Restorative Practice in the Criminal Justice System: Examining a Restorative Reasoning Programme in a Women’s Prison

This paper is an analysis of a six-week Restorative Reasoning Programme that took place with 13 women in a UK women’s prison. It is an exploratory evaluation based on an adapted version of the QUALIPREV scheme. This two-stage evaluation examines both the processes of the programme, in terms of how well it ran, as well as the outcomes of the programme, in terms of how effective it was in supporting the women to address problem behaviours. Data comprise interviews with the two programme designers and facilitators and with two Prison staff responsible for activities and training; the programme materials used during the scheme; session evaluation forms; and post-programme self-completion reflections from the women engaged in the programme. Overall, the scheme had a range of positive impacts for the women: many expressed a change in attitude, including being more open for discourse and discussion around the harm they may have caused, being more willing to consider the repair needed in their personal relationships, and in some cases seeking subsequent referrals for further restorative work.

Using psychopharmacology in the treatment of problem behaviours in dogs and cats

Behaviourally-active medication can play an important role in improving the welfare of cats and dogs in both the short and longer term. Drugs can be used to reduce fear, anxiety and panic in the short term, such as to help noise-sensitive dogs cope better with events such as firework displays, or to help fearful dogs and cats cope better with visits to the vets or groomers. Drugs can also play an important role in longer-term reduction of negative emotional states, particularly fear and anxiety, as long as they are used in conjunction with a comprehensive behaviour modification plan. This article outlines some of the behaviourally-active drugs most commonly used to treat dogs and cats in the UK, as well as some of the considerations needed for using medication as part of behaviour modification in cats and dogs.

Peer victimization and the association with hippocampal development and working memory in children with ADHD and typically-developing children

The symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention displayed by children with ADHD put them at risk of experiencing peer victimization. Hippocampal maturation, may reduce a child’s vulnerability to the experience of peer victimization, as it has been associated with decreased ADHD symptomatology. Working memory is an important executive function in the formation and maintenance of social relationships, which is often impaired in ADHD. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between problem behaviours, peer victimization, hippocampal morphology, and working memory in children with and without ADHD. 218 typically-developing participants (50.5% male) and 232 participants diagnosed with ADHD (77.6% male) were recruited. The ADHD group was subdivided into inattentive (ADHD-I) or combined (ADHD-C) types. The Child Behavior Checklist measured problem behaviours and peer victimization. Children underwent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Hippocampal subfield volumes were obtained using FreeSurfer. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-fifth edition measured working memory (WM). The ADHD-C group displayed significantly higher levels of problem behaviours and peer victimization (all, p < 0.001), compared to the other groups. Left Cornu Ammonis 3 (CA3) volume was a positive predictor of peer victimization (all, p < 0.013). Left CA3 volume was a positive predictor of WM and left Cornu Ammonis 4 (CA4) volume negatively predicted WM (all, p < 0.025). A cluster analysis revealed that children displaying symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity are the most at risk for peer victimization. Interventions focusing on minimizing peer victimization may aid in mitigating adverse downstream effects, and assist in promoting brain health and cognitive function.

