Analysis of intervention and counselling for at-risk youth to reduce crime, violence and improve outcomesfor the individual, the schools and the family

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we examined how counselling of students and their parents can change youth misbehavior and reduce school violence and crime. Our primary objective was to derive empirical data on successful counselling therapies for at-risk secondary school students within Trinidad and Tobago. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Participants included 145 secondary school students from selected secondary schools in one school district in Trinidad and Tobago. Of these, 49(17.3%) participants were referred by the school principals as suspended or at risk of being suspended. Participants had to complete a 12-week counselling programme consisting of individual, group and parent guidance sessions. RESULTS: After controlling for demographic characteristics, results indicate that a 12-week counselling intervention and participation in multi-modal therapeutic counseling sessions was statistically significant in changing at-risk youth negative mood states and student misbehaviour and school violence. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the socioeconomic environmental factors present in high-risk communities contribute to hopelessness and depression which manifest themselves in physical and mental health problems. In our study, more than 50% of school youth involved in school crime and violence are afflicted with health problems. These health problems include maladies such as depression, emotional, verbal, or physical abuse, unresolved grief and loss. Research is needed to determine the potential causal nature of the relationships between mental health problems (ie hopelessness, depression) on youth violence and crime and its potential effects on health and well-being.

Recognizing social and cultural behaviors in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago, not unlike many Caribbean countries is a plural society resplendent in its cultural diversity. It prides itself with an ethno historical background of African slavery, Indian indentureship and European migration emerging into a post emancipation society of open expressions of social commentaries in song, dance and language. It remains today and easy going society with a style of picong communication which to the observer remains strange. This chapter underlines the relevance of the behaviour of migrant groups both from the sending and receiving countries since the relics of a culture persist despite cultural changes. A questionnaire survey on the culture of Trinidad and Tobago is undertaken to study the cultural behaviours existing in Trinidad and Tobago and to assess the population's awareness, perception and description of these behaviours. Respondents were presented with nine identified behaviours and perceived five of them to be part of Trinidadian culture: Liming, carnival mentality, player or playboy personality, Tabanca and obsessional lateness were identified as existent cultural behaviours.

Social networks in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Social network theory is used to elicit details of the social structure of a population of free-ranging guppies, Poecilia reticulata. They were found to have a complex and highly structured social network, which exhibited characteristics consistent with the 'small world' phenomenon. Stable partner associations between individuals were observed, a finding that fulfils the basic prerequisite for the evolution of reciprocal altruism. The findings are discussed in relation to the ecology and evolution of the wild population, highlighting the potential application of network theory to social associations in animals.

Reconciliation in captive squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

The tendency for agonistic interaction to increase the probability of friendly interaction between social partners has been demonstrated across a range of Old World primates. While research on such post-conflict behaviour proceeds into an hypothesis-testing phase, new comparative information must accumulate to provide full phylogenetic perspective on primate social behaviour. Data from New World and prosimian primates are extremely limited. We studied captive squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) via post-conflict (PC) and matched control (MC) observations and analyzed results using both the PC-MC and time-rule methods. Former opponents maintaining affiliative relationships soon engaged in friendly interaction following large proportions of agonistic interactions, whereas non-affiliated individuals, including virtually all male-female pairs, reconciled conflicts rarely. Close-proximity approaching and huddling contact constituted the principal modes of post-conflict amicability. Agonistic interactions of relatively high intensity were most likely to be reconciled via physical contact. High vulnerability of Saimiri to predation may have favoured this species' strong inclination to reconcile soon after agonistic interaction. Research on free-living populations of this and other primate sepcies is needed to illuminate similarities and differences across taxa. (AU)

The Caribbean AIDS epidemic

The Caribbean AIDS Epidemic assesses the impact of the epidemic in the region, and does it in a manner that serves to counter the overtones of sensationalism that characterize much of the reporting on the disease to date. Its topic are wide-ranging - from an overview of the current situation in the Caribbean to commentary on regional policy development and formulation, from a discussion of discourses on AIDS through the region's music to a review of legal and ethical issues. It includes chapters on public health aspects such as the teaching of AIDS prevention and the treatment and care of those who contract the disease. THe book will inform public health workers, medical practitioners, policy makers and the general public about HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean (AU)

Canadian ethnocultural communities facing AIDS: overview and summary of survey results from phase 111

This paper describes the survey results reporting demographic profiles, behaviours, opinions beliefs, attitudes and intentions related to condom use for three Canadian ethnocultural communities (Latin American, English-speaking Caribbean and South Asian) participating in the Ethnocultural Communities facing AIDS Study. Specific recommendations are presented for HIV-prevention programming based on the research results (AU).

