Protective behavior in adolescent friendships : the influence of attitudes toward the consequences, friendship norms and perceived control

The current study sought to understand adolescent protective behavior in friendship using a Theory of Planned Behavior framework. In particular, the study sought to consider a young persons’ direct and active intervention to inhibit their friends’ risky behavior or to assist them when the behavior leads to injury. The role of attitudes regarding the consequences, norms and control about protective behavior were examined both qualitatively through focus groups (n= 50) and quantitatively through surveys from a sample of 540 Year 9 students (13-14 years old). There was some support for the theory with attitudes regarding the consequences of the behavior and norms predicting intended protective behavior. A path analysis was conducted with a sub-sample of 140 students which showed that intentions to be protective and perceived control to undertake protective behavior directly predicted such behavior after a 3 month interval. Attitudes towards the consequences and norms only indirectly predicted protective behavior via intention. The findings provide important applied information for interventions designed to increase adolescent protective behavior in their friendships.

An adolescent injury intervention : selecting targeted behaviours with implications for program design and evaluation

Objectives: This paper sought to identify the behaviour change targets for an injury prevention program; Skills for Preventing Injury in Youth, SPIY. The aim was to explore how such behaviours could subsequently be implemented and evaluated in the program. Methods and Design: The quantitative procedure involved a survey with 267 Year 8 and 9 students (mean age 13.23 years) regarding their engagement in risk-taking behaviours that may lead to injury. The qualitative study involved 30 students aged 14 to 17 years reporting their experiences of injury and risk-taking. Results: Injury risk behaviours co-occurred among three-quarters of those who reported engaging in any alcohol use or transport or violence related injury risk behaviour. Students described in detail some of these experiences. Conclusions: The selection process of identifying target behaviours for change for an injury prevention program is described. Adolescents’ description of such risk behaviours can inform the process of operationalising and contextualising program content and deciding on evaluation methodology. The design of an effective injury prevention program involves considerable preparatory work and this paper was able to describe the process of identifying the behavioural targets for change that can be operationalised and evaluated in the injury prevention program, SPIY.

A short-term evaluation of a school-based early adolescent injury prevention program

This paper reports on the development of a school-based intervention to reduce risk-taking and associated injuries. There is limited but important evidence that intervention design should ensure participation does not lead to an increase in target risk behaviors with some studies in alcohol and drug prevention finding unexpected negative effects. The short-term evaluation of Skills for Preventing Injury in Youth (SPIY) examined change in interpersonal violence, alcohol and transport-related risks. Intervention (n = 360) and comparison (n = 180) students were surveyed pre/post-intervention. A qualitative analysis based on focus groups (70 students) explored experiences of change. Findings indicate significant positive changes reinforced by students’ reports. A decrease in reported risk-taking for the intervention group and an increase in the comparison group were observed. These findings endorse SPIY as a useful curriculum approach to reducing injuries and lend support to the future conduct of a long-term outcome evaluation.

Building resilience to prevent mental health problems in young people : The resourceful adolescent programme (RAP)

This chapter describes an evidence-based programme called the Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP), which has been successful in building resilience in young people to prevent depressive symptoms developing.The programme adopts a strengths-focused approach. It aims to build a range of coping resources that foster teenagers’ abilities to maintain a positive sense of self and regulate emotions in the face of the vicissitudes of everyday struggles and difficult life events.This groupbased programme can be implemented routinely in schools or by counselling professionals as an early intervention or prevention programme. While there is no universal definition, ‘resilience’ generally means the process of avoiding the negative trajectories associated with exposure to risk factors (Fergus and Zimmerman, 2005). Current models of resilience are also very clear that there ‘are many pathways to resilience’ (Bonanno, 2004) and there is no

The millennial adolescent

The Millennial Adolescent' offers contemporary, stimulating insights for those currently teaching as well as those preparing to teach. This book investigates the characteristics of Generation Y, using students own voices, generational theory and case studies. The text is structured around the principle that effective teachers need to know who they are teaching as well as what to teach, how to teach it, and how to assess the outcome. Using generational theory, 'The Millennial Adolescent' investigates the characteristics of Generation Y, or the Millennial Generation, and points out what all teachers need to know about working with this current generation of students who are described in a number of ways digital natives, team oriented, confident, multi-taskers, high achievers, and a generation unlike any other. The book contains well-known frameworks for developing understandings about adolescents, blended and contrasted with a contemporary socio-cultural construction of adolescence, set in our particular time, era and society. This book reflects the uniqueness of Australian contexts, while connecting with international trends and global patterns. Engaging and full of insights, this book is essential reading for all professionals dealing with adolescents.

