Incidental findings in pediatric research

The approach to incidental research findings in children emerges by considering the child-parent relationship and balancing divergent interests and preferences. Incidental findings with clear and proximate clinical importance should be disclosed to both. We recommend that particularly sensitive or private information (e.g., pregnancy or drug use) should be disclosed to the adolescent first, while particularly serious information (e.g., cancer) should first be disclosed to the parent. These approaches allow the researcher to form an alliance with one party prior to engaging the other. However, unlike clinical settings, where there may be presumptive expectations of confidentiality about sharing information within the family, in most research settings it is reasonable to plan to disclose such information to both parties. It is important to communicate this plan during the informed consent process separately to adolescents to avoid enrolling adolescents when sensitive incidental findings such as pregnancy and drug use may be detected. The approach to incidental findings without clear and proximate benefit is challenging. Researchers should plan more limited disclosure of such incidental findings for pediatric participants than for adult participants.     

Action research in mental health: acute care teams

Action research applies knowledge and research findings to practical problems in order to strengthen the capability of the work unit, to contribute to the personal growth and satisfaction of organization members, and to improve theory. An action research project studying acute care teams at a state residential psychiatric facility found that foreign-born physicians chair high-performing teams. This unexpected result strengthens theories of diversity, status inconsistency, and project team effectiveness.     

Routine Activity Theory and Sexual Deviance Among Male College Students

Much research on sexual deviance on university and college campuses is limited by its narrow focus on group affiliation. In this study, it is argued that prior deviance and opportunity serve as more robust predictor variables of sexual deviance. Using a sample of 304 male college students from four universities within the Ohio Valley Conference, this paper utilizes Analytic moment structures (AMOS) analyses to examine the relationship between prior deviance and sexual deviance. Results support the assumption that sexual aggression is significantly (β=.17) mediated or accounted for by opportunity. Overall, the relationships among variables lend support to the argument that alternative explanations of sexual deviance may provide a better understanding of such a complex societal problem.

Advances and future directions in the study of children's neurobiological responses to trauma and violence exposure

One of the most exciting developments to emerge from the field in the past 20 years is the increasing attention to neurobiological responses to violence and trauma exposure. Although researchers have yet to identify a consensual pattern of neurobiological response to violence and trauma exposure, it does appear that some type of alteration in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis is likely. This article briefly reviews the multiple moderating factors that help account for the divergent patterns in HPA function as well as methodological advances that will continue to improve the assessment of HPA function in youth exposed to violence and trauma.