Understanding use of condoms among Canadian ethnocultural communities: methods and main findings of the survey

The aim of this study was to understand the intention to use a condom for each instance of sexual intercourse with a new partner in three of Canada's non-dominant ethnocultural communities: Latin American (N=346), English-speaking Caribbean (N=358), and South Asian (N=355). All respondents were recruited from multiple ethnocultural venues using predetermined sampling frames and quotas for each community. Anonymous questionnaire assessing culturally specific theoretical constructs were completed. This paper presents the methodology and the main findings. The high quality of the results of this study demonstrate the advantage of establishing strong partnerships with members of communities being studied (AU)

Presentation of Leslie Brown, Research Officer of the Youth Training & Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) at the Seminary Workshop on Social and Community Development Issues in the 1990's and Beyond

Mr. Bowrin's plea is: Give our youth a break! He defined youth in terms of energy and continuity. As young adults, they have special needs; as agents of rejuvenation, they are society's future. He cited four areas where youth is being disadvantaged:- i Unmet psycho-social needs. For example, the need for financial independence, the need to own a home and start a family. Since these needs are not being met in the normal course of events, many young people are turning to socially unacceptable ways in an attempt to cope with their frustration. The recent appearance of youth gangs on the local scene is a case in point. ii Dependency syndrome. Youths continue to be dependent on their parents far beyond the traditional age limit. Apart from fostering an attitude of dependency, which in itself is undesirable, this situation is a potential cause of domestic friction; not to mention the fact that it runs counter to Government's stated policy of developing self-reliance. iii Unpreparedness for a changing environment. Traditional education has not prepared our youth for self-employment. In a shrinking job market, they find themselves caught between unavailability of jobs on the one hand, and their own inability to create jobs for themselves, on the other hand. Suggested solutions:- i Retraining for self-employment; ii Collaboration between business, professionals, the university, and youth and community groups with a view to providing the youth with the financial and technical assistance necessary to establish and maintain their own businesses. iii Voluntary Community Service; iv Cultivation of hobbies as a way of structuring time

Social and community development issues: health and nutrition

The paper poses two questions: (i) are we really endeavouring to achieve the goal of Health for All, or are we developing a system that will stretch our health facilities far beyond the reach of the average citizen? (ii) Who will benefit from our long term development plans for self-sufficiency in food? The first question is asked within the context of: i Recent world - acclaimed success in our country's health care, although ironically, the 1989 budget allocation for Health has been reduced significantly. ii Siphoning of scarce financial and skilled resources into certain selected health institutions, whose upgraded services will definitely be beyond the reach of the average citizen. The implication is therefore, that health care will be improved, but for the chosen few, wealthy enough to afford it. The setting for the second question is our progressively worsening economic situation, in which it seems that the very survival of our children is threatened; hence the question, will our children be around to reap the benefits intended for them? The unrelieved note of hopelessness running throughout the paper is captured in the final paragraph:- "If health is a state of well-being - mental, physical and social - and not merely the absence of disease, I cannot see by the year 2,000 that Trinidad and Tobago will be any healthier when we are threatened by yellow fever, increased syphillis, gonorrhoea, drug addiction, child abandonment, loss of vital manpower resources through migration, discontent as characterised by increased negative social commentaries by our calypso bards, and now that we had intended to relieve our frustration through increased sexual activity, AIDS has come and now really literally hit us below the belt." (SYNOPSIS)

Social indicators, illness behaviour and mortality among patients with diabetes mellitus in Jamaica, West Indies

This dissertion presents the results of research which used interview techniques to obtain data that describe illness behaviour in diabetic patients who were either outpatients or hospitalized for complications of their illness. It also analyses mortality in Jamaican diabetics who died between 1970 and 1979. Quality of control of diabetes as determined by testing of urine or blood was a major dependent variable against which illness behaviour was evaluated. In general it was poor and this was associated with use of some bush teas. Positive attitudes towards compliance with the therapeutic regime and increased age were associated with better control. Knowledge of the illness, educational or socio-economic status had no effect on control. The appreciation of communicated information bore no relation to educational or socio-economic status. The most important finding was that only after experiencing a medical crisis did patients alter their perception of the seriousness of the illness to the extent that their compliance improved. Fear of the illness and its complications and financial difficulties were important factors affecting compliance. Mortality data from 8,799 diabetics showed that they accounted for 6.5 percent of all deaths in the 10 year period, with females having a higher risk of dying from diabetes than males. Life table analyses of data for 1977 showed that female and male diabetics had death rates of 79.36 and 45.56 per 100,000 stationary population respectively. Thus, the findings of this research quantify the magnitude of the problem of diabetes and show that the major determinant of illness behaviour in diabetes is the perceived susceptibility to and fear of the complications of the illness and consequent medical crises. (AU)

Chronic undernutrition and cognitive abilities

This review attempts to summarize recent developments in our understanding of the relationship between childhood malnutrition and cognitive abilities. The first questions briefly discussed relate to methods: the definition of malnutrition and the selection of suitable methods of measuring cognitive abilities. Next are considered the effects on mental development of undernutrition, social background and the behavioural patterns of mothers. The consequences of an episode of severe malnutrition in infancy and of confinement in hospital represent a special but important case. The review ends with a discussion of the factors that influence recovery and of strategies for intervention which might be included in a health care programme.(AU)