Trauma type and posttrauma outcomes : differences between survivors of motor vehicle accidents, sexual assault, and bereavement

Research examining post-trauma pathology indicates negative outcomes can differ as a function of the type of trauma experienced. Such research has yet to be published when looking at positive post-trauma changes. Ninety-Four survivors of trauma, forming three groups, completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R). Groups comprised survivors of i) sexual abuse ii) motor vehicle accidents iii) bereavement. Results indicted differences in growth between the groups with the bereaved reporting higher levels of growth than other survivors and sexual abuse survivors demonstrated higher levels of PTSD symptoms than the other groups. However, this did not preclude sexual abuse survivors from also reporting moderate levels of growth. Results are discussed with relation to fostering growth through clinical practice.

‘Keep telling until someone listens’ : understanding prevention concepts in children’s picture books dealing with child sexual abuse

Children’s picture books dealing with the topic of child sexual abuse appeared in the 1980s with the aim of addressing the need for age-appropriate texts to teach sexual abuse prevention concepts and to provide support for young children who may be at risk of or have already experienced sexual abuse. Despite the apparent potential of children’s picture books to convey child sexual abuse prevention concepts, very few studies have addressed the topic of child sexual abuse in children’s literature. This article critically examines a selection of 15 picture books (published in the US, Canada and Australia) for children aged 3–8 years dealing with this theme. It makes use of an established set of evaluative criteria to conduct an audit of the books’ content and applies techniques of literary discourse analysis to explain how these picture books satisfy criteria for child sexual abuse prevention. The analysis is used as a way to understand the discourses available to readers, both adults and children, on the topic of child sexual abuse. Key themes in the books include children’s empowerment and agency, and the need for persistence and hope.

Skydweller and representations of the adolescent crisis : group identity versus alienation

This document contains a creative work – the text of a young adult novel, Skydweller – and an exegesis discussing the ways in which identity and the adolescent crisis of group identity versus alienation are represented in young adult science fiction/fantasy novels.

Preventing sexual violence?

This article critically assesses the main social policy responses to preventing rape following much feminist struggle to make sexual violence a public matter of legitimate concern. It considers the preventative potential of legal measures, anti-violence campaigns waged by feminist and men's groups in the US and Australia, public education campaigns in Schools and Universities, and public awareness campaigns sponsored by the state.We argue that sexual violence is not amenable to quick fix strategies that place responsibility for prevention entirely on individual men or women. While we recognise that responsibilising victims and individualising offenders is consistent with wider global shifts in social policy calling upon individuals to manage their own risk, we argue that the increasing reliance on such neo-liberal social policy is especially problematic in preventing rape. The paper suggests ways to resist this which place greater emphasis on the promotion of sexual ethics; the eroticisation of consent; the reinvention of the norms of romance to include both these, and the complete separation of the psycho-social-symbolic connections between sex and violence, and ultimately the re-evaluation of the cultural expectations of masculinity and femininity.

Secondary curve behaviour in Lenke IC class adolescent idiopathic scoliosis following video assisted thoracoscopic spinal fusion