Effectiveness of the Elos 2.0 prevention programme for the reduction of problem behaviours and promotion of social skills in schoolchildren: study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Background Early interventions benefit the mental health, academic performance and productivity of children and adolescents throughout their life. The present study protocol will evaluate the effectiveness of the Elos 2.0 Programme, which is a version adapted for Brazil by the Ministry of Health, in reducing problem behaviours (e.g., disruptiveness, aggressivity and shyness) and promoting social skills in the school context in children 6 to 10 years of age. The Elos Programme is based on the Good Behaviour Game, which is widely used and prevents and/or reduces students’ disruptive behaviours by establishing cooperation contingencies. Method A cluster-randomized controlled trial will be performed in 30 schools in three cities (15 controls and 15 in the experimental group), with a total of 3800 children participating in the test (1900 in the control group and 1900 in the intervention group). Data will be collected by having teachers in the control and experimental classes complete the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation (TOCA) questionnaire, which is an instrument used to observe children’s behaviour in the classroom. We will collect data before and after the intervention period in the same year. Due to the hierarchical structure of the data, multilevel analysis will be performed to detect simultaneous differences in prevalence over time and across groups to control for sociodemographic variables. Discussion The current study will examine the effectiveness of the Elos 2.0 Programme in reducing problem behaviours (e.g., disruptiveness, aggressivity and shyness) and promoting social skills in the school context. The findings of this school-based prevention programme for children will influence the development and implementation of similar programmes for schools and educational policymakers by identifying mechanisms that are central to achieving positive outcomes for participants. Trial registration Registry of Clinical Trials of the Ministry of Health RBR-86c6jp. Registered February 2, 2019

Developmental co-occurrence of psychopathology dimensions in childhood: between and within person processes

BackgroundComorbidity between psychopathologies may be attributed to genetic and environmentaldifferences between people as well as causal processes within individuals, where onepathology increases risk for another. Disentangling between-person (co)variance fromwithin-person processes of psychopathology dimensions across childhood could shed light ondevelopmental causes of comorbid mental health problems. Cross-sectional data as well asstandard models to investigate lagged effects conflate between-person and within-personprocesses. This makes it difficult to distinguish time invariant overarching (confounding)factors from temporal directed effects. Additionally, more recent random effects modelsmake no allowance for direct temporal effects from one person to another. Here, we aim todetermine whether and to what extent directional relationships between psychopathologydimensions within-person, and between individuals within families, play a role inmultivariate comorbidity.MethodsWe investigated longitudinal data on measures of common psychopathologies fromchildhood to early adolescence (age 7 to 12), jointly estimating between-person and withinpersonprocesses across time. We conducted random intercepts cross-lagged panel model(RI-CLPM) analyses to unravel the longitudinal co-occurrence of child psychopathologydimensions, and developed an extension of the model to estimate sibling effects withinfamily(wfRI-CLPM). Analyses were separately conducted in two large population-basedcohorts, the Twin Early Developmental Study and the Netherlands Twin Register, includingparent-rated measures of child problem behaviours based on the SDQ and CBCL scalesrespectively.ResultsWe found evidence for strong between-person effects underlying the positive intercorrelationbetween problem behaviours across time. We further identified time-varying within-personprocesses accounting for an increasing amount of trait variance overtime, up to 11% forattention problems in TEDS, and up to 18% for attention problems and social problems inNTR. Lastly, by accommodating family-level data, we found evidence for reciprocaldirectional influences within sib-pairs longitudinally, from externalizing to internalizingproblems, after accounting for similarities that arise through shared (genetic orenvironmental) influences.Co-occurrence of psychopathology dimensions in childhoodConclusionsOur results indicate that within-person processes partly explain the co-occurrence ofpsychopathology dimensions in childhood, and within families, suggesting that both shouldbe taken into account in developmental models of comorbidity.

Response patterns for individuals receiving contingent skin shock aversion intervention to treat violent self-injurious and assaultive behaviours

A small proportion of patients with intellectual disabilities (IDs) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit extraordinarily dangerous self-injurious and assaultive behaviours that persist despite long-term multidisciplinary interventions. These uncontrolled behaviours result in physical and emotional trauma to the patients, care providers and family members. A graduated electronic decelerator (GED) is an aversive therapy device that has been shown to reduce the frequency of severe problem behaviours by 97%. Within a cohort of 173 patients, we have identified the four most common patterns of response: (1) on removal of GED, behaviours immediately return, and GED is reinstated; (2) GED is removed for periods of time (faded) and reinstated if and when behaviours return; (3) a low frequency of GED applications maintains very low rates of problem behaviours; and (4) GED is removed permanently after cessation of problem behaviours. GED is intended as a therapeutic option only for violent, treatment-resistant patients with ID and ASD.

