provided with routine medical examinations and multilingual health education lectures to improve knowledge and preventive practices to contain the spread MBDs.