Introduction. Ideally after selective thoracic fusion for Lenke Class IC (i.e. major thoracic / secondary lumbar) curves, the lumbar spine will spontaneously accommodate to the corrected position of the thoracic curve, thereby achieving a balanced spine, avoiding the need for fusion of lumbar spinal segments1. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the behaviour of the lumbar curve in Lenke IC class adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) following video-assisted thoracoscopic spinal fusion and instrumentation (VATS) of the major thoracic curve. Methods. A retrospective review of 22 consecutive patients with AIS who underwent VATS by a single surgeon was conducted. The results were compared to published literature examining the behaviour of the secondary lumbar curve where other surgical approaches were employed. Results. Twenty-two patients (all female) with AIS underwent VATS. All major thoracic curves were right convex. The average age at surgery was 14 years (range 10 to 22 years). On average 6.7 levels (6 to 8) were instrumented. The mean follow-up was 25.1 months (6 to 36). The pre-operative major thoracic Cobb angle mean was 53.8° (40° to 75°). The pre-operative secondary lumbar Cobb angle mean was 43.9° (34° to 55°). On bending radiographs, the secondary curve corrected to 11.3° (0° to 35°). The rib hump mean measurement was 15.0° (7° to 21°). At latest follow-up the major thoracic Cobb angle measured on average 27.2° (20° to 41°) (p<0.001 – univariate ANOVA) and the mean secondary lumbar curve was 27.3° (15° to 42°) (p<0.001). This represented an uninstrumented secondary curve correction factor of 37.8%. The mean rib hump measured was 6.5° (2° to 15°) (p<0.001). The results above were comparable to published series when open surgery was performed. Discussion. VATS is an effective method of correcting major thoracic curves with secondary lumbar curves. The behaviour of the secondary lumbar curve is consistent with published series when open surgery, both anterior and posterior, is performed.

Computed tomography analysis of sagittal plane parameters in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis treated by video assisted thoracoscopic spinal fusion and instrumentation

One of the primary treatment goals of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) surgery is to achieve maximum coronal plane correction while maintaining coronal balance. However maintaining or restoring sagittal plane spinal curvature has become increasingly important in maintaining the long-term health of the spine. Patients with AIS are characterised by pre-operative thoracic hypokyphosis, and it is generally agreed that operative treatment of thoracic idiopathic scoliosis should aim to restore thoracic kyphosis to normal values while maintaining lumbar lordosis and good overall sagittal balance. The aim of this study was to evaluate CT sagittal plane parameters, with particular emphasis on thoracolumbar junctional alignment, in patients with AIS who underwent Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Spinal Fusion and Instrumentation (VATS). This study concluded that video-assisted thoracoscopic spinal fusion and instrumentation reliably increases thoracic kyphosis while preserving junctional alignment and lumbar lordosis in thoracic AIS.

3D lung and rib cage reconstruction using low dose CT scans of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis pre and post anterior thoracoscopic correction

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) has been associated with reduced pulmonary function believed to be due to a restriction of lung volume by the deformed thoracic cavity. A recent study by our group examined the changes in lung volume pre and post anterior thoracoscopic scoliosis correction using pulmonary function testing (1), however the anatomical changes in ribcage shape and left/right lung volume after thoracoscopic surgery which govern overall respiratory capacity are unknown. The aim of this study was to use 3D rendering from CT scan data to compare lung and ribcage anatomical changes from pre to two years post thoracoscopic anterior scoliosis correction. The study concluded that 3D volumetric reconstruction from CT scans is a powerful means of evaluating changes in pulmonary and thoracic anatomy following surgical AIS correction. Most likely, lung volume changes following thoracoscopic scoliosis correction are multifactorial and affected by changes in height (due to residual growth), ribcage shape, diaphragm positioning, Cobb angle correction in the thoracic spine. Further analysis of the 3D reconstructions will be performed to assess how each of these factors affect lung volume in this patient cohort.

Teachers reporting child sexual abuse : towards evidence-based reform of law, policy and practice

This report presents the results of the largest study ever conducted into the law, policy and practice of primary school teachers’ reporting of child sexual abuse in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. The study included the largest Australian survey of teachers about reporting sexual abuse, in both government and non-government schools (n=470). Our research has produced evidence-based findings to enhance law, policy and practice about teachers’ reporting of child sexual abuse. The major benefits of our findings and recommendations are to: • Show how the legislation in each State can be improved; • Show how the policies in government and non-government school sectors can be improved; and • Show how teacher training can be improved. These improvements can enhance the already valuable contribution that teachers are making to identify cases of child sexual abuse. Based on the findings of our research, this report proposes solutions to issues in seven key areas of law, policy and practice. These solutions are relevant for State Parliaments, government and non-government educational authorities, and child protection departments. The solutions in each State are practicable, low-cost, and align with current government policy approaches. Implementing these solutions will: • protect more children from sexual abuse; • save cost to governments and society; • develop a professional teacher workforce better equipped for their child protection role; and • protect government and school authorities from legal liability.