Parental Migration and Children’s Problem Behaviours in Rural China: Testing an Integrative Theoretical Model

This study aims to investigate the social mechanism underlying the associations between parental migration and left-behind children’s delinquent and deviant behaviours in rural China. Using a middle school student sample, our results reveal that the effects of parental migration on children’s delinquency differ across caretaking arrangements. Specifically, compared with children living with non-migrant parents, those cared for by a remaining father (with a mother migrated) or by one grandparent (with both parents migrated) had weaker bonding with primary caretakers and schools, which led to delinquency and deviance directly or indirectly through more frequent association with deviant peers. In contrast, children living with a remaining mother or with two grandparents did not differ significantly from those living with non-migrant parents.

Peer victimization and the association with hippocampal development and working memory in children with and without ADHD

Background Children with ADHD are at risk of experiencing peer victimization, which is associated with delayed brain development and cognitive difficulties. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between problem behaviours, peer victimization, hippocampal morphology, and working memory in children with and without ADHD. Methods 218 typically developing participants (50.5% male) and 232 participants diagnosed with ADHD (77.6% male) were recruited. The ADHD group was subdivided into inattentive (ADHD-I) or combined (ADHD-C) type. The Child Behaviour Checklist measured problem behaviours and peer victimization. Hippocampal subfield volumes were obtained using Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-fifth edition measured working memory (WM). Results The ADHD-C group displayed significantly higher rates of problem behaviours and peer victimization (all, p < 0.001). Left Cornu Ammonis 3 (CA3) volume was a positive predictor of levels of peer victimization (all, p < 0.013). Left CA3 volume was a positive predictor of WM and left Cornu Ammonis 4 (CA4) volume was a negative predictor (all, p < 0.025). A cluster analysis revealed that children displaying symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity are the most at risk for peer victimization. Conclusions Interventions focusing on minimizing peer victimization may aid in mitigating adverse downstream effects, and aid in promoting brain health and cognitive function.

Grumpy Dogs Are Smart Learners—The Association between Dog–Owner Relationship and Dogs’ Performance in a Social Learning Task

We investigated how dog–owner relationship–with a focus on possible behavioural problems–might associate with the individual variability in dogs’ social learning performance. Dog owners first completed a questionnaire about their relationship with their dogs (N = 98). Then, dogs were tested in a detour test: a control group without demonstration, a group where the owner demonstrated the task and another group where the experimenter demonstrated the task. Finally, the dogs participated in two behaviour tests measuring their tractability and possessiveness. The two principal components from the questionnaire (called “overactive” and “irritable”) did not show significant association with dogs’ detour performance in the control group. “irritable” dogs performed better in the unfamiliar demonstrator group. These more persistent, goal-oriented dogs also looked back less at their owners during the detour. In the individual problem-solving context, the factor “overactive” had a similar effect on looking back at the owner, suggesting that the items of this component primarily are not connected to the dog–human relationship. Our results indicate that dog–human relationship has an integral role in the complex social behaviour of dogs, which warrants for the need of further empirical testing of the associations between social dynamics in dogs and their relationship with humans, including problem behaviours.

Socialisation: is it the ‘be all and end all’ of creating resilience in companion animals?

A lack of socialisation is often referred to as a predisposing factor for the problem behaviours that companion animal owners report in their cats and dogs. Yet, many of the kittens and puppies that found new homes during 2020 will have experienced limitations in, or disruptions to, their opportunities for socialisation as a result of the complexities of the ‘normal’ environment both inside and outside their homes. This article examines the terms ‘socialisation’ and ‘socialise’ that are often used interchangeably when discussing the social competencies of companion animals. In addition, it considers the likely outcome of limited opportunities for comprehensive socialisation for the kittens and puppies of 2020, and whether such shortcomings in early development may be overcome.