Increasing Evidence-Based Programs in Criminal and Juvenile Justice: A Report from the Front Line

For the past 5 years in the United States, there has been an increased emphasis on evidence-based programs, and, in particular, the promotion of experimental designs as the highest standard of evidence. This interest has been fueled by the Federal government's demand for accountability that links budget allocation with program performance. The National Institute of Justice, the research, development and evaluation agency within the Office of Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice is undertaking a number of efforts to improve the quality of evaluation research and address the need for evidence-based programs. These efforts have focused on making improvements upfront in the grant selection process so that well-designed evaluations will be undertaken and in the management and monitoring of ongoing evaluation research grants so that implementation and design issues can be identified and addressed. Evaluability assessments is a key strategy that NIJ is relying on increasingly to identify programs that have a high likelihood of being successfully evaluated. Whether these efforts will lead to an overall increase in the rigor of NIJ-supported evaluations remains unanswered at this time. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The National Academies or the National Institute of Justice.     

Some correlates of partisan preference in Greece, 1980: a discriminant analysis

Abstract. The factors underlying patterns of partisan preference in Greece have been the subject of fairly little systematic analysis. This article uses data from a 1980 Euro-Barometer survey, the first to include a Greek sample, to outline the structure of the Greek partisan universe. A number of demographic variables – age, family income, education, occupation, sex, size of community, and household status – together with attitudinal variables regarding both foreign and domestic policy issues are tested as predictors of party identification. The multivariate statistical technique of discriminant analysis is used to measure the relative importance of these predictor variables in influencing the direction of party preferences. The findings show that attitudinal factors for the most part are more important than demographic traits. A stepwise analysis provides a rankordering of the strongest explanatory variables. The impact of recent political and historical developments on the party system in Greece is discussed.     

Dimensions of self-esteem and psychological symptoms among chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

Self-esteem and psychological symptoms were assessed in a sample of 1082 Chinese adolescents who responded to the Chinese versions of Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory and the General Health Questionnaire. Three dimensions of self-esteem, interpreted as Family Acceptance/Rejection, Self-Depreciation, and Peer Affirmation/Disaffirmation, were found to relate substantially to general psychological symptoms and particularly to specific symptoms of anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression as reported by these adolescents. The implications of the relative importance of appraisal from internal feedback as sources of self-esteem as opposed to the external feedback from family and peers were discussed in relation to self-esteem enhancement in adolescents.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 1978. His research interests include self-esteem, stress, coping, health and psychopathology.Received her Ph.D. from the University of South Dakota in 1983. Her research interests include stress, coping and health, and geriatric psychology.     

Toward a contemporary tradition for menarche

A cultural tradition to acknowledge a girl's first menstrual period is proposed in order to overcome the negative connotation of the event. Three basic questions regarding such a tradition are addressed: Who would participate? What would it mean? What type of activity should it be? A research team consisting of a psychologist, a nurse, and a social worker suggests answers based on their interviews with mothers and daughters, as well as their collection of menarche anecdotes from women psychologists.     

Building the Evidence Base for Intensive Family Preservation Services

This article examines the state of intensive family preservation services (IFPS) research. Using studies of IFPS in five states, this article seeks to establish whether IFPS can be regarded as an evidence-based practice, an increasingly important standard for publicly funded services. While reporting rates of repeat child maltreatment, the analysis uses placement rates as the main outcome measure and compares effect sizes using Cohen's arcsine transformation for data reported as proportions. Significant differences in rates of child out-of-home placement and repeat maltreatment were found in some studies, particularly for higher risk families. The findings also underscore the difficulty of identifying which families to serve (targeting), ensuring treatment fidelity, and employing rigorous and appropriate evaluation methods. Overall, additional research is needed to move IFPS from a promising practice to an evidence-based practice.     

Initial Findings from a Feasibility Trial Examining the SafeCare Dad to Kids Program with Marginalized Fathers

Few studies have explored the direct impact of behavioral parent training programs on child maltreatment behaviors among marginalized, at-risk fathers. This feasibility study examined SafeCare® Dad to Kids (Dad2K), an augmented version of the evidence-based child maltreatment prevention program SafeCare, to determine the acceptability and initial efficacy of the program for improving father parenting skills and reducing maltreatment risk. Ninety-nine fathers were enrolled in the study and randomized to the SafeCare Dad2K Intervention (n?=?51) or comparison (n?=?48). Intervention fathers participated in 6 home visiting sessions and comparison fathers received parenting materials via mail. All fathers participating in the study completed a baseline and 8-week assessment (post-intervention) of maltreatment behaviors. In addition, intervention fathers completed feasibility and parenting skill measures. A significant main effect emerged indicating decreases for both groups in psychologically aggressive behaviors. No significant group by time findings emerged for child maltreatment behaviors. Father intervention completers endorsed high satisfaction ratings for the program and demonstrated significant improvements in targeted father-child interaction skills. Based on the high rates of acceptability and initial improvement in positive parenting skills, findings demonstrate the feasibility for involving at-risk fathers in behavioral parent training programs targeting child maltreatment prevention.     

Ventilatory and metabolic demands during aggressive physical restraint in healthy adults

We investigated ventilatory and metabolic demands in healthy adults when placed in the prone maximal restraint position (PMRP), i.e., hogtie restraint. Maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) was measured in seated subjects (n=30), in the PMRP, and when prone with up to 90.1 or 102.3 kg of weight on the back. MVV with the heaviest weight was 70% of the seated MVV (122+/-28 and 156+/-38 L/min, respectively; p<0.001). Also, subjects (n=27) were placed in the PMRP and struggled vigorously for 60 sec. During the restrained struggle, ventilatory function (V(E)/ MVV) was 44% of MVV in the resting PMRP. While prone with up to 90.1 or 102.3 kg on the back, the decrease in MVV was of no clinical importance in these subjects. Also, while maximally struggling in the PMRP, V(E) was still adequate to supply the ventilatory needs.